Much has been written about this Bill and the potential impact that it could have on UK law. Most of this has been directed towards the potential negative consequences, including how numerous protections provided to employees by EU law might be removed. If you are not already aware, the Bill, if passed in its original form, means that all law that is derived from the UKs membership of the EU will cease to have legal effect on 31 December 2023 – the sunset date ...
In the second part in this series, we take a look at the possible changes that could be made to improve the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) and the Agency Worker Regulations 2010. Working Time Regulations - 48-hour week The WTR derive from the EU Council’s Directive on working time (1993) and the Council Directive on the protection of young people (1994) ...
As more companies feel the effects of the recession, suppliers must ensure they are properly protected should customers struggle to pay their bills, fall into financial decline or, worse, insolvency. A common form of security is a Retention of Title (RoT) clause in the supplier's contract. This aims to afford the seller the ability to recover goods that have not been paid for, and/or to give precedence over other creditors should the worst happen ...
When the corona pandemic broke out, many employers allowed their employees to work in home office or even forced them to do so. In the meantime, many uncertainties have been clarified and the desire for normality is increasing among both employers and employees. Therefore, in the following, we will describe what employers must take into account when employees return from home office. 1 ...
This article looks at the dynamics and tensions which exist between remote and agile working versus the role of hierarchy and the competing needs of teams. Where does the power lie in deciding what the future of work looks like? Does it sit with management, leadership, employees or HR? Many leaders and managers seem to have embraced working remotely, having previously spent days/weeks and possibly months commuting every year ...
Due to emergence of the Omicrom variant, the new year brought with it some now familiar guidance: the government asked workers to avoid the office and to work from home where possible. In anticipation of returning to the office in early 2022, the Health and Safety Executive (the HSE) and the Scottish Government have issued guidance emphasising the importance of good ventilation and the role that plays,alongside other measures, in helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19 ...
With employees potentially returning to the workplace, we take a look at what will need to be done to tackle a number of mental health challenges – both for people and the companies they work for. Part three of our mental health series. With the second lockdown now over and the tier system fully in play, some employers are finding themselves able to open and trade again ...
Great fanfare surrounded the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 a year ago. The FOI legislation was hailed as a success in changing the culture of government. But while most public sector organisations have now come to grips with the workings of the FOI legislation, many have overlooked an associated set of regulations that came into effect at the start of this summer ...
Great fanfare surrounded the introduction of the Freedom of Information Act and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 a year ago. The FOI legislation was hailed as a success in changing the culture of government. But while most public sector organisations have now come to grips with the workings of the FOI legislation, many have overlooked an associated set of regulations that came into effect at the start of this summer ...
****Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,**** We would like to update you on recent precedent-setting judgements by Russian courts in matters involving foreign businesses that decided to leave Russia. On 17 October 2023, the Arbitrazh court of Moscow city sustained the claim by Russian bank PJSC Sovkombank against Citibank N.A. (a US company) and its Russian subsidiary JSC KB Citibank concerning the joint recovery of US$24m in losses1. On 21 December 2023, an appeals court upheld the judgement ...
Currently, employers can lawfully require employees to retire at 65 (the so-called default retirement age) as long as they follow the correct procedure. This has come under increasing criticism, and is currently the subject of a legal challenge by the charity Heyday (part of Age Concern). Whatever the outcome of the Heyday challenge, the Government had previously said it would review the default retirement age in 2011 to see if it was still needed ...
On May 29, 2020, the “Act to Mitigate the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Competition Law” entered into force. It includes provisions for a one-off extension of the examination periods of the Federal Cartel Office in the context of merger control. This applies exclusively to the examination periods for merger control notifications received by the Federal Cartel Office between March 1 and May 31, 2020 ...
The much-awaited Renters (Reform) Bill received its first reading in the House of Commons last week, on Wednesday 17 May 2023. After five years of consultation and refinement, the reforms aim to improve the leasehold system through increased regulation, digitisation and standardisation. The Bill seeks to provide greater flexibility and security for residential tenants by imposing additional restrictions on private landlords ...
The Pensions Regulator has issued revised codes ofpractice and guidance on reporting the late payment of contributions to ensure a system of effective monitoring of contributions in money purchase work-based and personal pension schemes. The revised codes, which are designed to support auto-enrolment, are expected to come into force this autumn ...
On 25 September 2020 Parliament approved the final draft of the revised Data Protection Act (rev-DPA).(1) The rev-DPA is expected to enter into force in 2022. However, it is subject to a facultative referendum and the corresponding ordinance will be adapted accordingly – thus, the rev-DPA is still a work in progress ...
On 1 January 2004 Ukraine woke up to the new personal income tax. A development of the previous individual income taxation, this tax is, if anything more sophisticated. Its novelties will have a lasting impact on many of the tax planning strategies involving individuals. Without attempting a comprehensive analysis of the new tax, this article offers an outline of some of its major implications for tax planning. A ...
Effective July 1st, 2012, the new revised Swedish legislation on bribery entered into force. The last time this area was more thoroughly revised was in 1977. The previous regulation was criticized for being both inaccessible and outdated. In 2009, the Swedish Government therefore appointed an Inquiry to review the provisions then in force, aiming to create a more modern legislation better adapted to its purpose ...
On 1 May 2004 a new and revised Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (the TTBER) entered into force - Regulation No. 772/2004. The TTBER will provide block exemptions for IP licensing agreements, ensuring that certain technology transfer agreements are automatically exempt from the application of Article 81(1) of the EC Treaty, which prohibits anti-competitive agreements ...
Parliament has revised the federal telecoms legislation – in particular, the Federal Telecommunications Act (TCA) and its various implementing ordinances. These revised regulations entered into force on 1 January 2021. The revision of the telecoms legislation brings about several fundamental changes that affect consumers as well as telecoms service providers (TSPs) and telecoms operators ...
The Scottish Government yesterday (6 July) published its latest consultation on high fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) foods, postponed from 2018 due to the pandemic. The objective is clear: tackling Scotland's poor diet and growing obesity problem ...
The Manchester Crown Court made an order confiscating a landlord’s rent under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 for breaching a planning enforcement notice. Manchester’s Curry Mile is home to one of the largest concentrations of Asian eateries in the UK. Until recently, the Mile had also been the home of ‘Dubai Café’ ...
2015 was a record year in the Hungarian M&A market. Both in terms of value and number of transactions, 2015 was the best year since 2008, with approximately 160 closed transactions and an aggregate value of approximately EUR 2 billion. Although the acceleration follows global trends, the Hungarian market has a few specifics that will further enhance a growing M&A market in 2016 as well ...
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 ...
All contract legislation in Norway specifies time limits for filing a complaint. Put very simply, a complaint in this context is the process whereby a party to an agreement complains about a defect and asserts a claim within a defined time limit. Once the specified time limit has expired, the right to bring the claim will be lost. The logic behind the rules on complaints is that the parties to an agreement must be able to define the end point of, for example, a sale or delivery ...
On August 28, 2016, the Israeli District Court of the Central District issued a decision regarding the right of publicity under Israeli Law (In re Fundacio Gala Salvador Dali v. V.S Marketing (Israel 2005) Ltd.). The right of publicity is the right of a person to financially exploit his name, picture or voice ...