Welcome to the May edition of our Commercial Client newsletter. We explore recent developments in various areas of law, which could affect your business, ranging from your duties as an employer to what you might claim for breaches on repairing contracts.
First off, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Amendment) Regulations 2008 came into force on 6th April 2008. The effects of its implementation include expanding the definition of sexual harassment, and making it unlawful for an employer to fail to take steps to protect an employee from harassment by a third party.
Also of note for employers, is the recent Court of Appeal judgment in Airbus UK Ltd. v Webb. This case concerned an employee who claimed unfair dismissal when he was fired for gross misconduct. He maintained that an expired disciplinary notice should not have been taken into account when he was dismissed. But the Court of Appeal held that it was reasonable to take it into account, as long as it was not the primary reason for the dismissal.
Moving on to health and safety matters, we would like to remind all those involved in the music and entertainment industries, that the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 were extended on 6th April 2008, to cover these sectors. The relevant sectors include any business which manages premises where live or recorded music is played – including bars, pubs, nightclubs or restaurants. Employers in these sectors must assess and manage the risks of exposure to noise, both for employees and freelance workers.
In the realm of intellectual property, care must be taken to ensure that all aspects of company procedure are monitored for any possible breaches. In a recent case, a company director was held to be personally liable for failing to prevent employees from breaching the design right of another company.
If you are a landlord or tenant, it is important to be aware of any repairing covenants and the results of a breach. The Court of Appeal recently concluded, in one specific case, that the correct measure of compensation for the breach of one of these covenants, should be the reduction in value of the property due to its lack of repair, rather than the cost of the necessary remedial work itself.
Finally, it is worth noting that the new voluntary code of conduct for the management of Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) has been announced. It aims to make the processes leading to an IVA more transparent and increase the certainty regarding the debtor's home.
We hope you find this legal update useful and welcome any feedback or questions resulting from the issues raised. We are happy to advise you on these matters and help out with any other legal issues affecting your business. Until next month, enjoy the approach of summer and let's hope the weather is not as stormy as it was in some areas of the UK this bank holiday weekend!
Regards,
Ed Nally (ed.nally@fieldingsporter.co.uk)
Andrea Gibbons (andrea.gibbons@fieldingsporter.co.uk)
John Webster (john.webster@fieldingsporter.co.uk)
David Porter (david.porter@fieldingsporter.co.uk)
Daniella Stefani (Daniella.stefani@fieldingsporter.co.uk)
Ifath Khan (ifath.khan@fieldingsporter.co.uk)
Catherine Smith (catherine.smith@fieldingsporter.co.uk)
Your Commercial Team
Fieldings Porter
P.S. We are thinking of branching out into a new area of law. It appears that the University of Mississippi recently leapt into "the final frontier of the legal system" when they recently awarded the first-ever space law certificate in the United States. Think there might be a demand in the UK?
