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How do you deal with conflicts of belief in schools and colleges?

To what extent can you lawfully restrict how your staff manifest their protected beliefs? Jo Moseley considers what schools and colleges can learn from a recent case where a tribunal had to determine whether a teacher, who objected to the school's decision to socially transition an eight-year-old pupil, had been unfairly dismissed and subjected to direct discrimination because of her beliefs.
June 25, 2025
How do you deal with conflicts of belief in schools and colleges?

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Families refusing access to support

Is home a suitable option for residence and care for a vulnerable adult if their family refuses access to support? Sophie Holmes analyses a recent ruling.
Families refusing access to support

Features

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One teacher, two jobs

Alexandra Addington looks at a recent disciplinary hearing concerning a teacher who phoned in sick to work at a different school, and considers what steps schools and colleges can take if they suspect a staff member of moonlighting.
June 18, 2025
One teacher, two jobs

Is overheard 'banter' harassment?

Over the recent weeks, there have been concerns raised about the reintroduction of employer liability for third-party harassment of staff. It can be easy to dismiss the concerns as alarmist, but there are important issues for employers in this new liability, write Michael Brownlee and Libby Hubbard.
May 29, 2025
Is overheard 'banter' harassment?

Employment Rights Bill: key measures and next steps

Paula Kathrens sets out the principal elements of the Employment Rights Bill, which has been described as the biggest upgrade to rights at work for a generation.
May 29, 2025
Employment Rights Bill: key measures and next steps

How do you protect your staff from parental aggression and abuse?

Teachers often choose their profession driven by a desire to positively shape and inspire future generations. However, they are increasingly encountering abuse from parents, both in person and online. Alexandra Addington looks at the legal options for addressing the issue.
May 21, 2025
How do you protect your staff from parental aggression and abuse?

Grievance and disciplinary processes

Nikolas Clarke sets out some practical points for employers when it comes to grievance and disciplinary processes.
May 15, 2025
Grievance and disciplinary processes

Features

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Jul 03, 2025

What might the public inquiry on child sexual exploitation look like

With the recent announcement that there will now be a national public inquiry into child sexual exploitation (CSE) Stephanie McGarry and Sarah Erwin-Jones look at what this means for those likely to be become involved and what Baroness Casey had to say in her recently published review into CSE.
Jul 03, 2025

High Court Dismisses Challenge to New Super Prison

The High Court has refused permission to challenge the Secretary of State's decision to grant planning permission for so called 'super prison' on Green Belt land near HMP Garth and HMP Wymott in Lancashire.
Jul 03, 2025

AI, copyright and LLMs

What are the copyright and confidentiality issues arising from use of public and private Large Language Models (LLMs)? Justin Harrington explains.
Jul 03, 2025

Automatic suspensions and the public interest

Tim Care provides a summary of the recent case of Unipart Group Ltd v Supply Chain Coordination Ltd [2025], and assesses its impact upon the application of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015).
Jul 03, 2025

FOI and communication

The Upper Tribunal recently considered the meaning of ‘reasonably practicable’ in s11 of the Freedom of Information Act. Jonathan Dixey analyses the ruling.

Webinars

Whistleblowing: Detriment and Dismissal Cases

In the second session of our Autumn/Winter Employment Series, Nick Bidnell-Edwards and Safia Tharoo provide a concise review of whistleblowing law for detriment and dismissal claims, including recent developments, followed by practical tips on how to bring and to defend the claims.

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Unlocking legal talent

Jonathan Bourne of Damar Training sets out why in-house council teams and law firms should embrace apprenticeships.

Webinars

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A widening of worker status?

Charlotte Tosti analyses a landmark case in the Employment Tribunal over the question of whether foster carers are “workers” and can bring claims in the employment tribunal.

Engaging with all allegations

In a recent case, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has highlighted the importance of addressing all issues identified in a list of issues, including those not originally pleaded, writes Michael Halsey.

Comments about accents

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that comments about an employee's accent can amount to race-related harassment under the Equality Act 2010, even without evidence of discriminatory intent. Alastair Fatemi analyses the judgment.

Raising new substantive arguments at appeal stage

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled in a case involving a local authority that it would not be in the interests of justice to allow a claimant to raise a new argument on appeal, despite acknowledging an error in the Tribunal’s decision. Gareth Edwards explains why.

Fire and re-hire: increased protective awards

The Government has revived a draft order on increased protective awards for failures to follow the statutory Code of Practice. Georgia Blesson looks at what this means for employers.

Whistleblowing: Detriment and Dismissal Cases

In the second session of our Autumn/Winter Employment Series, Nick Bidnell-Edwards and Safia Tharoo provide a concise review of whistleblowing law for detriment and dismissal claims, including recent developments, followed by practical tips on how to bring and to defend the claims.

Wiping the slate clean - tips and tactics on how best to achieve settlement in the ET

In this webinar Nick Singer and Karolina Zielinska consider how to get the most out of negotiation and judicial mediation for your clients. Given the ever-increasing cost and stress associated with Tribunal proceedings, settlement firmly remains an attractive option when considering how best to resolve a claim for claimants and respondents alike.

Disability-related absences and dismissal

Should dismissals for disability-related absences be pleaded as direct discrimination? Robin Pickard examines a recent Employment Appeal Tribunal case involving a local authority.

