Part 36 for Defendants

The new Part 36 has been with us since 6 April 2007. The most obvious change was the abolition of the need to make payments into court, a practice which had already been seriously undermined by case law. So, three years on, where are we?

West Sussex CC v Russell (Court of Appeal) [2010] – Highways Act

The failure of a highway authority to correct a difference in height between the verge and a carriageway.

Vicarious liability

The recent Court of Appeal case of Maga v Birmingham Roman Catholic Archdiocese Trustees considered the extent to which there needs to be a connection between an individual’s employment and the tort complained of in order for an employer to be held vicariously liable.

"Fit note" guidance published

Managing sickness absence is a key issue for employers and 6 April 2010 saw the introduction of the new Statement of Fitness for Work.

Adequate risk assessments and adequate training

The Health Boards, as providers of medical care and the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust as a front-line ambulance service will be no strangers to the need to train staff to use a variety of medical equipment and to adopt correct manual handling techniques in their many encounters with patients but what about the vast number of employees who work in administrative and managerial roles? Some of these staff may spend their entire working day at a work station typing or inputting data in one form or another.