In DLA Piper's case of the week, Lund v St Edmund's School, Canterbury, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the Acas code of practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures should have been followed in a case where the reason for dismissal was stated to be for "some other substantial reason" (SOSR), but disciplinary proceedings ought to have been invoked.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has held that the words "at one establishment" should be deleted from s.188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has reiterated the importance of employers carrying out a sufficiently thorough disciplinary investigation where there are allegations of criminal behaviour.
Amanda Steadman is a professional support lawyer, and Joe Beeston, Laura Garner, Helen Samuel and Dinu Suntook are associates at Addleshaw Goddard LLP. They round up the latest rulings.
In the final chapter of this long-running case on the justification of a compulsory retirement age for partners in a law firm, the employment tribunal applied Supreme Court guidance and concluded that a requirement for partners to step down at 65 was justified.
The employment tribunal in this case concluded that it was open to an NHS trust to decide not to renew a consultant anaesthetist's fixed-term contract because it had recruited a number of permanent anaesthetists to take on the work.