News

The Law Society Gazette reports that a legal secretary has failed in an Employment Tribunal Claim for Age Discrimination and Whistleblowing Detriment after a dispute arose in relation to colleagues marking her 50th birthday. Ms Munro worked for a firm of Solicitors in Sailsbury. She is by all accounts a very private person and in particular regarded… Read more

An Employment Tribunal in Norwich has found that a Claimant’s vegetarianism was not the protected characteristic of religion or belief for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 and that his Claim could therefore go no further. Mr Conisbee was employed by the Respondent as a waiter and barman for about 5 months until he… Read more

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that there was no appearance of bias justifying the overturning of an Employment Tribunal’s decision when an Employment Judge told a Claimant’s barrister during a Hearing that there was “no need to lie.” Mrs Balakumar was bringing an Employment Tribunal Claim. She was represented at the Hearing by… Read more

In an eagerly-awaited Judgment today the Supreme Court has confirmed that a bakery in Northern Ireland did not discriminate on when they refused to accept an order to make a cake bearing a slogan supportive of gay marriage. This is the so-called “Gay Cake” case. Mr and Mrs McArthur are Christians. They run a chain… Read more

The BBC reports today on a study by the University of the West of England which suggests that commuters so regularly use travel time for work emails that it should be classed as working time. 54% of commuters who were using wi-fi on the train journeys examined were sending work emails. Modern technology and the ability to… Read more

The Supreme Court has held that an Employment Tribunal was correct to find that a Head Teacher could be fairly dismissed for failing to disclose to her employer the fact that she had a close relationship with a sex offender. Ms Reilly was Head at a primary school in Sandwell. She had a close but non-sexual… Read more

We are currently recruiting a Family Law Specialist to join our team at Wolverhampton. Working alongside Senior Partner Nick Wynn-Williams the successful candidate will have at least 3 yrs relevant PQE. Whilst membership of either the Resolution or the Law Society Accreditation Panel would be an advantage, the Firm will also consider candidates who are… Read more

Our offices will be closing for the Christmas and New Year holiday at midday on the 22nd December 2017 – we re-open at 9.00am on Tuesday 2nd January 2018. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

This week Resolution announced Cohabitation Awareness week. The number of unmarried couples living together has more than doubled to 3.3 million over the past twenty years. Unfortunately despite the fact that more and more people are choosing to live together rather than marry or enter into a civil partnership the law has not caught up…. Read more

The Daily Mail reports that the owner of a bus company in Somerset has unceremoniously dismissed the entire workforce through an internal message. Sydney Hardy allegedly told the staff of Nippy Bus that he had had enough, he could not work with the employees a minute longer, and they should regard themselves as being dismissed with… Read more

At Rees Page we have always offered an initial diagnostic interview, completely free of charge and with no obligation, to provide those looking for help with a family law matter with some initial advice as to how our specialist family law solicitors can help. Even though the appointment is free of charge we understand that there may be reasons… Read more

LAW SOCIETY ANNUAL DINNER Last year Solicitors joined colleagues including accountants, estate agents, bankers and financial advisors and enjoyed a spectacular night out at the Molineux for the annual Wolverhampton Society dinner. There were several awards handed out to deserving members of the legal, accountancy and financial professions. The food and drink was excellent and… Read more

In a Judgment which has taken many people by surprise the Supreme Court has ruled that the Fees Order which introduced Employment Tribunal Fees in 2013 is unlawful. A summary of the Supreme Court’s decision is here but in essence the Fees were found to be unlawful because they were an unjustified interference in the right of… Read more

When you are going through a Separation or Divorce making a new Will is likely to be low on your list of priorities but it is essential this is considered in order to ensure your Estate passes in accordance with your wishes   Separation   Separation has no effect on a Will, and so if … Read more

On the 24th March 2017, the Court of Appeal dismissed Mrs Tini Owens appeal against the dismissal of her petition for divorce based on the unreasonable behaviour of her husband, Hugh Owens.   The Court of Appeal acknowledged that this decision left Mrs Owens “trapped in a  loveless marriage” but that the Court had to… Read more