In our latest issue of The Loch Lens, we highlight essential insights every employer and business leader needs to be aware of, including:
- Employers Must Proactively Support Redundant Staff in Finding Alternative Roles
- Will Getty’s Lawsuit Against Stability AI Redefine Copyright in the Age of AI?
- UK Court Warns Lawyers Over Fake AI-Generated Citations in Landmark Ruling
- Silenced No More: Ban Urged on NDAs to End Music Industry Misogyny
- HS2 Whistleblower Wins £320k Payout After Tribunal Finds Failures in Protection
- MPs Call for Overhaul of ‘Outdated’ UK Parental Leave System
- Minimum Wage Breaches: 518 Employers Named by HMRC — Are You Compliant?
- High Court Rejects Legal Challenge to VAT on Private School Fees
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The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has upheld a ruling of unfair dismissal in Hendy Group Ltd v Kennedy, reinforcing employers’ duties to actively explore alternative employment in redundancy situations.
Mr. Kennedy, a veteran motor trade professional with 30 years’ experience, had spent five years training the company’s sales teams. When made redundant, he received minimal support in seeking other roles within the organisation, despite internal vacancies.
Key failings included: requiring him to return his laptop early, cutting off access to internal job listings and email; HR not informing managers he was at risk of redundancy; and no active efforts to help him identify suitable roles or discuss options. The Tribunal criticised HR’s internal email (unseen by Kennedy) rejecting his applications based on “motivations” for applying – namely, wanting to stay employed.
The case highlights the importance of supporting redundant staff, including meaningful consultation, communication, and practical assistance in exploring redeployment.
Getty Images’ landmark copyright case against Stability AI began earlier this month in London’s High Court — a pivotal moment that could reshape how intellectual property law applies to artificial intelligence.
Getty alleges that Stability AI unlawfully scraped millions of its images to train its image-generating tool, Stable Diffusion. Stability AI denies wrongdoing, arguing the case threatens technological innovation and the broader generative AI industry.
Getty strongly disputes that claim, stating the lawsuit is not anti-AI but about protecting creators’ rights. “The problem is when AI companies want to use works without payment,” Getty’s counsel said.
The outcome is expected to set a critical precedent in the UK, where legal frameworks for AI and copyright remain largely untested. As similar lawsuits emerge globally, this case could shape how AI and copyright coexist in future innovation.
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A London court has issued a stark warning to legal professionals after lawyers cited fake case-law, likely generated by AI, in two separate proceedings. The President of the King’s Bench Division, Dame Victoria Sharp, referred both a solicitor and a barrister to their regulators and urged urgent action to curb AI misuse in legal work.
In one case, 18 out of 45 citations in an £89 million claim were entirely fictitious. In another, a barrister representing a client against the London Borough of Haringey cited five non-existent authorities. The court found both instances negligent, highlighting the risks of relying on generative AI tools like ChatGPT without proper verification.
The ruling stresses that AI outputs, while plausible, may confidently present false or fabricated information. Dame Victoria warned that misuse could result in serious professional consequences, including contempt proceedings. Legal regulators and firm leaders are now urged to reinforce professional standards amid AI’s growing role.
More on this story, here.
NDAs should be banned in the music industry to tackle a “culture of misogyny”, says a new parliamentary report. The Women and Equalities Committee warns that non-disclosure agreements are being misused to silence victims of harassment and abuse, deterring them from speaking out.
Misogyny in Music: On Repeat, the committee’s third inquiry, found little progress since 2024, with women in music still facing barriers including unequal pay, harassment, racism, and ageism, especially LGBTQ+ women, women of colour, and disabled women. Freelancers also remain particularly vulnerable, with few legal protections.
The committee backs the proposed Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) to address poor behaviour and support victims. It also urges stronger maternity protections and amendments to the Equality Act. Artists and advocates called for urgent government action, saying more reports are not enough, what’s needed now is real change.
Read more about this in The Guardian.
An Employment Tribunal has awarded nearly £320,000 to Stephen Cresswell, a former HS2 risk manager, after ruling he wasn’t adequately protected as a whistleblower. Cresswell claimed his contract wasn’t renewed in 2022 after warning that project costs were being “actively misrepresented.” He alleged senior staff urged him to disregard forecasts of a significant cost increase on the taxpayer-funded railway.
Although an internal HS2 probe found no evidence of fraud, it acknowledged “questions over culture and behaviours” in cost estimating. HS2 accepted partial liability, admitting Cresswell wasn’t given sufficient protection when raising concerns.
The Tribunal awarded £233,000 in lost earnings and £10,400 in legal costs, and highlights the need for robust whistleblowing protections.
For more information on this case, click here.
The Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) has called for urgent reform of the UK’s parental leave system, highlighting low pay, limited paternity rights, and complex eligibility as key barriers. In a new report, the committee warns that current statutory pay, below the National Living Wage, discourages uptake and creates financial hardship, particularly for fathers and self-employed parents.
Recommendations include increasing paternity pay to 90% of earnings for six weeks (in line with maternity pay), extending paternity leave from two to six weeks, and making it a day-one employment right. The WEC also proposes introducing a Paternity Allowance for self-employed parents, simplifying access to shared parental leave, and expanding eligibility to kinship carers and those supporting single parents.
While acknowledging potential costs, the committee argues the reforms would deliver wider social and economic benefits, such as narrowing the gender pay gap and supporting mothers’ careers. The government has two months to respond.
More information on this is available via the BBC.
HMRC has publicly named 518 employers for failing to meet National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) rules, following investigations concluded between 2015 and 2022. The breaches impacted nearly 60,000 workers and led to £7.4 million in underpaid wages, with one business alone underpaying £1.1 million.
Notably, even minor or unintentional breaches are published. The smallest underpayments averaged just £0.03 per worker, per week, proving there is no de minimis threshold.
Compliance can be more complex than it seems. Common issues include unpaid working time, incorrect deductions, misclassification of workers, or salary sacrifice errors.
With penalties of up to 200% of underpaid wages (capped at £20,000 per worker) and reputational risks from public naming, businesses must take proactive steps. These include reviewing contracts, auditing payroll, training staff, and seeking expert advice.
As reported by The Law Society Gazette, the High Court has dismissed a legal challenge against the government’s plan to impose VAT on private school fees. The case, brought on behalf of seven children attending independent schools, argued the tax would make their education unaffordable due to factors such as special educational needs, religious beliefs, or past experiences with bullying.
Judges, including Dame Victoria Sharp and Lord Justice Newey, ruled that the European Convention on Human Rights does not protect the right to pay school fees at a particular level. They noted that private school fees are subject to market forces and that parents can opt for state education or homeschooling to avoid the tax.
Legal expert Abigail Trencher said the decision dealt a “big blow” to independent schools but was unsurprising. She warned the ruling may lead to school closures and harm the UK’s global education reputation, urging the government to consider the policy’s broader economic and social impact.
More information is available here.
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