BC Labour Board Further Clarifies an Employer’s Right to Communicate with its Employees In a decision issued on July 8, 2005 - RMH Teleservices International Inc.-a Reconsideration Panel of the BC Labour Relations Board further clarified an employer’s expanded right to communicate with its employees during a unionization campaign. This right was expanded as part of the 2002 amendments to the Labour Relations Code, which we outlined in our Summer 2002 Newsletter ...
Privacy notices are the windows to how organizations collect, use, share, and protect the information that pertains to individuals. As information processes have become more complex, privacy notices have become very long, mirroring the complexity. The effect has been to obscure the content that individuals need to know when making judgments about with whom they will do business. This has been an impediment to on-line commerce ...
Imagine you are a seasoned trial lawyer at a large, downtown firm. Following a successful “Beauty Contest” at the New York headquarters of Telco Corporation—a FORTUNE 500 telecommunications company—you are given the opportunity to represent Telco in future commercial disputes. To prepare, you begin to research Telco Corporation so that you are familiar with its management, core business, financials, and other issues potentially affecting future litigation ...
This Newsletter approaches several issues, in a general and simple manner that the format requires, which we consider may be of interest to businessmen and companies, with the purpose to inform them or even to challenge them to new forms of organisation and development of their businesses ...
In the Matter of Flightlease Ireland Limited (In Voluntary Liquidation) and in the Matter of the Companies Acts 1963 to 2003 and in the Matter of an Application for Directions Pursuant to Section 280 of the Companies Act 1963, unreported High Court, 27 July 2005 Background: Flightlease Ireland Limited (Flightlease), a Swissair holding company, was declared insolvent, and an arrangement was put in place with Societe d’Explotiation OAM Air Liberte (Air Lib) whereby Air Lib’s holding company wou
National Westminster Bank plc v Spectrum Plus Limited and Others [2005] UKHL 41 Overruling the 25-year old judgement in Siebe Gorman & Co. Limited v Barclays Bank Limited [1979 2 Lloyd’s LR142], the House of Lords has held that a charge over book debts where the chargor is free to draw on the account into which proceeds of such book debts are paid, creates a floating charge, rather than a fixed charge ...
New legislation implementing the EU Market Abuse Directive (Directive 2003/6/EC) came into effect in Ireland and a number of other EU Member States last July. The legislation has brought about important changes for all companies (Irish or foreign) whose shares are traded on the Official List of the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE), as well as their directors, senior management and advisers ...
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry v (i) Christopher McKinley Swan (ii) Vuchuru Sadhana Reddy (iii) Brian Christopher Ritchie (iv) Brian Samuel North (v) Ian Stewart, [2005] EWHC603(CH) In this English decision the High Court held that the directors of the parent company should have known that its subsidiary companies had been involved in cheque kiting (a process designed to generate fictitious funds through the transfer of cheques between the bank account of two groups of companies) a
The European Court of Justice has issued an important ruling which could have significant consequences for employers who operate occupational sick pay schemes. In the decision of McKenna v ...
Disciplinary investigations are becoming a minefield for employers, particularly where dismissal is a real likelihood ...
Until recently, employers in Ireland were only obliged to consult with employees in very limited circumstances, such as collective redundancies and transfer of undertakings. Those obligations will remain intact, however the provisions of the Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005, will provide employees in undertakings of at least 50 employees with the right to information and consultation in the workplace on a greater number of issues ...
Commentators have argued that the effect of this legislation is to force employers to recognise trade unions against their will as there appears to have been a move away from the traditional voluntarist approach to negotiations with trade unions towards a compulsory approach ...
Many employers have been in the potentially tricky and somewhat uncomfortable situation of having to withdraw an offer of employment before commencement. The ordinary principles of contract law apply here. Where an employer withdraws an offer, especially after formal acceptance, a breach of contract claim could arise, at least in theory ...
1.INTRODUCTION The Supreme Court of Canada last considered the issue of mandatory retirement in 1990. Since that time, the demographics of the workforce have changed such that the proportion of retired workers to employed workers is rapidly increasing. This change is due partially to the aging of the baby boom generation and partially due to longer life expectancies of people after retirement ...
Obtaining a Receiving Order by a Single Creditor Introduction Under s. 43(1) of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, one or more creditors may file a Petition for a Receiving Order if: 1.the debt owing to the petitioning creditor or creditors amounts to $1,000; and 2.if the debtor has committed an act of bankruptcy within six months next preceding the filing of the petition ...
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOA”) raised the bar with regard to, among other things, corporate governance, internal controls and executive responsibility. While SOA’s provisions apply primarily to public companies, private companies should become familiar with SOA for two reasons: First, portions of SOA do, in fact, apply to private companies – such as whistleblower protection and document retention provisions ...
You’ve probably heard about the dangers of second-hand smoke. But what about the employment-related danger of “second-hand” harassment? Consider this scenario: Mr. Jerk, a bank manager in the credit department, repeatedly harasses his administrative assistant, Gina. He invites Gina to have drinks with him, repeatedly touches her shoulders, and brushes up against her. Gina never complains to anyone in bank management about Jerk’s conduct ...
In our last newsletter we provided a summary of the Securities & Futures Commission’s (“SFC”) proposed amendments to the SFC’s guidelines on hedge funds. The SFC has now concluded its consultations and the hedge fund guidelines have been amended. As proposed, in assessing compliance of the personnel of investment managers with the requirement for five years relevant experience, a wider range of hedge fund experience will now be acceptable ...
In January 2005, the Hong Kong Securities & Futures Commission (“SFC”) issued a Consultation Paper on the disclosure of interests in securities of Hong Kong listed companies under Part XV of the Securities & Futures Ordinance (“SFO”). Conclusions to the consultation were issued in May 2005. The most significant of these include the following: Investment managers: non-aggregation Interests (and short positions) of companies are attributed to their holding companies and other “controllers” ...
Authorisation of funds by the Macau Monetary Authority (“MMA”) is necessary for funds to be distributed to the public in Macau. Authorisation will only be granted if the investment funds have been duly authorised in their country of origin and the respective funds managers and custodians are subject to supervision by a competent home regulator. In practice funds are usually authorised in Macau on the basis that they are already authorised by the SFC in Hong Kong ...
The SFC published its conclusions on the Consultation Paper on Proposed Amendments to the Schedule 5 to the Securities and Futures Ordinance in September. The Consultation Paper had proposed amendments to the definitions of certain regulated activities as set out in the SFO. The main proposals were: • To extend the definition of "asset management" to include management of real estate investment trusts ...
Offshore Investment of Foreign Currency Assets of Chinese Insurance Companies Following the Provisional Regulatory Measures on Offshore Investment of Foreign Currency Insurance Assets (“Provisional Measures”) issued by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (“CIRC”) in August 2004 which allow qualifying PRC insurance companies to invest their foreign currency assets (which include proceeds raised through overseas listing) offshore subject to certain limits (please refer to our Client Update
The Taiwan Financial Supervisory Commission (“FSC”) on 2 August 2005 promulgated new rules governing the offering of overseas funds in Taiwan (the “New Rules”). Please refer to our Client Update by email which was issued in September 2005 and posted on our website: www.deacons.com.hk for our Executive Summary on the New Rules. Deacons has held a client seminar on the subject in September and we had the honour of Mr. Gordon Hsin, senior director of SITCA presiding ...
The SFC and the Jersey Financial Services Commission have signed a letter of intent to enhance regulatory co-operation. The SFC has indicated that this is part of a programme being undertaken with a view to working towards mutual recognition of investment products to enable easier distribution of recognised products. The practical impact of this programme has yet to be seen ...
