December 1, 2023 By: Leah Lively California Business and Professional Code sections 16600 to 16607 already invalidate agreements restricting California employees from pursuing any lawful profession, trade, or business, with limited exceptions mainly in the sale of businesses. Starting January 1, 2024, things are going to get more difficult (and potentially costly) for employers ...
Canadian patent government fees will increase up to 36% on January 1, 2024. The main fee increases are presented in the table below. Applicants may therefore wish to take certain actions and pay the accompanying fees in Canada by the end of 2023 to benefit from the lower 2023 rates at least in the following circumstances: Early filing of divisional applications may be especially advantageous as they involve high government fees ...
Workplace Christmas parties are just around the corner. While such celebrations are a great opportunity to strengthen team spirit and acknowledge everyone?s hard work, it is important to remember that it is not only up to employers to make sure they run smoothly?their entire workforces, managers and employees alike, are also responsible. Just think of potential situations of harassment where alcohol and fun times are combined ...
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 ...
Are you a recruiter? Do you engage employees to temporarily send them to work at a user undertaking? Do you engage employees to provide contracting services to your clients? As from the 1st April of next year, the Employment Agencies Regulations will come into force, establishing a new regime for these operators, now termed as ‘employment agencies’ ...
In the New Year, the United States Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments over the damages a plaintiff can recover in a copyright infringement lawsuit. The Supreme Court will consider the question of whether damages are limited only to the three-year period before the plaintiffs filed suit, or whether they can be retrospectively awarded for a longer period, as long as the plaintiffs filed within three years of discovering the infringement. In Warner Chappell Music Inc. v ...
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 ...
After companies with at least 250 employees[1]have already had to do so, it is now the turn of companies[2]with at least 50 employees to set up an internal reporting channel as the 17 December 2023 deadline rapidly approaches. In this blog, we focus on a number of practical points for attention that companies should take into account when setting up an internal reporting channel. The company already has a whistleblowing scheme in place… ...
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 ...
On November 3rd, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security published Decree No. 36 (the "New Decree") in the Official Gazette. This decree amends Supreme Decree No. 64 of 2017, issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (the "Decree No. 64"), which approves the Regulation of Chapter II of Law No. 20.015 "on the Labor Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities" (hereinafter the "Labor Inclusion Law"), in Title III of Book I of the Labor Code ...
The Employment Agencies Regulations of 2023, which will come into force as from the 1st April 2024, introduce a new regime for regulating the services provided by employment agencies, which were, until now, largely unregulated. These Regulations target employment agencies that provide recruitment services, temporary work services and/or outsourcing services ...
On November 2, 2023, in response to certain controversy, the Canada Revenue Agency (?CRA?) sought to clarify the application of the new disclosure rules, in force since June 22, 2023. The CRA?s comments relate, in particular, to the impact of reporting obligations on severance agreements, a topic we initially covered a few weeks ago1. We believe it is appropriate to go over these clarifications ...
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 ...
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 ...
As expected, the new Maritime Law significantly improves the maritime landscape in the UAE, and will no doubt seal the UAE as a shipping-hub in the region. On the precautionary arrest of a vessel front, the new law requires the applicant seeking an arrest of the vessel to provide security to cover the expenses of the crew, and to maintain the vessel ...
By: Anne Marie Ellis, John Epperson and Peter McGaw OEHHA is proposing a significant change to the Proposition 65 “short-form warning” to require that this warning identify a specific Proposition 65 (“Prop. 65”) chemical. Currently, the short-form warning requires identification of a toxicological endpoint (i.e. cancer or reproductive harm) but not the chemical that has triggered the warning requirement ...
In this newsletter, we examine a selection of relevant employment law cases from this year and analyse what employers should learn from them in practice ...
Background In the lead up to the entry into force of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, sustainable dismantling of vessels was put higher on the agenda for shipowners and stakeholders, and authorities in EEA tested cases on ship recycling under the waste regulations prohibiting export of waste from the EEA ...
