We are often consulted by clients wishing to challenge the outcome of tenders which are not governed by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Concession Contracts Regulations 2016 or Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, usually because the value of the tender is not high enough to meet the financial thresholds over which the Regulations apply. It is sometimes still possible to challenge the outcome of a below-threshold tender, if it can be shown that there was, or would have been, cross-border interest in the contract. In that case, general EU Treaty principles of transparency, proportionality and non-discrimination will still apply to the conduct of the tender, and a challenge may be possible if it can be shown that the public body has breached one of these principles....
Shared work spaces are designed to accommodate flexible, agile working and are gradually becoming more widespread in the commercial property market. The appeal is obvious; affordable, shared, serviced work-hubs where the Tenant can rent a space, nurture their business and share ideas with like-minded cohabitees from a diverse range of backgrounds. ...
In civil litigation the presumption is that the losing party pays the winner’s costs. However, unless agreed, such costs must be assessed by the Court. This process is of crucial importance because the winning party must pick up the shortfall itself, eating into the proceeds of claim....
There has been a steady stream of high profile cases about employment rights and the boundaries between categories of employment and self-employment in the modern economy, with particular focus on tech platforms providers like Uber. Largely (but not exclusively), the trend has been that those working in the gig economy have been found to be workers, rather than employees or people running their own micro businesses....
Last week saw the launch of a new guide aimed at assisting and supporting those who battle mental health issues in the workplace. The guide has been compiled by the CIPD, the UK’s leading professional body for HR and people development, and Mind, the longstanding mental health charity. CIPD’s recent ‘Health and Well-Being at Work’ report, produced in partnership with Simplyhealth, showed increases in work-related stress and mental health...
The Government recently published a report into off-site manufacturing for construction, exploring how construction industry productivity can be improved through the use of off-site manufacturing. The report is available here. ...
The doctrine of frustration in English Law provides very limited remedy and therefore, it is well established that parties should include a provision in a commercial agreement which governs issues of liability where a contract cannot be performed by virtue of unforeseen circumstances....
Following a campaign by the Liberal Democrats, suggesting that employers with over 250 employees be obliged to share their parental leave policies, ten major employers (including Deloitte and RBS) have agreed to publish their parental leave and pay policies. The research cited to support this campaign included a survey by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, which concluded that as many as 54,000 women a year lose their jobs due to either pregnancy or maternity discrimination....
As the UK hospitality industry suffers disruption by disgruntled workers it is a timely reminder that there is a large UK population of workers who are feeling exploited by the gig economy and lack of employment rights....
The Financial Times has reported a survey that shows people are working harder and faster, leaving them exhausted every day. This comes from the 2017 Skills and Employment Survey....
The Ministry of Justice has published tribunal statistics for April – June 2018. Readers will be aware that tribunal caseloads have increased steadily since the abolition of tribunal fees in July 2017. That trend continues in the latest report. ...
In a judgment published this week in the case of Mutombo-Mpania v Angard Staffing Solutions, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) upheld a decision that - an employee who suffered from essential hypertension but had advised his employer that he had no disability was not, on the evidence he provided, a disabled person; and the employer could not reasonably have been expected to know that he was disabled. ...
It appears that Morrisons is the latest of the ‘Big Four’ supermarkets (so called due to their dominance of the market share) to face a string of Equal Pay claims. Whilst Tesco still holds the lion’s share, controlling 27.4% of the available market, Morrisons’ not so insignificant 10.2% keeps it firmly rooted as one of the most influential chains in the UK. The claimants’ representatives are well versed in this matter as they are already overseeing legal action on behalf of 30,000 employees at ASDA, Sainsbury’s and Tesco. ...
In a recent EAT case, the claimant had decided to move from one department to another, both within the employer’s business. She had received a conditional job offer from the new department and wrote to her employer stating ‘please accept one month’s notice from the above date’. Her conditional offer was later withdrawn and she asked to retract, what she called, her notice of resignation. The employer refused stating that she had resigned....
Almost every job application in the modern world will ask for a reference to accompany an application. It is an important tool to establish whether a candidate is suitable for the role they are applying for. ...
Thank you to all those that came to support our Charity Food Truck Rally in Covent Garden on Thursday 6th September. We were so lucky that the sun shone for much of the day!...
Last year, we wrote about Nestlé’s decade-plus efforts to achieve EU trade mark registration for the three-dimensional shape of its Kit Kat chocolate bar (certainly very distinctive here in the UK!), and setbacks in 2016 both with an adverse ruling from the EU General Court and with the UK High Court ruling against UK trade mark protection for the shape. We also noted that Nestlé’s nemesis in all of this has been Mondelēz International, a group whose brands include Cadbury....
British universities have called on the government to bring back the post study work visa which would allow overseas students to stay in the country to work for up to two years after graduation. The scheme was scrapped in 2012 and strict post study work rules may have had a significant impact on prospective applicants from certain countries, including India....
In North East London NHS Foundation Trust v Zhou, the EAT has decided that it may not necessarily be unreasonable conduct for solicitors to have filed an incomplete claim form....
In a recent High Court decision, the Court reaffirmed some important considerations when dealing with alleged breaches of contract by an employer. ...