CCTV surveillance is becoming increasingly prevalent in every aspect of our lives. Recognizable images of people captured by CCTV cameras constitute "personal data" as defined in the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003 ("the DPAs"). Accordingly, all use of CCTV by employers must be undertaken in compliance with the DPAs ...
On 6 April 2014, the historic remedy of distress ceased to exist. The tool that landlords have used for centuries has been replaced by the Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery (‘CRAR’) regime.Tenants have welcomed this development as CRAR prevents bailiffs from simply turning up unannounced at the tenant’s address in order to seize goods. Landlords on the other hand are now faced with a more complex process and the loss of the element of surprise ...
Foreign manpower recruitment procedures as set out under Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Regulation No. PER.02/MEN/III/2008 were considered no longer applicable given the development of manpower nowadays, and therefore the Minister of Manpower and Transmigration promulgated Regulation No. 12 of 2013 on Procedures for Recruiting Foreign Manpower which came into effect as of 30 December 2013 ...
In 16 January 2014, the Constitutional Court (“MK”) granted the request for a judicial review of Article 335 of the Criminal Code (“KUHP”) and removed the phrase, “offensive act” from Article 335 of the KUHP. The reason for removing the phrase, “offensive act” is that it allows investigators and public prosecutors to act arbitrarily against certain people ...
The latest tribunal statistics published by the Ministry of Justice this month indicate a significant fall in the number of employment tribunal claims following the introduction of tribunal fees in July of last year.The number of claims brought in October to December 2013 was down to only 9,801, a whopping 79% fewer than the same period in 2012, and 75% fewer than the previous quarter ...
On Sunday 6 April 2014 a number of changes will be made to employment law. We have put together this list of 5 changes we think you need to know about: Discrimination questionnaires abolished. Section 138 of the Equality Act 2010 allowed employees to serve a formal questionnaire on employers about discrimination matters. If an employer failed to answer fully, the tribunal could draw an adverse inference from such failure. From 6 April 2014 this formal process will be abolished ...
“Desperate times call for desperate measures”. We are all aware that the global crisis is impacting employers worldwide. Companies have been forced to close production lines, non-core activities have been transferred to outsourced service providers and numerous workplaces have been forced to close all together. It has become a struggle to merely hold onto one’s job. Such circumstances have facilitated the increase of workplace harassment (i.e. mobbing) ...
From Sunday 6 April 2014 anyone wanting to raise an employment tribunal claim will be directed to Acas first to try early conciliation. ere are the key things to be aware of:While early conciliation will be launched on 6 April, it will only be from 6 May that the scheme becomes mandatory for most claims and the tribunals will reject an ET1 if the Claimant hasn’t contacted Acas first.Parties do not need to actively engage in conciliation ...
If all’s fair in love and war, and business is war, it must follow that all is fair in business. We should therefore not concern ourselves with fairness in our business dealings, but focus on maximising our personal gain, irrespective of the impact of our decisions on others. Adopting the above approach is not only likely to harm you but also your business. People are social beings and have evolved to reward cooperation and punish avarice. Take two individuals - Mr Smith and Mr Jones ...
A New Collective Bargaining Agreement (“GCBA”) was signed last week in Montenegro. The new GCBA introduces a broader scope of existing labour rights and has also included several additional rights. Subsequently, many questions have come up and are expected to be answered through their application in the upcoming period. The GCBA comes into force on 30 March 2014 and Montenegrin employers must take care of the entire set of new employment rights and employers obligations ...
A decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in 2011 appeared to limit the options for large television companies seeking to prevent unlicensed viewing. It was held in that case, involving the Football Association Premier League Ltd, that the use of foreign decoders to broadcast Sky television in public places could not be prevented because of EU competition rules ...
In Dollo v. Premier Tech Ltée,1 the Superior Court of Québec declared a clause contained in the Stock Option Plan (the “Plan”) offered by Premier Tech Ltée (“Premier Tech”) to some of its employees to be abusive and also declared Premier Tech’s conduct towards a dismissed senior executive to be oppressive within the meaning of the Canada Business Corporations Act (“CBCA”). THE FACTS In May 1999, Premier Tech hired Christian Dollo (“Dollo”) as vice‑president, finance ...
