2016 was dominated by news of Trump and Brexit. While those two political issues have remained firmly on the news agenda, this year’s front pages have also been dominated by terrorist attacks, high-profile harassment claims, and catastrophic weather phenomenon.
Virtually each story and event, both large and small, has brought an area of law into question. And the media’s analysed it to the letter.
Here to shine some light on some of the most interesting stories to impact the legal sector this year is Richard Thomas, a Partner at Cardiff and London based law firm, Capital Law.
Harassment in Hollywood brings employment law into question
Despite hitting the headlines late in the year (the Weinstein story broke in October), the aftershocks of the Hollywood harassment scandal have been felt far and wide across the globe. Big names like Kevin Spacey, James Toback, and, of course, Weinstein himself, have been caught up in the midst of a media frenzy. The reverberations of the scandal have already had a measurable impact. The number of people reaching out to anti-sexual assault helplines has gone up by over 20% in the US, since the news became public.
The celebrity status of the perpetrators involved has, of course, magnified the problem. But, it’s also highlighted the wider issue of unreported harassment cases and, in turn, made businesses of all sizes contemplate how harassment claims can – and should – be reported in the workplace.
It’s not just LaLa Land that has been stunned by the harassment scandal. Westminster has been engulfed in the furore, with decades worth of former interns, aides, MPs and television broadcasters all citing incidents of misconduct at the hands of Westminster representatives.
Despite seeming far removed from the traditional 9-5 routine, Hollywood and Westminster both encompass workplace status. As employers they have a fundamental responsibility to look after their staff – and ensure the correct processes are in place for people to report such instances. It’s not just about reporting – it’s about creating a culture where incidents don’t take place in the first place. And, if they do, they’re dealt with appropriately. The lack of a clearly defined “HR Department” for both Westminster and Hollywood has made the issue of under reporting of harassment all the more acute and Westminster in particular is looking at ways of rectifying this on a cross party basis.
The knock-on effect of the wider issue of workplace harassment will ultimately be felt for years to come. The ‘Weinstein Effect’, which already has its own dedicated Wikipedia page, has been felt across numerous industries. Whether it has a direct impact on the associated employment laws remains to be seen.
Delivering a verdict on the gig economy debate with Uber and Deliveroo
The gig economy debate has been rumbling on in the background for a number of years now. The media has given it particular prominence, ever since people engaged by international conglomerate Uber launched a legal battle to assert their “worker” status. They have fought (and so far been successful) in asserting that they are “workers” for the purposes of UK Employment Legislation in a bid to secure sick pay, paid annual leave, and entitlement to national minimum wage. Currently, staff of firms like Uber, Deliveroo and Just Eat are described by those companies as self-employed with the result that they do not get the same rights as “workers”. The ongoing Uber case – the first of its kind – aims to redefine their working status.
And it’s not just global firms being challenged on their employability practices. In November 2017, a UK based window salesman gained support from the European Court of Justice for a claim made against his former employer over a holiday pay dispute. The salesman, who was deemed self-employed, worked at the Sash Window Workshop for over 13 years, during which time he received no paid holiday leave.
The ECJ’s decision that he is entitled to holiday pay backdated for the entire duration of his working time (13 years) is a monumental step in the ongoing gig-economy debate. It’ll certainly be of interest to those who engage people on a self-employed or freelancer basis. But, it’s also likely to be hugely contentious – and costly, if gig-economy workers gain worker status and firms are forced to back date holiday pay.
This unprecedented situation is still unclear. Firms like Uber and Deliveroo will undoubtedly be keeping a close eye on the case, as well as the launch of the Taylor Review, which was announced in response to the ever-changing nature of working practices in our evolving economy, and the associated employment laws.
The year of the trademark dispute
Intellectual property lawyers and other IP specialists will have been very busy this year, largely down to one product: craft beer. The number of trademark applications by UK beer brands for micro-breweries and craft beers has increased by over 19% in 2017, with applications by both independents and large established breweries.
In other sectors, 2017 has seen its fair share of trademark applications (both successful and unsuccessful), including the ruling against cab firm London Taxi Company, who tried to secure a trademark for the shape of its cabs. The claim was made in a bid to thwart a rival firm, a judge deemed that the shape wasn’t distinctive enough, and rejected the case.
Shaping was also an issue for the manufacturers of Toblerone. They were challenged by budget retailer Poundland, over its own version of the triangular prism shaped treat, the Twin Peaks bar.
The challenge came after the store was forced to delay the production of its Twin Peaks bar following a warning from Toblerone brand owners, Mondelēz. The high street store argued that, since the original shape had changed in recent years with the introduction of bigger gaps between the nine chunks, its 1997 trademark was no longer relevant. While discussions are ongoing between the two companies, Poundland has been allowed to release an initial batch of its own version in the run up to Christmas.
