From among the innovations brought by the Labour Code, noteworthy is the express recognition of what are known as “personality rights” set forth in Articles 15 to 21 of the Code. To be considered, however, is that our legal system has long acknowledged the existence of this category of rights, which characteristically encompass the vital aspects of human personality and are acquired at birth and, as such, classifies such rights as universal ...
Covid-19 is a so-called droplet transmitted virus, which means that the virus is spread through droplets which are expelled when an infected person e.g. coughs, sneezes or speaks. In order to reduce the risk of infection, it is of great importance that healthcare personnel have access to protective equipment in the form of e.g. visors, face masks, gloves and overalls ...
The Regional Labor Court (LAG) of Baden-Württemberg, in its ruling of December 20, 2018 (Ref. 17 Sat 11/18), granted an employee a comprehensive right to information against his employer with regard to all personal data collected about his person. The right to information was explicitly confirmed in relation to personal data resulting from internal investigations and data from potential whistleblowers ...
On January 3rd, 2024, the Senate approved, with 32 votes in favor, the Report of the Constitutional, Legislative, Judicial and Regulatory Affairs (“the Report”), on the Bill to amend the Data Protection Law and creates the Data Protection Agency (Bulletin No. 11144-07/11092-07), (“the Bill”). However, despite the approval of the Report concerning amendments and proposals of the Chamber of Deputies, 24 of these were ultimately rejected ...
Underscoring that PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) is a system of bright-line rules that leave little, if any, opportunity to correct errors once an application is filed, the Department of Labor (DOL) held on October 27, 2010 that the failure to include the business name on the Notice of Filing (Notice) is fatal to the entire PERM labor certification application ...
Employee performance is always rated in one manner or another. Best practice is to rate this performance through known, objective processes. In the context of the employment relationship, performance evaluations are an essential tool for providing workers with insight into how managers are making decisions about promotions, equity, and pay. In addition, performance evaluations will most certainly play a critical role if the employment relationship ends and litigation occurs ...
In Watson v University of Strathclyde, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the inclusion of a particular member of staff on a panel to hear an appeal against a grievance amounted to a fundamental breach of contract, so that the employee who had brought the grievance was constructively dismissed ...
In Watson v University of Strathclyde, the Employment Appeal Tribunal held that the inclusion of a particular member of staff on a panel to hear an appeal against a grievance amounted to a fundamental breach of contract, so that the employee who had brought the grievance was constructively dismissed ...
The decision in KERRY - August 7, 2009 (1) In this decision, the Supreme Court of Canada has confirmed, inter alia, that the company: May oblige the pension fund to pay the Plan expenses, that is the expenses associated with the employment of actuaries, accountants, counsel and other service providers required for the administration of the Plan; May combine the defined benefit (“DB”) and the defined c
We can only assume that the pensions industry at large put “a busy and unpredictable 12 months” at the top of its wish list at the start of the year, and 2022 certainly delivered. From the sombre to the unprecedented, 2022 had it all. The year was bookended by investment issues. In February, View More
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered the Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023. In total, it contained 110 proposed measures for delivering UK growth. From a pensions perspective, the focus was on consolidation of the UK pensions industry through: Taking forward the Mansion House reforms, starting with steps to increase consolidation within the UK pensions industry ...
Pensions dashboards have been a long time in the making, but we can be certain now that they are coming, and soon. Trustees of schemes with more than 100 members (excluding pensioner members) will need to ensure that they connect to the dashboard by their statutory connection date - but there’s a lot of preparatory work needed to make that possible ...
On 10 July 2023 in his Mansion House speech, Chancellor Jeremey Hunt announced the government’s plans to transform the UK’s financial services sector. The announcement was followed the next day by a raft of consultation documents from the DWP addressing a range of pension reforms aimed at boosting outcomes for pension savers and supporting growth across the wider economy ...
In this October edition of Pensions Bulletin we consider a recent Government paper on surplus payments and highlight that schemes must take action if they wish to preserve a power to pay surplus to a sponsoring employer in the future. We also comment on the impact of the latest developments in the Sea Containers case on the use of the Regulator's power to issue Financial Support Directions ...