The strategic importance of maintaining a positive workplace culture

Gareth Edwards recently reported on the upcoming new mandatory duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, which is due to come into force on 26 October 2024. In this follow-up piece, he discusses how the new sexual harassment law highlights the strategic value of maintaining a positive workplace culture.

Equal pay: the material factor defence

A fire and rescue service has successfully defended an equal pay claim even though the claimant and comparators were engaged in 'like work' for the period of the claim. Jessica Scott-Dye analyses the case.

Expressing lawful views at work

Should employees be able to express their lawful views at work? Jo Moseley examines a case where Acas got into murky waters.

More Features

LGL Red line
July 03, 2025

Too much?

In the fourth and final article on a Court of Appeal judgment that involved an exploration of the law and procedure relating to challenges to decisions about care for young people brought after the event, Catherine Rowlands looks at the Court of Appeal view on whether a local authority accidentally accommodated the claimant.
Jul 01, 2025

Deploying ‘ADR’ in Planning & Compensation contexts

John Pugh-Smith looks at how these aspects of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) can now be made to work and at different stages of a dispute. Put another way, the “A” in ADR is not just “alternative” but also “adaptable”, “agile” and “accessible”.
Jun 27, 2025

The attendance of experts in family proceedings

Rosie Muncer looks at the lessons to be learned from how a High Court judge considered a case management application for the single joint experts in care proceedings to attend to give oral evidence.
Jun 27, 2025

Too little? When intervention is not required

In the third article on a recent Court of Appeal judgment that involved a wide-ranging exploration of the law and procedure relating to challenges to decisions about care for young people brought after the event, Catherine Rowlands looks at how the local authority responded.
Jun 27, 2025

Closures of educational sites

The Court of Appeal recently refused permission to appeal in judicial review proceedings concerning the decision to close part of a school site. Leon Glenister and Edward-Arash Abedian look at the reasons why.
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June 25, 2025

Public law case update Q1 2025

Kieran Laird and Sophie O’Mahoney offer a straightforward and concise overview of six public law and regulation cases from the first quarter of 2025 which highlight important points of principle and procedure.
Jun 25, 2025

AI solutions: the contractual issues

What are the key contractual issues that public sector organisations should prepare for when implementing an AI solution? Justin Harrington explains.
Jun 25, 2025

How do you deal with conflicts of belief in schools and colleges?

To what extent can you lawfully restrict how your staff manifest their protected beliefs? Jo Moseley considers what schools and colleges can learn from a recent case where a tribunal had to determine whether a teacher, who objected to the school's decision to socially transition an eight-year-old pupil, had been unfairly dismissed and subjected to direct discrimination because of her beliefs.
Jun 20, 2025

Negotiating s106 agreements

Why does negotiating section 106 agreements have to be such a drag? Simon Ricketts looks at the key issues.
Jun 20, 2025

Heat network zoning coordination

Carrie Davies sets out some early-stage considerations for local authorities when it comes to heat network zoning coordination.
Jun 20, 2025

Mediating PFIs

Mediation is a potentially underused tool for unlocking contract disputes arising out of PFI, write Emma Beynon and Andrew Lancaster.
Jun 20, 2025

Generative AI and data protection

Justin Harrington sets out what UK public sector organisations need to know when it comes to generative AI and data protection.
Jun 19, 2025

The final say

The Court of Protection has provided an important reminder that it is the judge who has the final say as to best interests, writes Alex Ruck Keene KC (Hon).
Jun 18, 2025

The seven questions to address in a welfare analysis

A recent Court of Appeal decision highlights the importance of analysing all the factors in the welfare checklist when considering a care and placement order instead of an overreliance on the ‘risk of harm’ factor, and sets out a 7-step approach to this analysis. Victoria Holland examines the ruling.
Jun 18, 2025

Too late

In the second article of a series on challenges to decisions about care for young people brought after the event, Catherine Rowlands looks at how the Court of Appeal dealt with the issue of whether a claim was brought out of time.
Jun 18, 2025

Expert fees in public law children cases

When the expert exceeds Legal Aid Agency rates, what is the Court to do? Eleanor Hull analyses an important recent ruling from the President of the Family Division.
Jun 18, 2025

One teacher, two jobs

Alexandra Addington looks at a recent disciplinary hearing concerning a teacher who phoned in sick to work at a different school, and considers what steps schools and colleges can take if they suspect a staff member of moonlighting.
Jun 18, 2025

Too little? Or too late?

In the first in a series of articles, Catherine Rowlands examines a Court of Appeal judgment that involved a wide-ranging exploration of the law and procedure relating to challenges to decisions about care for young people brought after the event.
Jun 13, 2025

Unlocking legal talent

Jonathan Bourne sets out why in-house council teams and law firms should embrace apprenticeships.
Jun 12, 2025

AI in the UK public sector

In the first in a series of articles on the adoption of AI by the public sector, Justin Harrington sets out some use cases and provides a regulatory overview.
Jun 11, 2025

Planning reform to accelerate housing delivery - at what cost?

Chrisa Tsompani examines how the Government’s sweeping planning reforms could reshape every layer of the building sector – from local authorities to small-medium builders, and considers the critical implications for environmental policies.

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