Last year, we reported on the Employment Tribunal’s decision in Walker v Innospec Limited (ET 2411316/2011) that a pension scheme’s failure to provide survivor’s benefits for civil partners equal to those provided for spouses was unlawful discrimination ...
Public Service Review – Local Government and the Regions Recession breeds new rules and a new approach to procurement The recession and the need for public sector budget cuts have uncovered a twin track for procurement policy in the UK. There is a clear need to cut public sector expenditure – of that we can be in no doubt both in terms of the unit cost of supplies and services ...
In Abbey Healthcare (Mill Hill) Ltd v Simply Construct (UK) LLP, the Court of Appeal recently determined that a collateral warranty, signed four years after completion, was a construction contract that applied retrospectively, therefore an adjudication award applied to the dispute under the warranty and was enforceable. The court’s decision provides clarity that a collateral warranty can be sufficient evidence of contractual obligations to seek enforcement of an adjudication award ...
[a version of this article first appeared in the May 2010 Issue of Competition Law Insight] A Competition Law Injection into the Health Service? Introduction The injection of competition and market-based principles into the UK's National Health Service (NHS) during recent years has, to state the obvious, been (and remains) highly controversial ...
Free movement of workers from the European Economic Area (EEA) was ended by Brexit and the UK Government introduced the EU Settlement Scheme to bridge the gap between the UK’s two immigrations systems of those coming from the EEA, and those coming to the UK from outwith the EEEA. The EU Settlement Scheme is a mechanism for any EEA citizen who lived in the UK before 31 December 2020 to remain lawfully in the UK ...
I’ve had a number of queries recently about agricultural tenancies where a partnership is the tenant rather than an individual. This can often give rise to problems and I thought that it would be worthwhile spending some time looking at some of the issues that can arise and how they might be resolved. First of all, in Scots law, a partnership is a separate legal person in its own right quite distinct from the individual partners in the partnership ...
Despite rumours from Westminster that the Pensions Bill was to be dropped to make room for the anti-fox hunting Bill, it looks certain that the Pensions Bill will finally receive Royal Assent in November. In its final form, the Bill now extends to over 350 pages. Those looking for simplification will be disappointed to say the least ...
The Consumer Protection Act 1987 (the CPA) was enacted almost 35 years ago in order to implement EU law. The act introduced the concept of “strict liability” into the arena of product supply to certain users. This means that consumers who are injured by defective products can sue manufacturers without having to prove negligence. This practical guide provides an overview of the CPA for consumers and manufacturers, with reference to recent key cases ...
The Technology and Construction Court (“TCC”) decision in National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside (Trustees of) v AEW Architects and Designers Ltd [2013] EWHC 2403 (TCC) was published last month. In his decision, Mr Justice Akenhead shows much pragmatism in assessing the heads of quantum put forward by the Claimant, which some may view as particularly widely casted ...
On 19 September, the Commission announced its third legislative package aimed at liberalising the EU’s electricity and gas markets ...
The ABI has published a report on improving corporate governance and shareholder engagement. The report is a critical evaluation of the roles and responsibilities of the main elements of corporate governance, including: • The role of the non-executive in providing constructive challenge. • How institutional investors hold companies to account. • The relationships between, and responsibilities of, asset managers and asset owners ...
Background On 6 April 2016 the current basic state pension and state second pension (S2P) will be abolished and replaced by a single-tier state pension. The abolition of S2P will also mean the end of contracting-out. The measures to implement the single-tier state pension and abolition of contracting-out are contained in the Pensions Bill 2013 ...
Following a period of consultation, the Government has confirmed that legislative changes will be made to ensure that “protected persons” will not be affected by the statutory amendment power being introduced as part of the abolition of defined benefit contracting-out ...
In the world of information legislation in Scotland, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 ("FOISA") reigns supreme. But is this Act the most appropriate tool to use in all circumstances? The answer is most definitely no. Lurking behind this headline Act are two pieces of other information-related legislation that, in many circumstances, are more powerful tools to access and use certain information ...
In Scots law, it is possible to acquire certain rights to land – access, for instance – simply by the passage of time. This process is known as “prescription” and is outlined in the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973. There are two forms of prescription: positive and negative. Negative prescription extinguishes certain rights after a period of time ...
One of the few things that is becoming clearer amidst the Brexit fog is that a ‘no-deal’ is no longer a fanciful possibility. The UK Government, in itsWhite Paper on Immigration Reformpublished at the end of last year, claimed the changes it proposed would lead to the most significant changes to immigration control in 45 years. However, that historic change, scheduled for December 2021, may come sooner than anticipated ...
This case concerns an adjudicator’s decision issued on 7 December 2020. The adjudicator found in favour of Faithdean plc, ordering Bedford House Ltd, the employer, to repay deductions of around £1.5 million. No payment was made to Faithdean and enforcement proceedings were issued in January 2021. Bedford did not put forward a defence. Instead, it argued it could not pay as it wished to know the exact amount in order to make a single payment to Faithdean ...
Summary The Court of Appeal held that administrators were personally liable in costs for litigation in circumstances where a creditor challenged whether the purpose of administration could be achieved. The case highlights a number of important points for administrators and in particular the high standards expected of them following an appointment. Facts Joint administrators were appointed to Ulva Limited ("Ulva") by the sole director on 14 August 2007 ...
According to the independent charity, The Age and Employment Network, the cost of age discrimination in the UK now amounts to £5.5bn in lost government tax and paid unemployment benefits and a further £30bn in lost productivity annually. These are astounding figures. It seems that many employees are currently obliged or persuaded to leave the workplace before their normal retirement age and that early exit from work for people aged over 50 tends to be permanent ...
In the workplace, youth is seen as a valuable asset. When the benefits of youth are emphasised in relation to personnel and staffing issues to the exclusion of other factors, employers may well find themselves discriminating on the basis of age. Employers may also be depriving themselves of the many benefits of an age-diverse workforce – higher retention rates; lower rates of absenteeism; greater flexibility; and a wider pool of available skills. This has a major economic impact ...
Bob McIntosh, the Tenant Farming Commissioner, spoke at a conference on agricultural law at the beginning of June and gave a useful update of his activities and a range of issues surrounding agricultural tenancies. He had received 139 inquiries from agricultural landlords and tenants and their agents during the course of 2020 – a marked increase on the previous two years. The majority were from tenants (47 per cent) or their representatives (27 per cent) ...
The FCA’s new webpage, published on 24 July 2013, will record permissions and passports granted under the AIFM Directive. The FCA is currently updating the Financial Service Register to include firms which have been granted new permissions under the Directive, as well as any associated management passports. However, in the meantime, information will be published on the webpage. For more information in respect of the Directive, please visit our AIFMD microsite ...
As of 6 April 2011 the property sector will be subject to the full application of competition law.Until now, restrictions on competition contained in land agreements have benefited from a specific exemption. This exemption has been withdrawn so that from 6 April 2011 the rules on restrictive agreements apply in full to existing and new agreements ...
When a dispute arises, and the subject matter relates to sport, it tends to attract attention. Whether the dispute concerns football, tennis, swimming or Formula 1, a bit of friction and tension makes for better headlines. For that very reason, most sporting bodies have a dispute resolution procedure that requires the parties to engage in arbitration. Advantages of arbitration in sport disputes There are two main benefits of using arbitration in sporting disputes ...
Agricultural rent reviews have been a source of controversy within the industry for many years. After a period of 15 years or so where there was little rent review activity in the agricultural tenanted sector between the early 1990s and the mid-2000s, a sharp spike in commodity prices during the course of 2007 led to a large number of rent review notices being served ...
