It is often said that a court, when considering contractual issues, will overlook drafting errors in order to give effect to what the parties intended and therefore make sense of what would otherwise be contradictory or plainly “wrong”. Indeed there are many High Court judgments which clearly apply that approach. However, it is a dangerous…
Last month I reported the case of Mr Kaltoft, a Danish childminder who was dismissed because he was too big to carry out some of his duties, e.g. tying children’s shoelaces. We now have the Opinion of the Advocate General of the European Court concerning the issues raised in the case. Although this is not the…
Two cases of note warrant a mention this month. First, a health worker has been found guilty of misconduct following a disciplinary investigation. Victoria Wasteney, a Christian, is a senior occupational therapist working for East London NHS Foundation Trust was found to have bullied a Muslim work colleague. The allegations made included: – asking her…
On 22 July news emerged via BBC Newsnight that Haringey Council accounts show that a payment of £679,452 was made to Sharon Shoesmith. 1) Haringey council accounts are out showing £679,452 settlement w Sharon Shoesmith, first revealed in Oct on #newsnight with @jakemorristw — Allegra Stratton (@BBCAllegra) July 22, 2014 The breakdown reveals salary and…
On 30 July and amid much fanfare the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority announced what is to be “the strictest industry regulation in the world” with a wide range of civil and criminal sanctions available to be applied against defaulting bank employees. Headlines included a new criminal charge of “reckless mismanagement” which could lead…