As we emerge from lockdown, the pace of change in the real estate world is increasing once again. Michael Callaghan looks at what the legal landscape looks like in the coming months. Climate change The Government is planning significant changes to the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) and the provisions that apply to Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) to drive down carbon emissions from buildings ...
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 ...
Employment Tribunals have a duty to make reasonable adjustments where a participant is disadvantaged, for example due to disability, to ensure fairness in proceedings. We share our recent experiences of how the Tribunals apply this duty in practice ...
Predatory or forced marriages faced by individuals (usually elderly) whose mental capacity is in doubt or who are vulnerable to undue influence remain an open wound for many families. As things stand, an unscrupulous individual can engineer a marriage to a vulnerable person, by-passing any possible dispute about a will, meaning the predator gains the entire estate with no legal redress for disappointed beneficiaries or concerned family members ...
An increasing number of cases highlighting potential clashes between employees holding gender critical beliefs and the rights of other employees protected by the Equality Act 2010, leave employers having to carefully perform a balancing act of rights ...
Last month we saw Endometriosis Awareness Month come and go and with it, the question of whether endometriosis is fully recognised in the workplace yet. Last year, in February 2022, support for individuals who suffer from endometriosis was debated in the House of Commons. The key takeaway was that endometriosis affects so many women, yet is still largely unrecognised within the workplace ...
For a decade or more, Meta has been sending Facebook data from European users – in the form of photos, chat, posts, and more – over to its parent company in the US for storage. Since the Snowden revelations, Europe has been aware that this data has been open to US intelligence services on a large scale, without – it says – the protections and accountability afforded to people in Europe ...
Private healthcare provider Bupa has been ordered to pay a purported record £1.04 million penalty (fine and costs combined) after admitting fire safety failings. London Fire Brigade, prosecuting, said it was the "highest ever fine for fire safety breaches in the UK, [highlighting] the seriousness of Bupa's failure to protect a vulnerable resident in its care ...
The pandemic has exacerbated the ongoing battle for talent, but whilst the Great Resignation is in full swing, the Great Reprioritisation is only just getting started. In 2021 a study by Microsoft found that 41% of the global workforce was considering moving on from their current employer. This figure coupled with a record 1 ...
Employers may be tempted to think that, compared to a human, using technology produces more accurate results faster and that it should be embraced at all costs. While tech can be a valuable aide, care is needed particularly when it comes to recruitment. Can technology lawfully screen applications? When it comes to recruitment, any way to quickly and accurately sort through applications to identify viable candidates is a benefit to employers ...
HM Treasury’s decision to hold a “Tax Day” today will be a bellwether for long-term changes in government tax policy. Traditionally these announcements would have been made alongside the Budget, but this year the Treasury has decided to announce some extra tax rule changes separately. In our previous insight we highlighted an “amber” tax alert for couples contemplating divorce or separation ...
Northern Ireland Mark Blair Partnerships between the public and private sectors have had a big impact in Northern Ireland, and could potentially achieve more. Shoosmiths collaborated with Insider on a series of virtual roundtables across our regions to discuss how processes could be improved, where funding could come from and what successful collaboration could achieve. To read the report from the Northern Ireland debate, please click below ...
Over the next decade, challenges around public funding and a shift in live/work priorities will create an increasing need for public-private collaboration as we seek to rebuild and regenerate our towns and cities in a post-Covid and post-Brexit climate ...
Last week, Shoosmiths hosted an event with leading industry body, techUK, labelled ‘Redefining web 3.0: Emerging economies, metaverse technologies and the new age of the internet’. During this event we heard directly from representatives from the sector, who delve into the business potential created by the merging of web 3.0 and Metaverse technologies ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on reducing scope 3 leased assets emissions. Shoosmiths is delighted to be sponsoring United Nation Global Compact Network (UNGC) UK’s series of webinars on ‘Reducing Scope 3 Emissions’ ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on reducing scope 3 emissions: Fuel and Energy-Related Activities. Shoosmiths is delighted to be sponsoring United Nation Global Compact Network (UNGC) UK’s series of webinars on ‘Reducing Scope 3 Emissions’ ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on reducing scope 3 Purchased Goods & Services and Capital Goods emissions. Shoosmiths is delighted to be sponsoring United Nation Global Compact Network (UNGC) UK’s series of webinars on ‘Reducing Scope 3 Emissions’ ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on reducing scope 3 Sold Products emissions. Shoosmiths is delighted to be sponsoring United Nation Global Compact Network (UNGC) UK’s series of webinars on ‘Reducing Scope 3 Emissions’. The event featured guest speakers: Emma Watson, Net Zero Senior Manager, CDP & Science Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi); Mark Lancelott, Consulting Director, PA Consulting; and Emma Darroch, Responsible Business Manager, Sky ...
The recent British Property Federation discussion ‘Can UK Real Estate rise to the Net Zero Challenge?’ struck an optimistic note. While leaving no doubt about the scale of the challenge facing the real estate industry, the Panel acknowledged a number of positive trends. Despite ongoing regulatory challenges - in an area where there is large consensus that more regulation would be welcome - there is a definite growth in engagement ...
Local authorities will be given rights to let vacant high street premises under new powers contained in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. Background The government wants to regenerate local high streets as part of its levelling up agenda. A key element of its proposals is to give local authorities the right to let vacant premises on their high streets following a rental auction process ...
In March 2022, the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act (“ECA”) was enacted and with it came the creation of a Register of Overseas Entities. Enforceable since January 2023, the register, which includes information about beneficial owners of property or land, attracts a financial penalty of up to £2,500 a day for those that did not submit information before the deadline of 31 January 2023 ...
The Health and Safety Executive has confirmed that all higher-risk buildings will be required to be registered with the new Building Safety Regulator from April 2023. This follows the government’s latest response to its consultation on the management of higher-risk buildings and what information must be submitted following the registration of higher-risk buildings. The registration application will need to be accompanied by supporting information ...
The government has published its response to a further section of the building safety regime consultation, focusing on occupied higher-risk buildings (HRBs). The questions considered in this part of the consultation related to registration requirements for HRBs. More information about what the registration will actually entail is now available, as well as confirmation of the fee for registration, which will be £251 ...
Last week was filled with noteworthy developments in the cryptocurrency industry, Rachel Wolcott of Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence has spotlighted two important articles. The first article focuses on Binance's compliance with the UK Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) new financial promotion rules, while the second delves into HTX (formerly known as Huobi) and its status on the Seychelles corporate register of crypto exchanges. Let's take a closer look at these significant events ...
July was a busy month for the FCA in publishing guidance, policy and rules which have a significant impact on a firm’s relationships with its senior managers and staff. On 30 June, and towards the beginning of the “crypto winter”, Sarah Pritchard, Executive Director of Markets at the FCA gave a speech to the City UK Annual Conference entitled “Finding Opportunity in a World of Uncertainty” ...
