May 2021 saw the election of seven ‘Metro Mayors’ outside London, underlining the government’s renewed enthusiasm for devolving powers beyond Westminster as part of its ‘levelling up’ agenda. The powers of each Mayor and Combined Authority vary but a common thread is the use of devolved planning powers to accelerate housing delivery ...
Separated parents sometimes disagree about which school to send their child to. It is difficult enough accepting if you cannot spend as much time as you want with your child, so having to agree schooling can make life even more difficult. Do I have a say in choosing schools? If you have parental responsibility for a child, you are entitled to have a say in which school they attend and generally about their education. Both parents usually have parental responsibility for their child ...
We have recently assisted a well known fashion retailer in successfully defending an unlawful deduction from wages claim in relation to furlough payments received by the employee. This is an important decision, not only for our client, but also other employers who have made use of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“the Scheme”). Background The employee’s contract of employment stated the employee had a contractual entitlement to a minimum of 20 hours per week ...
In the recent case of E v L [2021] EWFC 60, the court has reconsidered how the sharing principle applied to marriages that are short and/or childless. Through the years, family courts have developed three key principles for financial remedy proceedings: “needs”, “sharing” and “compensation”. This article focuses on the two former principles ...
In our previous article (Cryptocurrency – The Future of Money), we provided an overview of the key ideas behind cryptocurrency. In this article, we look at how cryptocurrency and digital currency might impact the corporate banking and finance market ...
One issue which many employers are currently grappling with is whether to make vaccination against COVID-19 compulsory for employees returning to the workplace. In a 2-part article we consider this issue in the context of care homes and other workplaces. Care home employers In Part 1 of this article, we look at the situation for care home employers ...
In the 1940s writer and futurologist Isaac Asimov laid down his Three Laws of Robotics. We say it’s time for lawyers to do the same. A flourishing future is ours for the taking, provided we know how to grasp it. At Shoosmiths, we’ve been working on future-facing projects for a good few years now ...
A recent case reminds us of the continuing reality that women, because of their childcare responsibilities, are less likely to be able to accommodate certain working patterns than men and that failing to take this into account could be discriminatory. The case of Dobson v North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust involved a claim of indirect sex discrimination ...
Cryptocurrency, for most of us at least, has been hidden behind a veil of incomprehensible idiom for most of its lifespan. However, it has the potential to revolutionise the way we pay, borrow and lend, maybe sooner rather than later. Like quantum computing and artificial intelligence, we are told they’re set to change the world but few of us understand how that might actually work or what their impact might be ...
In the recent Sheriff Court judgment in the case of The Accountant in Bankruptcy v Peter A Davies, the Sheriff sought to clarify how a family home should be dealt with following the sequestration of an individual. Background The debtor was sequestrated in October 2010 ...
Thanks to the pandemic ‘working from home’ is a phrase we are all used to hearing. With the lifting of restrictions, however, ‘hybrid working’ is set to take its place. We consider the benefits of having a hybrid working policy and what to include in it ...
The case of Re Arboretum Devon (RLH) Ltd (28 April 2021) concerned a challenge to the validity of the ranking of the parties to an intercreditor agreement, the outcome of which signified the importance of intercreditor agreements and their drafting. An intercreditor agreement (“ICA”) can be a very powerful tool and it can limit or prohibit unwary creditors from being able to take action and recover debt ...
The recent Warren v DSG decision may significantly limit the recent wave of data breach litigation by claimant firms. The High Court summarily dismissed claims for breach of confidence, misuse of private information and negligence. Introduction Last week, the High Court handed down judgment in Darren Lee Warren v DSG Retail Limited [2021] EWHC 2168 (QB), a decision that may significantly limit the recent wave of data breach litigation by claimant firms ...
It’s National Surrogacy Week this week (2-8 August 2021) and the aim is to raise awareness and celebrate surrogacy and all the amazing work being done by professionals involved. The focus this year is on surrogacy choices in the UK to highlight organisations that can assist in a surrogacy journey. Surrogacy is a path to parenthood, which otherwise may not have been available to some ...
In our third Post Pandemic webinar, our panel discussed the topic of people in the context of Operational Resilience (OR). Shoosmiths’ Partner Sam Tyfield spoke to colleagues Yvonne Oakenfull (Learning & Development Manager), Kevin McCavish (Partner and Head of Shoosmiths’ London Employment team) and Karen Mortenson (Principal Associate in our London Employment team) ...
The recent decision in the Technology and Construction Court (“TCC”) in Toppan Holdings Limited and Abbey Healthcare (Mill Hill) Limited v Simply Construct (UK) LLP arguably does no more than follow precedent. But the outcome is significant for anyone taking a collateral warranty. The lesson is: get a warranty signed promptly, if you do not want to lose the right to adjudicate ...
This is the third in a mini-series of articles looking at whistleblowing claims. This article looks at the importance of having whistleblowing policies in the workplace. Having a clear and cohesive whistleblowing policy in place assists employees with making whistleblowing complaints in a correct and compliant way and enables employers to handle them effectively in response ...
The SRA recently published its Technology and Innovation in Legal Services report. One key feature was improving user trust in legal technology. It's much more important that you'd think. ‘Hello! And thank you for reading this far. Unfortunately, all of our authors are busy at the moment. Your custom is very important to us. Please wait as we transfer you to the next paragraph. Thank you. As clearly as possible, please tell us why you are reading this article. Sorry ...
Parties in financial remedy proceedings on divorce need to be alive to the implications that their behaviour may have on their final settlement by way of costs orders. Both parties in the recent case of E v L (No 2 Costs) [2021] EWFC 63 were penalised in costs; the husband for failing to negotiate reasonably and pursuing ‘conduct’ against the wife, and the wife for her litigation misconduct ...
With the summer holidays upon us, what are the implications for employers managing holiday requests and the ever-changing guidance on foreign travel? We consider how to deal with employees who travel internationally and the current isolation rules ...
In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) we continue to undertake a series of measures to: 1. protect our employees; 2. provide continuity of support to our clients; and 3. work with critical elements of our supply chain to enable us to fulfil 1 and 2 Shoosmiths senior leadership, including our Chairperson, CEO, COO, business support Directors and business unit heads, are meeting as and when required to consider and act upon developments regarding COVID-19 ...
Employers often seek to rely on legitimate interests when processing employee personal data. But many do not realise that this should involve completion of a legitimate interests assessment. We consider what is involved in carrying out such assessments. What the law says The UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 regulate the way in which employers process personal data ...
The data protection landscape has seen significant change and more is expected. What does that mean for charities specifically? On our 8 July, 2021 webinar Shoosmiths’ Partner, Sarah Tedstone, identified areas with significant change already and where action will be needed in the next few weeks and months to stay compliant ...
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the rules surrounding weddings regularly changed to reflect government guidelines and the world’s growing understanding of the virus. The rules ranged from a complete ban on weddings in March 2020, to a limit of 30 people (including the engaged couple) without any singing or dancing in June 2020, to a guest limit depending on the venue in June 2021, with various stages in between ...
The Pensions Regulator (tPR) has published a consultation introducing its proposed guidance (‘Draft Guidance’) on pensions climate risk. The Draft Guidance follows on from the introduction of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Climate Change Governance and Reporting) Regulations 2021 (‘Regulations’) ...
