8. Employment II: termination—wrongful dismissal, unfair dismissal, and redundancy

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter reviews the law on the termination of the employment contract. Employees have a statutory right not to be unfairly dismissed and the Employment Rights Act (ERA) 1996 identifies the criteria to be satisfied in order for the employee to gain protection. The common law protects against wrongful dismissal and provides tests and guidance for situations involving a breach of an employment contract. The chapter also considers redundancy situations. As this is governed by statute, it is necessary to appreciate the obligations imposed on the employer to adopt fair procedures.

1. The English legal system

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses the English legal system. It provides an overview of the courts in the civil and criminal divisions, and their hierarchy. It discusses the source of law, delegated legislation, the impact of membership in the EU and the Human Rights Act 1998, and alternative forms of dispute resolution (ADR). The implications of ADR are increasingly important in civil disputes and essential between businesses where traditional court action can destroy commercial relationships.

7. Employment I: employment status, equal pay, and equality

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter reviews the law on the employment contract, employment status, equal pay, and equality. Individuals may be engaged as workers, but their employment status will most commonly be as an employee or independent contractor. Employment status is significant in relation to the rights and obligations each type of contract has for the individual and employer. Given the lack of an adequate statutory definition, the common law has developed tests to identify employment status. Employment contracts contain express and implied terms. Employees and people employed personally to perform work under a contract are protected against various forms of discrimination and enjoy enforceable rights to equality at work.

10. Company law II: directors, finance, and capital

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses the law governing company directors and shareholders. The common law duties on directors have been codified and expanded through the Companies Act (CA) 2006. Directors are responsible to the company itself, not to individual shareholders. Minority protection (of shareholders) is provided through the CA 2006 to restrict directors’ acts that may unfairly disadvantage them. Public companies must have a company secretary and they must satisfy statutory requirements in relation to their qualifications. Shareholders have no automatic right of management in the company although, through attendance and the rights to vote at shareholder meetings, they may have influence over the business conducted.

4. Contract III: contractual terms and statutory protection

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses contractual terms and statutory protection. Parties to a contract may express terms and/or terms may be implied. The sources and effects of implied terms are essential to the rights of the parties and obligations imposed on them. Terms can be implied through the courts, through customs, and from statute. Terms are identified as conditions, warranties, or innominate and this distinction is relevant when identifying remedies for breach. Statutes regulate the rights and obligations applicable to consumers and traders. These include the Sale of Goods Act 1979, the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, and the substantial changes in contracts between consumers and traders introduced through the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

11. Intellectual property and data protection

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter reviews the law on intellectual property and data protection. The law of copyright is governed by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act (CDPA) 1988 that protects original materials including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works, and typographical arrangements. The Trade Marks Act 1994 protects the owner of any sign capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of one undertaking from those of another. Registration of a patent prevents others from making, using, or selling the same product without permission. The protection lasts for five-year periods (to a maximum of 20 years). The changes introduced through the Data Protection Act 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation, the Law Enforcement Directive and the Intellectual Property (Unjustified Threats) Act 2017 are also discussed.

6. Law of torts

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. Tort law is the focus of this chapter. It begins by distinguishing between contractual and tortious liability. It then discusses negligence, common defences to torts, and private nuisance. Negligence involves a breach of a duty to take care, owed in law by the defendant to the claimant, causing the claimant damage. Common defences to torts are illegality, consent, contributory negligence, and necessity. Private nuisance involves unlawful interference with another person’s enjoyment of their land/property which causes the claimant loss (and the loss/damage was reasonably foreseeable). When products cause injury/loss, rather than attempting to claim negligence, a claimant may seek protection through the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) 1987.

2. Contract I: essential features of a contract

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter discusses the essential features of a contract. Offer and acceptance are the first stages in establishing an agreement that may form a legally binding contract. An offer may be accepted at any point until it is terminated. Acceptance can only be made by the offeree or their agent. Consideration is the bargain element of a contract and may be referred to as the ‘price of a promise’. The parties must intend for an agreement to establish legal relations to create an enforceable contract. Presumptions exist in relation to social/domestic agreements and business/commercial agreements.

9. Company law I: trading structures and forming the business

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter reviews the law on business organization and business formation. The five main types of business organization (trading structure) applicable in England and Wales are: sole trader; simple partnership; limited liability partnership; private limited company; and public limited company. Sole trader organizations are very flexible but expose the owner to unlimited liability for losses, whilst operating a limited company limits potential losses of the shareholders but is subject to external regulation. A partnership can be ‘simple’, ‘limited’, or a ‘limited liability partnership’. Private limited companies are not required to have a minimum share capital but public limited companies require a minimum of £50,000 allotted share capital on registration.

5. Contract IV: discharge of contract and remedies for breach

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter focuses on contract law. It discusses the discharge of contracts and the remedies for breach of contract where one of the parties has failed in their contractual obligations. Contracts can be discharged through performance, agreement, frustration, or breach. In the event of frustration, the parties can establish their own remedies or they can rely on the provisions developed through the Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943. Remedies have been established through the common law and equity. Damages are the primary remedy in most cases, but equitable remedies include specific performance, injunctions, and rectification.