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Author Archive

Mitigation of Loss in Unfair Dismissal cases

Adrian Fryer

Adrian Fryer

Compensation for unfair dismissal normally includes loss of earnings flowing from the dismissal. When looking at this, Employment Tribunals will consider whether the employee has taken reasonable steps to mitigate their loss of earnings.  A recent Employment Appeal Tribunal decision provides a helpful reminder to employers of the test that Tribunals will apply.

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Tee-ing off at 10am? – remote working and the rise in demand for daytime leisure activities

Adrian Fryer

Adrian Fryer

And finally, the New York Times has reported on an indirect economic benefit being felt in the USA as it embraces a post-COVID remote working culture: a surge in demand for daytime cosmetics, pampering and leisure services.

The report cites examples of 55 people playing golf at Chelsea Pier before 4pm on a Monday afternoon and customers holding zoom meetings whilst having their hair done.

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Laura McMorland

Partner

Laura joined Bermans in March 2023 and is a Partner in the Corporate team based in our Manchester office.

She obtained a degree in law at the University of Aberdeen and qualified as a solicitor in 2008. Laura has extensive corporate finance experience having worked previously in the corporate finance departments of two large Scottish law firms.

Laura’s most recent experience in-house in a head of legal transactions role means that she has experience of being in a client’s shoes and understands what a client is looking for from its legal advisors.

Laura specialises in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, reorganisations and general company law matters, with experience acting for companies, shareholders and private equity institutions.


Email: laura.mcmorland@bermans.co.uk

Tel: 0161 827 4608

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When is the right time to hire a HR professional for your business?

Emma Hulbert

Emma Hulbert

Emma Hulbert is Senior Principal Consultant at Lily Shippen Recruitment, a specialist agency for HR, admin and support teams.

Emma covers temporary, contract and permanent recruitment and manages the Virtual Assistant offering.  Emma has been with Lily Shippen Recruitment since 2018 and has become the go-to person within the Manchester market, receiving five-star testimonials from clients and candidates. She is passionate about the business support profession and always strives to provide high-level and honest support, going above and beyond.

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Asset Finance: Consumer Duty Countdown

The announcement by the FCA in late July last year of its final decisions on implementing the new Consumer Duty has led to a range of responses within the leasing and consumer credit industries.

The aim of the FCA is said to be to fundamentally improve how regulated firms serve consumers, by setting higher and clearer standards of consumer protection across financial services and explicitly requiring regulated firms to put their customers’ needs first.

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Asset Finance: Foreign assets traced in the Arena fraud

Asset financiers have not had much comfort from the sorry tale of the Arena TV fraud, but we did notice with interest a passage in a recent judgment against the main perpetrator individuals behind the fraud which illustrates the principle that in certain circumstances victims of fraud can trace assets such as foreign property which the fraudsters have obtained with the proceeds of the fraud.

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Asset Finance: HM Treasury consults on reform of Consumer Credit Act

On 9 December 2022 HM Treasury published a consultation paper on reform of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (“CCA”).

The Government announced its intention to reform the CCA in June 2022, with the ambition of moving most of the CCA from statute to FCA rules. Given the scale and complexity of this work, it is expected to take a number of years. The consultation paper is the first step in this process. In it, HM Treasury seeks views on the objectives, principles and overall direction of the proposed reform.

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Asset Finance: Taking Security from “Protected Persons”

As long ago as 2001 in the landmark case of Royal Bank of Scotland Plc v Etridge [2001] UKHL 44 the House of Lords (since renamed the UK Supreme Court) significantly extended the circumstances in which a financier will be put on constructive notice of misrepresentation or undue influence committed against an individual executing a Guarantee or other security, but there remains a great deal of misunderstanding of the relevant principles.

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First Covid-related claim

Adrian Fryer

Adrian Fryer

Sections 100(1)(d) and (e) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 provide employees with protection from dismissal if they leave the workplace, refuse to return to it, or take other steps to protect themselves, if they reasonably believe there is serious and imminent danger. The first Covid-related claim of this nature reached the Court of Appeal in Rodgers v Leeds Laser Cutting. The employee worked in a large warehouse with few other employees. There were Covid-related safety measures in place even before the first lockdown, including extra cleaning and social distancing. The employee worked the first week of lockdown but then messaged his manager to say he wouldn’t be coming to work until lockdown eased. He was worried about passing on the virus to his vulnerable child. He was dismissed a month later and brought an unfair dismissal claim.

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