From 26 October 2024, employers will be required to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers must ensure they understand the parameters of this new duty and have implemented the measures needed to comply with it. What the Act says The Act requires employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers in the course of their employment ...
The new Network and Information Systems Directive (NIS2) came into effect on 18 October 2024 and with it comes an overhaul of the way in which cybersecurity risk management is regulated in Europe ...
Guidance published this month by the UK Government is designed to support firms in the UK financial sector to share customer information more easily in the pursuit of the prevention and detection of economic crime. Key facts: The UK Government has issued guidance for anti-money laundering regulated firms on the voluntary information sharing measures contained in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (the “Act”) ...
The UK’s Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is set to deliver her first Budget on 30 October and it is anticipated to bring significant changes to the tax landscape. With the Government having identified a funding shortfall of £22 billion, it seems almost inevitable that tax rises are on the way, with capital gains tax (CGT) squarely in the Chancellor’s sights. We’ve outlined some potential changes and key considerations that may be relevant before, and after, Budget Day ...
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is seeking feedback from stakeholders on new best practice guidance for food businesses that provide non-prepacked food. What is non-prepacked food? Non-prepacked food includes all foods that are not prepacked, e.g., loose foods, food packaged at the request of the consumer, food supplied by caterers, meals served in a restaurant, takeaway food, food made to order at cafes, etc ...
Stress and burnout at work is becoming an increasingly spoken about topic, particularly in high pressure roles and sectors such as cyber security professionals within the tech sector. How can employers help to prevent their employees from experiencing it? What is stress and burnout? There is no doubt that employee stress levels have risen as the demands of the workplace have increased ...
The European Commission published its draft regulation, the “NIS2 Implementing Regulation” (“N2IR”), for consultation on 27 June 2024. N2IR builds on the Network and Information Systems Directive 2022/2555 (“NIS2”), which was adopted on 16 January 2023 and will begin to apply from 18 October 2024 and beyond ...
Law firm Shoosmiths has advised Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK (TMUK) on two major agreements relating to the construction of a state-of-the-art anaerobic digester (AD) plant at the TMUK engine manufacturing facility in Deeside, North Wales (UK). The new waste to energy plant will be situated next to the Toyota Engine Plant and construction at the £282m privately funded venture will start next month ...
Working time’ for National Minimum Wage (NMW) purposes can cause a real headache for employers and the case law in this area continues to develop as (travel) time moves on. The National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/621) (NMW Regulations 2015) define various types of ‘work’ which includes ‘time work’ ...
Data subject access requests can be a compliance headache for businesses. The first of our series on DSARs looked at how data protection “by design” can make the job easier. But what about deciding whether or not to resist a DSAR when it actually lands? Dealing with data subject rights requests, or DSARs, is one of the biggest compliance headaches for many businesses ...
On the 7 October 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) published a ‘Dear CEO letter’ to Payment Service Providers (‘PSPs’) impacted by the mandatory reimbursement requirements for victims of authorised push payment fraud (‘APP’) ...
The Employment Rights Bill 2024 promises to bring substantial change to employment law across Great Britain, designed to enhance worker protections and promote fair employment practices. We consider the key changes and their implications for employers. Key changes Day-one rights for unfair dismissal One of the most significant changes is the introduction of day-one rights for unfair dismissal ...
In our eighth article in the series focusing on the risk of discrimination in the workplace, we consider the protected characteristic of disability, the common issues that arise and what employers can do to avoid discrimination claims. What is disability discrimination? Disability discrimination occurs where a job applicant or employee is treated less favourably because of their disability ...
Given the increasing use of GenAI to assist businesses with answering legal queries, we wanted to see if ChatGPT can explain the rules around obtaining retrospective consent for electronic direct marketing in the UK. Electronic direct marketing (i.e. email and SMS) to individual consumers is a vital element of many businesses, particularly in the retail sector ...
A recent High Court decision has important implications for commercial real estate owners considering taking enforcement action against defaulting tenants, particularly during unprecedented situations or in connection with newly enacted legislation ...
The UK Government has now enacted secondary legislation to reflect the new “go live” date of the Procurement Act 2023 (the “Act”) on 24 February 2025. On 16 September 2024, the Procurement Act 2023 (Commencement No 3 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/959) (“Amendment Regulations”) were made ...
On 4 September 2024, the Cabinet Office published further guidance on the Procurement Act 2023 (the ‘Act’) which is now due to “go live” on 24 February 2025. The new guidance covers contract modifications under the Manage phase of the commercial pathway. Contract modifications may need to be made to reflect commercial reality, as demands and circumstances change throughout the lifetime of the contract ...
The UK GDPR and similar data protection laws around the world ask for data protection by design - but what does this mean in practice when it comes to DSARs? Using products such as Shoosmiths' SmartSAR may be the solution your organisation is looking for. Data protection ‘by design and default’ is a core concept under the UK GDPR and similar laws around the world ...
HR teams have a lot on their plate, but a key priority for 2024 is undoubtedly protecting the employee brand proposition. Our 2024 online programme is focused on supporting HR teams to do just this, equipping them with the tools they need to protect the employee brand proposition of the organisations they work for. Our latest webinar focused on what organisations need to do to manage conflicting protected beliefs ...
The recent Upper Tribunal case of Kevin Prosser KC v Andrew Ricketts [2024] provides useful insight into how Judges will approach the rateability of barristers’ chambers and other similarly structured businesses or organisations ...
Modern data protection rules are being introduced to tax-efficient jurisdictions like Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. It's increasingly vital to understand how to handle data in some less familiar territories for data protection. Advisers are familiar with the data protection laws which apply in the jurisdictions where many commercial businesses operate like the UK Data Protection Act, the UK/EU GDPR and the California Privacy Protection Act ...
Whilst talk of Rail Refrom is excellent news for a Sector that has been crying out for it, how much will it really impact the supply chain and what processes and protections are already in place to help the flow of contractual payments? As the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill awaits its second reading in the House of Lords on 7th October it is clear that there is a real focus on Rail from the Government ...
Force majeure remains a hot topic when it comes to contracts. Following the pandemic, Suez Canal blockage and international sanctions, parties to contracts have been looking at how to possibly recover their losses or minimise the effects of delays. One question that had arisen was whether contracting parties could be forced to find a way around the issues by being commercially minded, particularly where they had an obligation to use reasonable endeavours to overcome the force majeure event ...
The UK Cabinet Office has just announced, in a brief statement that the date for the Procurement Act 2023 to enter into force has been postponed. At less than 2 months from the planned “go live” date which was slated for 28 October 2024, in a surprise announcement, the new Government has decided to push this back. The reasoning for the decision stems directly from the change in administration following this year’s General Election ...
The trend for financial services businesses and others to procure services from FinTech providers – and for providers to offer their services direct to consumers – has increased over the last 15 years. In this article, we outline some of the key areas of law that relate to FinTech. Similar to technology law more broadly, FinTech law is very much a “discipline of disciplines” ...