Employers preparing for the phasing in of the new pensions auto-enrolment regime should not overlook their data protection obligationsBackground: the new pension regimeFrom October 2012 a new pensions regime will start to be phased in which will eventually require all employers in the UK to automatically enrol eligible staff into some sort of pension scheme and, importantly, for the first time, to pay minimum contributions ...
The Pensions Regulator (tPR) has published a consultation introducing its proposed guidance (‘Draft Guidance’) on pensions climate risk. The Draft Guidance follows on from the introduction of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Climate Change Governance and Reporting) Regulations 2021 (‘Regulations’) ...
The Pension Schemes Bill received Royal Assent on 11 February 2021, becoming the Pension Schemes Act 2021. Originally introduced into Parliament in Autumn 2019, the Act covers a mix of pensions-related matters which we outline in this article. Parts One and Two set out the legislative framework for establishing a collective money purchase scheme, commonly known as a collective defined contribution scheme (Part Two extends this to Northern Ireland) ...
A recent case has seen trustees apply for and obtain court approval for a trustee petition to wind-up the scheme's sponsoring employers. This is a relatively unusual case, but the trustees had reached a point where no other options were available to them ...
TABLE OF CONTENTSI. INTRODUCTIONII. WHAT ARE THE FACTORS DRIVING A RISING NUMBER OF CLASS ACTIONS IN THE PENSION CONTEXTIII KEY ELEMENTS OF THE CLASS PROCEEDING AND WHAT MAKES IT A SUITABLE VEHICLE FOR PENSION ACTIONSA. How Class Actions WorkB. Expansion of Class Actions in Canada1. Availability of Class Actions2. Advantage of Class Actions3. Class Proceeding Not the Only Way to Pursue Pension Related ClaimsIV. KEY ELEMENTS OF A CLASS PROCEEDING1. Filing2. Certification3 ...
On January 16, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada1 affirmed the Court of Appeal of Québec2 judgment which authorized the class action brought against Vivendi Canada Inc. (“Vivendi”). This important decision confirms, among other things, that the rules for authorizing class actions in Quebec are more liberal than those in the common law provinces. THE FACTS Seagram Ltd. (“Seagram”), which was established in 1857, is a producer of wine and spirits ...
The Department of Labor (“DoL”) has issued rules that implement the pension blackout provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Act”). These rules require plan administrators of individual account plans to deliver advance notice of blackout periods and will be effective for blackouts which begin on or after January 26, 2003 ...
Pensions form part of the assets that can be distributed between a couple on divorce/dissolution. This guide will provide you with an overview of what you need to know about pensions if you are separating or getting divorced. What pensions can be shared? Defined benefit/final salary schemes (for example public sector schemes) Defined contribution/money purchase schemes (for example personal pensions, SIPPS and some occupational schemes) Additional state pension ...
The Government has confirmed it plans to increase the lower earnings trigger for automatic pension enrolment from £8,105 to £9,440 from April 2013, keeping the figure in line with the income tax threshold. Only workers with an annual salary above the earnings trigger will have to be automatically enrolled into a workplace pension scheme by their employer ...
This paper appears in the March 24, 2006 issue of The Lawyers Weekly, published by LexisNexis Canada Inc. Over the past few years, courts in Canada have faced the apparent conflict between competing statutory mandates with respect to class proceedings and arbitrations. In Ruddell v. BC Rail Ltd., 2005 BCSC 1504, Mr. Justice Holmes of the British Columbia Supreme Court reviewed this conflict in the context of pension litigation ...
In a decision that stands as a cautionary note to trustees of pension and benefit plans, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has found the Trustees of the Canadian Commercial Workers Industry Pension Plan (the "Plan") guilty of breaching the investment rules applicable to pension plans in Ontario. 1. The Facts in Christophe The Plan’s portfolio is valued at approximately $1 billion ...
