PLC Public Sector reports:
Make sure that you have not missed a key development in your area of the law by reviewing our latest list of recommended actions.
This week’s actions are:
Employment: HR officers should be alerted to the EAT’s decisions in:
- Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police v Jelic that swapping a disabled employee’s role with a non-disabled employee’s role was held to be a reasonable adjustment under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 although what amounts to a reasonable adjustment is dependent on the facts and the particular context of the case.
- London Borough of Brent v Fuller that, when deciding whether to dismiss for gross misconduct, an employer is entitled to take into account a similar incident for which no formal warning was given.
Local government: members of local authorities in Wales should familiarise themselves with the guidance that the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales has published on the provisions of the 2008 code of conduct for members of Welsh local authorities.
Property: property lawyers should familiarise themselves with the guidance published by the Land Registry on using its electronic services.
Procurement: following the decision of the High Court in Azam & Co v Legal Services Commission, procurement officers should be informed that:
- The Public Contracts Regulations 2006 do not require a contracting authority to expressly inform existing providers of the deadline for submissions when the contract or framework agreement is retendered.
- The principle of proportionality does not require a contracting authority to grant an extension to a tenderer that fails to submit a tender on time, even if doing so would not adversely affect the authority and failing to do so would have significant adverse consequences for the tenderer. However, the position may be different if the tenderer was able to show that it was late due to circumstances beyond its control.