Holiday Pay – everything you need to know!
Partner and Head of the MTB Employment Department, John McShane, has recently succeeded in an unlawful deduction of wages claim in respect of holiday pay for Police Officers and Civilian PSNI staff. The decision from the Court of Appeal will have far reaching implications for employers and employees if the employee does regular overtime and is not paid their ‘normal pay’ when they take annual leave, ie to include overtime. Read more
What is a coroner?
One will have undoubtedly heard reference to coroners in TV shows relating to murders being investigated by grey-haired policemen in an area plagued by suspicious deaths.
A coroner is an independent judicial officer who deals with matters relating to deaths that might require further investigation to establish the cause of death. Read more
PSNI and NI Policing Board Appeal Dismissed – Settlement for Unpaid Holiday Pay now estimated at £40million
The Court of Appeal of Northern Ireland has today dismissed an appeal against a previous tribunal decision on a class action brought by a group representing 3,700 police officers and civilian support staff of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Read more
Injury reforms to be fast tracked by the Irish Government
The government has announced plans for a panel of seven judges to be appointed to recalibrate personal injury awards in Ireland, with one judge from each court elected to the committee along with two others. It is anticipated that a new book of quantum will be prepared before the end of this year and will be reviewed every three years thereafter. Read more
Court of Appeal extends MIB liability to cover RTCs on private land
The Court of Appeal in England recently handed down their decision in the case of Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) v Michael Lewis . This appeal was brought by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) to seek clarification on a preliminary point namely; whether the EU Directive 2009/103/EC (relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles and the enforcement of the obligation to insure against such liability https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2009/103/oj had a direct effect against the MIB as an emanation of the state-or to put it another way, whether the MIB had to pay compensation for injuries caused by an uninsured driver for a collision that occurred on private land. Read more
Law Society Walk / Run 2019
A large number of MTB staff ran, walked and even cycled (Enda Lavery you rebel!) in the Legal Walk Run 2019 on Friday 17th May. Over 200 participants from all branches of the legal profession undertook the 5k route, which started at our office and took in the sights of the Titanic Quarter. Read more
Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it’s a Will……Or is it?!
Following the death of the famous soul singer Aretha Franklin, the family have unearthed what they believe may be three hand-written Wills.
https://apple.news/Ae0tFUZcxQR-3RQK8e1PhxA
At the time of her death, the family believed that she died without having made a Will but it has now been reported that three documents have been found, two in a locked cabinet and one, believe it or not, down the back a sofa! Read more
Beckham Given 6 Month Driving Ban
David Beckham has been banned from driving for six months following a conviction for using a mobile phone whilst driving. Beckham was given the sentence at Bromley Magistrates’ Court last week, having previously pleaded guilty to the offence. Read more
ACNI Chief Executive awarded £12,000 for Age Discrimination
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (ACNI) has settled an age discrimination case with its own chief executive for £12,000.
Roisin McDonagh alleged that she had been on the receiving end of age discrimination and victimisation from the public body. Read more
High Court In Dublin Approves €32m Settlement
A High Court Judge in Dublin has approved a total settlement of more than €32m in a case involving a severely brain damaged 9 year old boy. The settlement, the largest of this kind to be approved by the Irish Courts, results from the failure to diagnose an infection when the boy was a baby. Read more
Careless Driving
Careless, and inconsiderate, driving is an offence under the Road Traffic (NI) Order 1995. It occurs when a person is regarded as driving without due care and attention if (and only if) the way he drives falls below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver. Read more
MTB Solicitors partner with Northern Knights in new three year deal
MTB Solicitors are delighted to announce that we have been named as the main sponsor of the Northern Cricket Union’s (“NCU”) flagship provincial team, The Northern Knights.
Alan Waite, NCU Chairman, said; “We are really pleased to have secured the support of MTB Solicitors for the Northern Knights over the next three years. Read more
Easter Quiz at MTB in support of NSPCC
Ahead of the Easter break, the MTB staff took part in a charity quiz in support of the NSPCC on Wednesday 18th April.
The quizmaster, Karen Kerr from the NSPCC, had MTB staff scratching their heads over lunchtime as questions ranging from the names of Barbie’s boyfriend to the seven wonders of the ancient world put our general knowledge to the test. Read more
Victoria Square residents – are you entitled to compensation?
Last week, residents of apartments at the Victoria Square complex in Belfast were been told to vacate the building immediately for safety reasons. Apparently a structural issue was initially identified in February and, since then, there has been a process of detailed structural assessments of the building. Read more
A BLOW TO “GIG ECONOMY” FIRMS IN RELATION TO WORKER STATUS
The English Court of Appeal has refused minicab operator Addison Lee permission to appeal the decision that its cycle couriers are workers and not self employed and can therefore enjoy basic employment rights such as holiday pay. Read more
Law Society Annual Conference 2019 Bordeaux
On the 28th March Viv Harty, Colin Mitchell and Enda Lavery from MTB Solicitors travelled to Bordeaux for the annual conference of the Law Society of Northern Ireland.
MTB Partner and Law Society council member Colin Mitchell comments;-
“This was a great trip. Read more
A blow to “gig economy” firms in relation to worker status
The English Court of Appeal has refused minicab operator, Addison Lee, permission to appeal the decision that its cycle couriers are workers and not self employed and can therefore enjoy basic employment rights such as holiday pay. Read more
Calling all Paralegals – MTB wants one of you!
The MTB team is looking for an enthusiastic paralegal to join the firm. The role will involve working within a number of legal areas to include civil litigation, road traffic litigation, personal injury and medical negligence. Read more
Time limits in Employment Tribunals
There is a strict 3 month time period in which to bring a claim in the Employment Tribunals. This was illustrated in a recent decision in England in which a heating engineer, who had spent the last 7 years successfully pursing a case to the Supreme Court to be described as a`worker’ and not self employed, lost his case in the Tribunal for holiday pay dating back to 2005 because he had not brought the case within 3 months of each holiday period. Read more
