March 2023 - Didlaw

Was it an Error of Law to Strike Out A Claim For Breach of an Unless Order?

29 March 2023

Yes, said the EAT in Minnoch v InterserveFM Ltd and ors. An unless order is where a tribunal orders a party to proceed to complete one or more actions before a given deadline, failing which the whole claim or part of it may be struck out. The claim cannot be pursued once this happens so […]

Starting Early Conciliation via ACAS For Employment Tribunal Claims

27 March 2023

Most litigants in person know that they must go through the mandatory ACAS early conciliation process if they want to bring an employment claim against an employer or ex-employer. Most are also aware of the impact doing this has on the time limits in their claim. The process itself is quite intuitive and simple and […]

Is All This Talk Of Menopause In The Workplace Another Penalty For Women?

24 March 2023

Everyone’s talking about menopause, particularly menopause in the workplace. This can only be a good thing. Gone are the days when it was mysteriously spoken of in hushed tones using the euphemism ‘the change’. It’s good for women to know what to expect and to be able to share stories. But is it all going […]

Employment Rights of Police Officers

22 March 2023

The news is awash with the findings of the Casey Review Report into the Metropolitan Police Service (the Service) where Baroness Casey found that the Service could no longer be responsible for its own internal policing because of ‘systemic and fundamental’ issues which include a rotten culture and an inadequate response to the heinous abduction, […]

I Am Thinking About Breaking My NDA. What Happens If I Do?

22 March 2023

In recent years, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) have been in the spotlight. The Harvey Weinstein saga and related #metoo movement both brought to light serious flaws in the way NDAs tend to protect serial abusers from consequences. Often, women who raise allegations of sexual harassment or abuse at work are given two options: sign a non-disclosure […]

My Case is at Risk of Strike Out. What Does This Mean?

20 March 2023

The Employment Tribunal Rules allow a judge of their own initiative or either of the parties in a case to apply to strike out a claim or part of a claim. This may be done at any stage of the proceedings on grounds that – The most common strike out reasons are a claim having […]

Gender Identity v Gender Critical Beliefs – The Great Divide

17 March 2023

You cannot go on social media or open a newspaper these days without being faced with the challenge of understanding the difference between ‘gender identity’ and ‘gender critical’ beliefs and the two are not to be conflated. There are stark and clear differences between the two belief systems which have both been recognised as being […]

Maternity Leave is Not Paid Leisure Time!

15 March 2023

When women take maternity leave employers are allowed a minimal amount of contact during the period of absence. This is known as KIT – Keeping In Touch. The aim of it is to ensure the employee knows what is happening at work, to avoid her feeling alienated and to facilitate their return to work when […]

Freedom of Speech Case – What Did Gary Lineker do Wrong?

13 March 2023

No one can have failed to notice that Gary Lineker has been in a spot of bother with the Beeb. Last week he posted a comment on Twitter about the Government’s new Illegal Migration Bill. His tweet said the policy was “immeasurably cruel”. Gary was told to apologise for his tweets otherwise he would be […]