Cases

Cases

Key case on councillor codes

The High Court has delivered an important ruling about how a local authority must investigate or take action against a councillor accused of misconduct. In…

Read More
Cases

Peter Oldham KC acts successfully in local authority’s appeal on special educational needs allowance

Peter Oldham KC acts successfully in local authority’s appeal on special educational needs allowance

In Swansea CC v Rees and others EAT 2053/2017, the employees were home tutors employed by the Council, working as part of a home tutoring unit. The majority of the children the claimants worked with had SENs.  They brought a breach of contract claim in the ET asserting that they were entitled to a special educational needs (SEN) allowance under para 25.2 of the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document, which as relevant says:-Read More

Cases

The Supreme Court has handed down judgment in Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v Haywood [2018] UKSC 22. John Cavanagh KC and Holly Stout appeared for the Trust.

The three judges in the majority (Lady Hale, Lord Wilson and Lady Black) took the view that a notice of termination of employment sent by post only takes effect when the notice has come to the attention of the employee and she has had a reasonable opportunity of reading it. Accordingly, the Trust’s notice in this case only took effect when Mrs Haywood returned from holiday and thus the 12 weeks’ notice period expired after her 50th birthday so that Mrs Haywood was entitled to a full early retirement pension.

Read More

Cases

Christopher Knight in Successful Uber Judicial Review

The Administrative Court has quashed a policy implemented by Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council in which applicants for private hire vehicle driver licences were required to declare that they would drive their vehicles predominantly within the Knowsley area. Under the licensing scheme for private hire vehicles (minicabs) set out in the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, so long as the vehicle, the driver and the operator through which the minicab is booked are licensed by the same authority, there is no legal requirement that journeys only take place within the licensed area.Read More