4th January 2019
Happy New Year from the team at CrowdJustice. This week, the Justice Beat covers new laws and crowdfunded cases to watch out for in 2019.
New laws for 2019
1. New laws coming into effect in 2019 will regulate the use of drones, the Mirror reports. Hopefully the new laws will help to avoid the chaos seen at Gatwick Airport where hundreds of flights were grounded towards the end of 2018 due to drone sightings. The new rules make it illegal to fly drones weighing over 250g without registering with the Civil Aviation Authority and passing online safety tests.
2. Another new law for 2019 requires European workers to apply for settled status if they wish to remain in the UK indefinitely after the Brexit transition period ends in 2021. To gain settled status, they must prove that they have lived in the UK for five years. A Home Office video outlining the process to apply for settled status has been criticised as being too cheerful, the Evening Standard reports.
Coming up in the courts
3. Keep an eye out for several cases crowdfunded on CrowdJustice which are making their way to court early in 2019. Public law enthusiasts may be interested in a challenge to the Government’s funding of special educational needs and disabilities (‘SEND’), brought by the families of children with SEND. They raised over £12,000 on CrowdJustice to take the case. Irwin Mitchell are instructed.
4. Employment practitioners should keep an eye on an appeal brought by a former care worker which is heading to the Supreme Court. John Shannon claims that nurses and care workers working sleep-in shifts should be entitled to national minimum wage for time spent asleep, since they are available for work. He has raised over £3,500 to determine the employment rights of thousands working sleep-in shifts. Thomas Mansfield are instructed.
5. Other crowdfunded cases to watch with court dates in 2019 include a London Black Cab driver trying to secure worker rights for drivers on the MyTaxi app and an ethical vegan taking his former employer to court arguing that he was unfairly dismissed because of a philosophical belief in veganism.
6. In case you missed it, take a look at our round up of legal victories funded on CrowdJustice in 2018, which show that crowdfunding works for all kinds legal matters, large and small. Learn more about how crowdfunding can support your practice in 2019.
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This week on CrowdJustice, acid attack victim Daniel Rotariu is raising funds to take the police to court for failing to investigate when they had information that his attacker was acquiring acid, animal rights campaigners are crowdfunding to challenge their local council’s decision to grant planning permission for a chicken factory farm, and a consultant surgeon is raising funds to challenge NHS dismissal procedures.
Want to learn more about crowdfunding for legal action? Get in touch: [email protected]
Image credit: Geograph / Christine Matthews