The new Home Secretary, James Cleverly, announced a five-point plan aimed at reducing the recently announced record high net-migration figures. The planned changes will have a big impact on many employers’ ability to sponsor workers from overseas. The changes will be brought into force in the Spring, although an exact date has yet to be confirmed. The Government estimate that these changes will reduce net migration by 300,000 (based on estimations of new entrants to the UK last year) ...
The Environment Agency has been found in breach of the Regulators’ Code by failing to provide a proper appeal mechanism for challenging Compliance Assessment Reports. It must now decide how to provide permit holders with a new appeal mechanism ...
The much-anticipated judgment in the Court of Appeal case of Churchill v Merthr Tydfil County Borough Council [2023] EWCA Civ 1416 has now been handed down. The case concerns a claimant that alleges the Council allowed Japanese knotweed to spread from its land onto the claimant’s private property ...
A judgment has been handed down in the Supreme Court case of Wolverhampton City Council and others v London Gypsies and Travellers and others [2023] UKSC 47. The case considered whether the court had the jurisdiction to make injunctions against not only ‘persons unknown’, but also against unidentified and unknown persons that have not yet performed, or even threatened to perform, the acts which the injunction prohibits. Such persons are known as “newcomers” ...
Episode 7 of the Journey Through a Contract series highlights the key considerations when a business is entering into a contract with a consumer. Felicity Forward, Ayesha Chandegra and Joel Murphie provide guidance on how to identify a consumer contract, what additional protections consumers have and how the law is set to enhance consumer rights through the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill. Listen to the podcast and send us your feedback to [email protected] ...
Bringing together leading developers, agents, operators, design specialists, as well as policy and legal experts, Shoosmiths hosts a roundtable discussion on meeting the real estate demands of the UK’s life sciences sector ...
The recent Autumn Statement contained little support for charities as the sector continues to face increased demand, higher costs and reduced funding ...
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) recently published revised figures showing that net migration figures for the year ending 2022 were in fact much higher than initially expected. You may remember our previous article published in June 2023 regarding increases to net migration figures released by the ONS; Net migration figures continue to increase, according to ONS ...
'He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice, he’s gonna find out who’s naughty or nice’...but is Santa doing so in compliance with the GDPR? As the first Christmas trees and advent calendars go up in stores and homes across the UK, our thoughts may turn towards the joys – and pressures – of the festive season ...
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered the Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023. In total, it contained 110 proposed measures for delivering UK growth. From a pensions perspective, the focus was on consolidation of the UK pensions industry through: Taking forward the Mansion House reforms, starting with steps to increase consolidation within the UK pensions industry ...
Christmas parties are designed to be fun, but a few festive drinks can quickly get out of hand if not managed correctly. A sobering thought is that employers can be vicariously liable for the action of employees during work events such as Christmas parties. In order to minimise the risks, we explore the steps employers can take before and after any work social event ...
Given the current economic climate, many employers are reformulating their businesses or are aiming to cut costs, which may give rise to more cases of proposed redundancies. We discuss how affected employees can best navigate these uncertain times. A redundancy situation is rarely welcomed by both employers and employees; they can represent financial hardship, both for employers struggling with profitability, and the inevitable direct impact on individual employees and their families ...
The UK data protection regulator, the Information Commissioners’ Office (ICO) has recently published a blog containing a quick guide to help retailers assess the lawfulness of sharing criminal offence data ...
On 21 November, Waters Technology published an opinion piece on the use by cloud providers of hardware which, under previous policies, would have been retired. They are doing this due to exponential growth in the demand for their services – not profits. On the same day, it published an article highlighting the work the DTCC has been undertaking with AWS to produce technical standards “to enhance multi-region resiliency”, which were published on 20 November ...
Discussions in Brussels over the finalisation of the EU’s AI Act appear to have faltered, as the parties involved in its current ‘trilogue’ phase (involving agreement between the Commission, Council and Parliament on a final form text for the legislation) have struggled to reach a consensus on how to approach the regulation of foundation models ...
Collaboration took centre stage at the recent Transport and Energy (TE) Forum event, which brought together industry leaders both in the public and private sectors to explore the crucial need for increased cooperation across the landscape. The forum, marked by the tagline 'Further & Faster,' acknowledged the strides the UK has made in achieving new charge point milestones but underscored the imperative for continued progress ...
Watch the webinar video and study our key takeaway points from our latest seminar focused on attendance. Our 2023 webinar programme is focused on supporting HR teams to improve the effectiveness and productivity of the organisations they work for, equipping them to best handle key issues and improve their business through reducing their risk, developing their talent and future proofing their organisation #HRImprove ...
As longstanding partners and participants in the Electricity Storage Network (ESN)’s working groups, Shoosmiths' Energy & Infrastructure sector were delighted to host the industry body’s Winter Conference at our London office earlier this week. The highly attended event demonstrated the in-demand level of insight needed on the UK and Irish market for energy storage projects ...
Watch the webinar video and study our key takeaway points from our latest seminar focused on Employee relations. Our 2023 webinar programme is focused on supporting HR teams to improve the effectiveness and productivity of the organisations they work for, equipping them to best handle key issues and improve their business through reducing their risk, developing their talent and future proofing their organisation #HRImprove ...
The Scottish Renewables Onshore Wind Conference held in September brought together industry leaders, leading onshore wind experts and stakeholders to explore the critical role of onshore wind in achieving net zero and how it can transform the onshore landscape. The event delved into various aspects, unveiling key insights and discussions that are crucial for the industry's trajectory ...
The government's attempt to remove the ban on employment businesses supplying temporary workers to cover striking workers has so far failed. What other options are available to employers to mitigate the impact of industrial action? The last two years’ have been marked with high profile industrial action across many sectors, including particularly damaging strikes on the railways and in the NHS ...
In recent months, colleagues in Scotland have been working closely with Glasgow City of Science and Innovation to partner in raising the profile of the Glasgow City Region on a national and international scale, showcasing its potential as a world-class hub for research and innovation ...
The acceleration in the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies has been identified as a significant disruptor, influencing the design, operation, and location of data centres. AI models require large scale datasets and substantial computational power for training ...
The High Court handed down the approved judgment on Monday 6 November 2023 in the case between Siemens Mobility Limited (“Siemens”) and High Speed Two (HS2) Limited (“HS2”) ...
The media frequently reports on the ‘UK housing crisis’ and how increased building is required to satisfy current housing demands ...
