Tughans Solicitors

NI Discount Rate set at minus 1.50%

Following a public consultation process, the Damages (Return on Investment) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 received Royal Assent on 2nd February 2022. This provided for the methodology to be used when setting the rate and gave responsibility for doing so to the Government Actuary.   The Government Actuary has now confirmed that the Northern Ireland Personal... Read More

Court of Appeal weighs in on Vicarious Liability and Non-delegable Duty of Care

Summary The Court of Appeal have handed down judgment in Hughes v Rattan EWCA Civ 107, upholding the Claimant’s case that the Defendant (the principal dentist) owed her a non-delegable duty of care despite never having treated her himself. The Court however disagreed with the decision of the High Court judge, in obiter, on... Read More

Managing menopause in the workplace

Over the last year there has been an increased scrutiny placed by the media on menopause issues and also an increase in claims to the Employment Tribunal on the grounds of menopause, something which historically was considered a “taboo” subject.  As this is now changing and being more openly discussed, it is important to remind... Read More

Court of Appeal rules employer not vicariously liable for practical joke gone wrong

In the recent case of Chell v. Tarmac Cement and Lime Ltd., the Court of Appeal upheld the decisions of the County Court and High Court and found that an employer was not vicariously liable for personal injury sustained by a contractor as a result of a practical joke carried out by an employer’s employee during... Read More

Socially Valuable Change to NI Procurement Policy

Sixty percent cost: forty percent quality – this is the weighting that most bidders will be used to seeing as being applied to their bids in public procurement tender exercises – demonstrating that the purchaser (e.g. a Government department) places more emphasis on the economics of the bid rather than the quality of the solution.... Read More

New Private Members Bill seeks to navigate the digital assets labyrinth

There is no doubt that we are relying more heavily on digital technology in many aspects of our day to day lives. From social media and cloud storage of photos and music, to online banking, cryptocurrencies and even the way in which we heat our homes – consumers are increasingly using and creating digital assets.... Read More

Secondary Victims in Clinical Negligence

Paul & Ors v The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust EWCA Civ 12 The Court of Appeal in England recently considered three related appeals regarding the position of secondary victims in the context of clinical negligence claims.   Secondary Victims A secondary victim is a person who claims for psychiatric injury by having witnessed the... Read More

What is the National Security and Investment Act?

The National Security and Investment Act 2021 (Act) marks the latest development in the UK government’s steps to scrutinise business transactions on national security grounds, and reflects the growing trend where governments globally have sought to tighten regulatory controls on FDI. In this article we briefly cover some of the key provisions of the Act... Read More

Covid Recovery – Warehousing and Logistics Leads the Way

The Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly challenged traditional consumer behaviour. The demand for online services has been increasing over the past decade but the pandemic has certainly accelerated this trend. The closure of the high street meant businesses and consumers had to become dotcom ready as people from across all generations were forced to use the... Read More

The implications of Service Provision Change (SPC) and understanding SPC Regulations

The HR Manager of a cleaning company has been informed that they have lost a contract with a key client, who has appointed a new cleaning company to take over the cleaning services. The HR Manager is seeking advice on whether TUPE applies in this case and how they should manage the outcome of the... Read More