Newsletters

New Beckenham office Open Day a great success

New Beckenham office Open Day a great success Following on from the acquisition of PJH Solicitors at the end of February this year, Judge & Priestley have now opened their new office located at 108 -110 High Street, Beckenham. Beckenham is not...

J&P inc. PJH, new office open on Beckenham High Street

Judge & Priestley and the Beckenham based practice of PJH Solicitors have joined forces to offer the most comprehensive range of legal services for individuals and commercial clients in the Beckenham area, from March 1st 2019. As part of this...

PJH solicitors merge with Judge & Priestley (Bromley).

Judge & Priestley LLP, the Bromley based solicitors firm, is delighted to announce that the merger with PJH Solicitors based in Beckenham was successfully closed on 28 th February. Staff from both businesses have been working hard together throughout...

Unfair Dismissal - Some Other Substantial Reason Trust And Confidence

Claims for unfair dismissal can sometimes be defended on the basis that the dismissal is fair for “some other substantial reason” i.e. other than the statutory “fair reasons” such as redundancy. One reason often put forward is a...

Dismissal At The Request Of A Third Party

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) in  Bancroft v  Bancrift v Interserve (Facilities Management) Limited [2012] UKEAT 0329_12_1312 (13.12.2012) held that it was not  reasonable to dismiss an employee at the request of a...

Re-hearing Of Internal Disciplinary Proceedings

Where an employer has already dealt with a disciplinary matter and issued a sanction, can those disciplinary proceedings be re-opened and a different sanction imposed? In the case of  Christou v London Borough of Haringey [2013] WLR(D) 97 the...

Serious Misconduct Must Be Thoroughly Investigated

Where an employee is facing very serious allegations of misconduct, such as criminal conduct, then the employer must carry out a particularly thorough and careful investigation in order to dismiss fairly An employer who chooses to ignore evidence or...

Major Employment Law Reforms - New Timetable Announced

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills has announced a new implementation timetable for the major employment law reforms, many of which had originally been intended to come into force in April 2013.  The new proposed timetable for...

Restrictive Convenants - Keep Them Reasonable And Under Review

Restrictive covenants allow employers to protect their trade secrets and deter employees from participating in any competing activity. However, to be enforceable post termination of employment the restrictive covenant will be unenforceable as a restraint of...

Can An Honest Mistake By An Employer Allow An Employee To Claim Constructive Dismissal?

In the case of  Roberts v Whitecross School [2012] UKEAT 0070_12_1906  the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) held that although the employer’s mistake was an honest one, there was a settled intention to reduce pay, which...

Job Related Health Questions

The basic position is that with some exceptions, it is inappropriate for an Employer to ask a job applicant any health related questions before offering work (which includes e.g. contract work or a partnership) to the job seeker or putting that person...

Grossly Exaggerated Claims - Can The Court Strike Out For Abuse Of Process?

Rule 3.4 of the Civil Procedure Rules  (“CPR”) enables the court to strike out the whole or part of a statement of case which discloses no reasonable grounds for bringing or defending a claim (CPR 3.4(2)(a) ), or which is an abuse of the...

Employment Tribunal To Charge Fees From Summer 2013

Unlike the High Court of the County Court, no fees are currently charged by the Government in respect of applications made to the Employment Tribunal. However, from the Summer of 2013 fees will be charge when a claim is brought in the Employment Tribunal or...

Age Discrimination - Private Members Clubs

With effect from 1st October 2012 provisions in the Equality Act 2010 relating to age discrimination come into force and will affect private members club or associations who: Have at least 25 member Have rules regulating who can be a member and there is a...

Redundancy Payments - When Is Redundancy Payment Not Payable?

What is redundancy? This is defined by Section 139 Employment Rights Act 1996.   A redundancy occurs if the dismissal is wholly or mainly attributable to: The employer ceasing or intending to cease to carry on its business (i) for the...

Fiduciary Duties - Competition By Former Employees Directors

Many senior employees are asked to sign contracts containing restrictive covenants which limit their ability to e.g. solicit work from clients or customers, to poach staff or work within a prescribed area on leaving their employment. Such contractual...

Tenant Deposits & Section 21 of the Housing Act - Closing The Loopoles

The Housing Act 2004  (which did not come into force until 6th April 2007) introduced the requirements for landlords to register deposits paid by their shorthold tenants in an authorised scheme, and to give the tenant prescribed information...

Division of Interests in Property - Cohabiting Couples

Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 Where a relationship breaks down and the parties cannot agree how their property should be dealt with e.g. a sale or transfer of the property to one of them application can be made to the court for a...

Work for Benefits - Slave Labour?

