Posts

chaos

The compromised compromise

Regulation, it’s great.  It keeps us lawyers in jobs! Government incompetence, contradictory drafting, that’s what we love. And Compromise Agreements have it all.  They’re so complex academic lawyers run whole courses just on, well, Compromise Agreements. And now they are even more problematic.  Thanks to the Equality Act 2010, that revolutionary statute that has made [keep reading...]

mythical

The mythical cost of employment disputes

It’s been one of the mantras of the Con-Dems – or at least the Cons part of the Con-Dems – that Employers are daily ripped off by the avarice of Claimants and lawyers. Whilst not dismissing the cost to Employers of exploitative claims, the tabloid version of Employment disputes is a myth. Infact, it’s more [keep reading...]

theft

When theft isn’t really theft

When is summary dismissal fair? When can The Boss walk into your office and announce, in true Sugar-style: YOU’RE FIRED! Theft. Surely, if an employee has committed theft, that’s that, your out, gone, sacked, dismissed. I’ve previously written about the vexed issue of investigation by an employer in theft cases . On that point my [keep reading...]

taxi

The regulatory bullies

Taxi drivers are a much maligned bunch.  A recent article in Luton on Sunday seemed to imply that all taxi drivers in the Luton Borough were unreformed villains. There is much misinformation peddled about taxi drivers. For instance, the standard of fitness required to obtain a licence is considerably higher than that required to become [keep reading...]

mediation

Why the truth about Mediation needs a mediator

A few months ago mediation was hot a topic. The big guns in the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) were spinning it with relentless commitment. At a self-congratulatory award ceremony, Jonathan Djanogly spoke in quasi-religious language about how litigants should turn to the road of moral virtue – in other words, save the MoJ money – [keep reading...]

train-thumb

MPs hoping to see end of rail firm’s franchise

As per the image borrowed from Wikipedia First Capital Connect’s performance may not be much better than a steam train. BY SOPHIE SCOTT A railway contract will be up for grabs two years earlier than expected after The Department for Transport (DfT) brought forward the bidding date. First Group’s deal on the Thameslink, that serves [keep reading...]

dog-thumb2

Thrown to the dogs

So, to the dogs again. This time the dog has his day. I assume it’s a HE-dog, although, who knows, bitches are sometimes, well, bitches. The story is about the removal of a police dog instructor from his role. It appears the instructor threw “an object” at the dog. Whatever that means. As is often [keep reading...]

dog-thumb

Cop dog handler’s method under review

So the police dog-handler who threw things at the dogs is himself thrown to the dogs BY HAZEL SLADE A police dog instructor has been temporarily taken off his duties following an investigation into claims he used an ‘inappropriate’ method. The officer from the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Dog Unit was removed from his police dog [keep reading...]

bigSocieties-thumb

Thousands of the ‘Big Society’s’ most disadvantaged will be left vulnerable by law centre closures

I don’t think this article needs any introduction as every word makes sense! Last month justice minister Jonathan Djanogly highlighted ‘the need to redefine and reposition the future role of not-for-profit agencies and their work’ as the government prepares to ‘reframe’ legal aid. He’d better get a move on; or is it too late already? [keep reading...]

bigbrother-thumb

The Home Counties Stasi

Some months ago I wrote a post on ANPR – Automatic Number Plate Recognition. I’ve said it before, and I will, no doubt, say it again, I’m not a revolutionary. But I do have a deep distrust of The State. This distrust increases when I hear on Radio 4’s Today Programme A Police Officer who [keep reading...]

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