Weekly Issue 624

Trade union membership rises

According to recent government figures, the number of people who were trade union members rose by just over 100,000 to a total of 6.35 million in 2018.

Realisation of a breach

Although directors of a limited company cannot be held liable for inducing breach of contract if they are acting lawfully, the High Court has held in Antuzis and ors v DJ Houghton Catching Services and ors that they can be held liable if they were aware that their actions would have the effect of breaching their employees’ contract.

Open justice

When deciding whether to restrict reporting in a case involving allegations of sexual misconduct, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has held in A and B v X, Y and the Times Newspapers Ltd that when carrying out the balancing exercise between the interests of accuser and accused, the principles of open justice must be fully taken into account.