As part of two separate schemes  under the Job Seekers Employment and Enterprise Regulations 2011  to help recipients of Job Seekers Allowance back to work, individuals were required to take part in schemes that involved them undertaking...

Au Pairs & Migrant Domestic Workers - Minimum Wage entitlement

Is an au pair entitled to the national minimum wage if certain tasks are not shared with the family? No, says the Court of Appeal in conjoined appeals concerning the application of the Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (“NMW”)to domestic...

Legal Contracts And Employment Claims

What is an illegal contract? An “illegal” contract is one that involves or is based on criminal wrongdoing. It must  not be confused with an invalid contract or a contractual term which would not be enforceable in the courts. Most...

Holiday and Sickness

The  Working Time Regulations 1998  (“WTR”) are designed to ensure that all workers take and are paid for holidays. The current holiday entitlement for full time workers is at least 5.6 weeks paid annual leave each holiday...

Bonus, incentive payments and commissions

Bankers’ bonuses are a controversial topic in the current economic climate, but can a bank reduce them in the face of public disapproval? In the case of Attrill and ors v Dresdner Kleinwort Limited and Commerzbank AG [2012] EWHC 1189...

Disciplinary proceedings - Can an employer re-discipline for the same offence?

Most well drafted employment contracts will include a formal disciplinary procedure, or refer to a separate disciplinary procedure to regulate how the employer will deal with disciplinary issues. If there is no contractual procedure, then as a minimum the...

Disability discrimination

Under the Equality Act 2010 it is unlawful for employers to discriminate against disabled people, and this covers: Application forms; Interview arrangements; Job offers; Aptitude or proficiency tests; Terms of employment Promotion and training...

How will the olympic games affect your business?

Everyone hopes that the Olympics and the Paralympic Games will be a success and enjoyed by all, but both business and their staff need to plan for how they will deal with the problems with will arise because of the games. Things to think about: How will...

Employment Tribunal Claims

Most Employment Tribunal claims have to be made within a prescribed period of the act complained of. What is the time limit? In most cases a complaint must be lodged within 3 months . However there are a number of exceptions. For example, the period rises...

Working Time Regulations 1998

Can an employer withhold overtime? In the current economic climate, employers may prefer to have a reduced workforce, but to pay that workforce to work overtime as and when it is needed. What if the workforce refuse to work overtime? Under The Working...

Evicting your Assured Shorthold Tenants

A guide to possession proceedings Apart from professional landlords, more and more people are letting their homes when they need to move, rather than selling them in a bad housing market.   They often mistakenly assume that when the term of the...

What is the effective date on which an employee is dismissed?

In most circumstances the date on which an Employee is dismissed is clear, but this is not always the case, and it is sometimes important to know when this happened.    Why is the Effective Date of Termination (“EDT”)important? The...

Continuous Period of Employment

Increase in qualifying period of employment for unfair dismissal claims Qualifying period increases to 2 years As from 6th April 2012 the qualifying period, for which an employee must be continuously employed, before having the right to bring a claim...

Compromise Agreements Article

Why enter into a Compromise Agreement? Compromise Agreements are frequently entered into between an Employer and an Employee as a speedy, cost and tax efficient method of settling an employment dispute, often following a Grievance being raised or...

Redundancy Payment Cap and Age Discrimination

In the recent Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decision of Kraft Foods v Hastie, it was found that a cap placed on enhanced redundancy scheme payments does not constitute indirect age discrimination if the employer can show that it was a proportionate...

Pre-Nuptial Agreements Update

Why enter into a pre-nuptial agreement? If you are thinking about entering into a marriage or a civil partnership you may wish to think about entering into a pre-nuptial agreement. This is a document that would be entered into by both parties prior to the...

Service Charge Information

Freeholders/Landlords, if you fail to consult you may have to repair the property for free! “Freeholders/Landlords who have buildings that have premises that contain long residential leaseholders should be aware that they have a duty to consult...

Tips for Business Tenants

Sam Wakeman, of our Property Litigation department says: “Terminating commercial leases by tenants has received more attention in recent times than at any time in the last 20 years”. This is also an area which is littered with potential...

Right of Way - Law, Not Intention, Determines Outcome

Where an easement (the ability to use someone else’s land in some way) is granted, it is usual for its terms to state any restrictions which may apply to its use. Recently, a case came to court where a property was conveyed with a right of way over a...

Uncertainty Increases Over Offers to Settle Claims

You might think that ‘more advantageous than’ means the same as ‘better’, but this change in wording has led the Court of Appeal to conclude that offers to settle claims in litigation should be interpreted in a new way. Under the...