In any workplace, situations will arise where it is necessary for the employer to carry out an investigation before deciding what to do next. Common situations that require an investigation include: receiving a grievance from an employee; allegations of bullying and harassment; potential
In a striking example of the heat which planning disputes can generate, residential developers who viewed themselves as ‘luckless victims’ of an over-zealous local authority managed to fight off a High Court bid for an injunction against them. The developers’ plans to build 85 new
Commercial arbitrators are often called upon to address thorny jurisdictional issues where all the parties to a dispute, and its subject matter, have nothing at all to do with the UK. That was certainly so in one case involving a lucrative project to redevelop a
Statistical disparities in pay are not always a sign of discrimination. In one important case which proved that point, a Muslim prison chaplain who pointed out that he and his co-religionist colleagues were on average paid less than their Church of England counterparts failed to
Employees sadly cannot always be trusted and industrial espionage is a threat which cannot be ignored. In one case, a company received £275,000 in damages and legal costs after a disloyal worker abused her position to disperse confidential and commercially sensitive information to others. The
Contract disputes can sometimes become so intractable that litigation is the only way of achieving finality. In one case, positions became so entrenched that a corporate jet, which lay at the heart of the disagreement, had been grounded for so long that its owner no
The law assumes that experienced businesspeople know what they are doing when it comes to allocating risk. In a case which exemplified that position, the High Court found that a development consortium accepted the risk of asbestos contamination interfering with its plans, even if that
In the context of a ground-breaking investigation into whether Google is abusing its dominant position as an Internet search engine and advertiser, a judge has taken steps to ensure that the European Commission and the High Court take a consistent approach to parallel proceedings. A
In a stern decision of which all litigants should take careful note, the Supreme Court cracked the whip and underlined that tactical manoeuvring and failures to comply with case management orders will not be tolerated. Three men who did just that were prevented from defending
All businesses should by now be well aware that they are, or shortly will be, required to automatically enrol their workers in an approved pension scheme. However, in a ruling which will be required reading for employers, the High Court has given important guidance on
