Weekly Issue 498

Government flip flops on workers' rights

Branded at the time as a way of creating a flexible workforce, the government quietly shelved its plan for creating so-called owner-employees in last week’s Autumn Statement.

Have your cake and eat it

Although same sex marriage in legal in Great Britain, it is still banned in Northern Ireland (NI). In Lee v McArthur and ors, however, the NI Court of Appeal held that it was direct discrimination by association for the Christian directors of a business to refuse to customize a cake carrying a message in support of same sex marriage.

Two stage test

When deciding whether the time limit for hearing a claim should be extended, tribunal judges have to apply a two-stage test. In Tesco Stores Ltd v Kayani, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) held that tribunal judges must distinguish between the two limbs of the test and take all factors into account, including the adequacy of any advice given by solicitors.