PLC Public Sector reports:
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Civil litigation: litigators should be aware that the new procedure for issuing county court money claims in the County Courts Money Claims Centre comes into effect on 19 March 2012. The new form, which must be used from that date, will be available two weeks before on the Justice website.
Employment: employment lawyers should note that:
- In Crawford and another v Suffolk Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, the Court of Appeal has provided useful guidance for employers on the issues they should consider before suspending an employee or reporting allegations of employee misconduct to the police. In particular, suspension should only be invoked after a careful consideration of all the circumstances of the case rather than a knee-jerk reaction to an allegation of misconduct. An employer should only refer an allegation of misconduct to the police if they have a genuine and reasonable belief that the allegation, if established, could be properly classed as criminal.
- The EAT in Eddie Stobart Ltd v Moreman and others has given useful guidance on how to identify an “organised grouping of employees” for the purposes of regulation 3(3)(a)(i) of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/246). In particular, it confirms that the fact that a group of employees worked mostly for a particular client will not be sufficient to evidence an “organised group”.
- In Capita Hartshead Ltd v Byard, the EAT has upheld a Tribunal decision that a redundancy dismissal was unfair where the employer used a selection pool of just one employee (a pension scheme actuary) and that other actuaries should have been included in the pool. The decision provides a useful review of the law and the correct approach to take.
Highways: those advising highway authorities should be aware that the Street Works (Charges for Occupation of the Highway) (England) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/425) have been laid before Parliament and will be coming into force on 14 March 2012. The Regulations allow highway authorities to set a daily charge of £2,500 for the duration of a set of street works to ensure that such works do not overrun and cause congestion.
Housing: local government housing officers should be aware that the Court of Appeal in Oxford City Council v Basey has clarified what is meant by “sheltered accommodation” and has drawn a distinction between “ordinary” and “sheltered accommodation” and why a care home cannot be considered to be “sheltered accommodation”. As Parliament had deliberately not defined “sheltered accommodation”, the court could not impose a prescriptive description.
Judicial review: litigation lawyers should be aware that the Court of Appeal in MD (Afghanistan) v Secretary of State for the Home Department has confirmed that it does not have jurisdiction to hear an appeal against the Administrative Court’s refusal on the papers of interim relief and permission to apply for judicial review. An applicant who has been refused permission on the papers must, in accordance with the express provisions for the hearing of a renewed application for permission in Rule 52.15(4) of the Civil Procedure Rules, request the Administrative Court to reconsider the matter.
Local authorities in England: should be aware that the Local Authority (Referendums Relating to Council Tax Increase) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/460) come into force on 16 March 2012. These prescribe the date by which a major and local precepting authority must notify its billing authorities that an excessive relevant basic amount of council tax has been set.
Property and planning: Welsh property lawyers should be aware that:
- Three sets of regulations, amending business rates in Wales come into force on 16 March 2012.
- The coming into force of the Planning Permission (Withdrawal of Development Order or Local Development Order) (Compensation) (Wales) Order 2012 means that entitlement to compensation for withdrawal of development orders or local development orders is now the same in Wales as it is in England.
Consultations: this week consultations have been launched on: