News
Welcome to our news page. Here you will find out what we’re up to and what we think about recent events and future possibilities.
The Care Act 2014: What Housing Providers Need to Know
Diet controlled Type 2 diabetes does not amount to a disability under the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) according to a recent finding by the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) in Metroline Travel Ltd v Stoute.
Devonshires win another national award for sustainability
Devonshires have won the highly commended award for Resource Conservation at the national Sustainable City Awards. We were also shortlisted for the Responsible Waste Management category.
Devonshires welcomes Insolvency Partner Jim Varley
Devonshires are welcoming Insolvency Partner Jim Varley, one of the founding partners from Locke Lord to their growing insolvency and debt recovery practice.
Bonus linked to sickness record amounts to disability discrimination
The Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) has recently considered whether the non-payment of a bonus due to the employees sickness absence amounted to disability discrimination in the case of Land Registry v Houghton.
No smoke without fire – Can a smoking policy cover e-cigarettes?
According to reports there are now over two million people in the UK who use e cigarettes. So should employers expressly include the use of e-cigarettes, or “vaping”, in their no smoking policies?
Is this the end of section 106 Agreements for small developments?
The Government announced significant changes to the National Planning Practice Guidance in November 2014 with the aim of reducing "disproportionate burdens on developer contributions."
Is this the end of section 106 Agreements for small developments?
The Government announced significant changes to the National Planning Practice Guidance in November 2014 with the aim of reducing “disproportionate burdens on developer contributions.”
HCA – Disposing of Land Guidance
“Disposing of Land” is a guidance document issued by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to help Private Registered Provider’s understand the HCA’s approach to their decision making in respect of disposals of social housing dwellings and other land under the general consent or specific consent regimes.
Collective redundancy – what is an “establishment’?
The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has now issued his opinion on the meaning of “establishment” for the purpose of determining when collective redundancy applies in the linked cases of Usdaw & Wilson v Woolworths and others, Lyttle v Bluebird and Cañas v Nexea. For previous blog entries in relation to
Holiday Pay Update – Backdating claims will be capped at two years
We reported that Unite had confirmed that it would not be appealing the Employment Appeal Tribunal judgement in Bear Scotland Ltd v Fulton and Others (see here). The government has added further clarity to the situation by introducing the Deduction from Wages (Limitation) Regulations 2014, which came into force on 8 January 2015. The new
Age Discrimination – Changes to terms and conditions justified
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held in Braithwaite and ors v HCL Insurance BPO Services Ltd and another case, that an employer’s decision to impose new terms and conditions was not unjustified indirect age discrimination. The claimants transferred to HIBS Ltd under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE). As a
New Procurement Regulations to come into force on 26 February
The Government has announced that the new Procurement Regulations will come into force in the UK on 26 February. The new Regulations will make some important to changes to public procurement in the UK. It will be important for all of our contracting authority clients (which include Registered Providers and Local Authorities) to understand how the current regime will change, and what these changes will mean for them in practice.