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has issued its response to the consultation on the exemption of certain categories of worker from the scope of automatic enrolment. While the DWP considered a range of potential exemptions, it has decided that exemptions are only appropriate in a limited number of situations ...
Westshield Limited v David and Lisa Whitehouse [2013] 3576 EWHC (TCC); Akenhead J, 18 November 2013Executive SummaryIn this decision the TCC considered the impact of a CVA ("Company Voluntary Arrangement") on an adjudication decision and confirmed that challenges to the enforcement of adjudicators' decisions are not necessarily limited to jurisdictional or breach of natural justice arguments ...
Union Organizing Efforts in the Southeast Appear to be on the Rise - and in an Increasingly Union-Friendly Environment In the labor world, 2014 has started out with a bang. We have seen a hotly contested union election at Volkswagen in Chattanooga make national news culminating in an employer victory. Commentators have openly questioned whether this portends an era of reinvigorated union efforts to gain a toehold in the historically company friendly Southeast ...
For many HR professionals the responsibility for ensuring that their organisation can continue to employ migrant workers falls squarely at their door. This can prove daunting, especially for those with little or no business-immigration experience ...
On February 21, 2014, the Federal Circuit’s 6-4 majority en banc ruling in Lighting Ballast Control vs. Philips Electronic North America retained the standard of de novo appellate review of district court claim construction rulings, whereby the scope of the patent grant is reviewed as a matter of law ...
There are many famous cases where trademarks and passing off come into contact with unofficial merchandising and the right holder has been unsuccessful. They range from the fictional character Tarzan, to the rock band Linkin Park, to Diana Princess of Wales. There is no such thing as a matter of UK law as a free standing general right by a famous person (or anyone else) to control the reproduction of their image ...
On March 5, 2014, the US Supreme Court rendered a 7-2 decision reinstating a $185 million arbitration award in favor of the BG Group against Argentina under the UK-Argentina bilateral investment treaty (BIT). The Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit erred in deciding de novo, and without deference to the tribunal’s award, the issue of the arbitrators’ jurisdiction ...
THE FACTS On January 22, 2014, the Court of Appeal of Québec confirmed the 2012 decision of the Superior Court of Québec in Gilman v. Fieldturf Tarkett inc.2 At issue in this case was whether the payment of so-called “phantom share” bonuses were to be paid to employees whose employment was terminated by the company. The incentive program at issue was established for certain non- shareholder key employees of the company ...
Same sex couples will have the right to marry in England and Wales from 29 March 2014. Generally, same sex marriages will be treated in the same way as opposite sex marriages. However, in occupational pension schemes, surviving same sex spouses need only be treated in the same way as surviving civil partners and not as opposite sex spouses ...
There are many famous cases where trademarks and passing off come into contact with unofficial merchandising and the right holder has been unsuccessful. They range from the fictional character Tarzan, to the rock band Linkin Park, to Diana Princess of Wales. There is no such thing as a matter of UK law as a free standing general right by a famous person (or anyone else) to control the reproduction of their image ...
Misrepresentations and unfounded assertions of fact made to a party during pre-contractual negotiations can come back to bite you if they induce that party to enter into the contract. The Supreme Court case has emphasised that misrepresentations made to a non-contracting party can also result in liability for the party that made the misrepresentation ...
Unlike in federal court, it is unclear in Florida state courts when the duty to preserve evidence arises. Ostensibly, under Florida law, there is no legal duty to preserve evidence until a discovery request is made. While there is no doubt that a party can be sanctioned for failing to preserve evidence after it has a duty to do so, several Florida courts have sanctioned parties for failing to preserve evidence even when there was no such duty under Florida law ...
Every year, several judgments are rendered in penal law cases involving occupational health and safety issues. However, judgments in an occupational health and safety context resulting from the laying of criminal negligence charges are more rare. While the sections of the Criminal Code1 which facilitate the filing of criminal negligence charges are now ten years old2, criminal negligence convictions in Quebec based on breaches of section 217 ...
