Discuss whether a breach of the law or the employment contract has occurred in the following

circumstances?

1.Charles is employed by Barker & Co Ltd as an auditor. A wealthy client of Barker & Co's is

considering investing in BioTech plc and Charles is asked to investigate the affairs of BioTech and

prepare a report regarding the effectiveness of its management and the financial status of the

company. Charles carries out an investigation and in his report he states that BioTech's

management is incompetent and there is evidence of fraud. The management of BioTech hears of

this report and commence libel proceedings against Charles. The proceedings are dismissed.

Charles' legal fees amount to 5,000 and he believes that Barker & Co should reimburse him this

amount. The board of Barker & Co refuses to reimburse Charles. Charles decides to leave the

employment of Barker & Co once he has secured a job offer elsewhere. Unfortunately, all of

Charles' job applications have been rejected as Barker & Co are refusing to provide Charles with a

reference.

2.Sophie has worked for Gray Finance Ltd for three months. She wishes to take a holiday, but she has

yet to be informed of her holiday entitlements. She has asked for this information on several

occasions, but has yet to be supplied with it.

3.Steve is employed by Pear Technology plc as a senior computer programmer. He wishes to leave the

company, but his contract of employment provides that Steve must give Pear Technology six

months' notice. Before Steve hands in his notice, he e-mails, whilst in work, his girlfriend to tell her

that he going to hand in his notice later in the week. Later that day, Steve is called into his

manager's office and his manager asks why Steve wishes to leave the company. Steve enquires as to

how his manager knows this and his manager indicates that it is because he intercepted and read

the e-mail that Steve sent to his girlfriend. Upset by this, Steve hands in his notice immediately,

whereupon Pear Technology inform Steve that they will not be providing him with any work during

the notice period, although he will continue to be paid.

Identify who (if anyone) could be liable in the following situations under Part I of the Consumer

Protection Act 1987. Explain the reasoning behind your answer with appropriate legal authority.

1.BE Systems have been contracted to create a new stealth aircraft for use by the British Air Force.

The aircraft is being tested at a BE test facility, but due to a defective component, the test pilot,

John, is killed.

2.Better Heating Ltd have supplied a number of heaters to Multisoft's offices in London. One of the

heaters is defective and explodes, damaging the premises. Fortunately, the office was empty at the

time, so no one was injured

3.High-definition plasma screen TVs are manufactured by an Asian firm called HD Screens Ltd. They

provide these screens to TeleSell who than add their logo to the TV and sell them on to consumers.

The TVs are defective and are prone to electrocuting those who touch the metal casing. After

purchasing one these TVs, Ceri is injured. Can Ceri sue TeleSell? Would your answer differ if the

TVs had a large sticker on the back of the TVs indicating that the TVs were actually manufactured by

HD Screens Ltd?

4.CompuPro Ltd supplies a defective batch of computer micro-processors to Laptop Ltd. The

processors overheat very easily and pose a fire risk. Laptop Ltd incorporates the processors into

their laptop PCs and sell them to the public. Mr. Smith purchased a laptop and left it on overnight to

download some large files. In the morning, he awoke to find the laptop had overheated and caught

fire, damaging the antique oak desk it was placed upon.

5.Andrew buys a car from his local car dealer. The brakes are defective and, as a result, he crashes

and injures himself. The car is a write-off. Advise Andrew. Would your answer be different if the

defective brakes were added at the car's first service?

6.GKS Ltd develop an inoculation to the common cold. Injections of this new medicine are used

widespread and the disease is all but wiped out. However, 4 years later, a number of young

children start exhibiting a loss of motor control and deteriorating co-ordination. It is discovered

that, in a small number of cases, the inoculation can affect a foetus' development and lead to latent

neurological conditions at a later date. Joanne, who received the inoculation, whilst pregnant, 4

years ago, has a young boy who is beginning to exhibit the above symptoms.