In Hong Kong, some employers grant to employees more than one day off per week while the Employment Ordinance (“EO”) only requires the employer to grant one rest day in every period of seven days. Under such circumstances, there is a question as to whether the employees are entitled to an alternative holiday when the statutory holiday falls on a day off ...
In Hong Kong, it is quite common for employers to grant commission or allowance in addition to basic salary to the employees as part of the remuneration package. Under the EO, eligible employees are entitled to holiday and annual leave pay in respect of holiday or annual leave taken by the employees. There is a question as to whether commission is to be included in “wages” for the purpose of calculating the holiday and annual leave pay to the employees ...
On 23 December 2005, the District Court delivered its judgment on a sex and family status discrimination claim in the case of Lam Wing Lai v YT Cheng (Chingtai) Ltd DCEO 6/2004. The Defendant was a Hong Kong company carrying on the business of trading in industrial raw materials and the Plaintiff was employed as the secretary to the director between 21 May 2001 and 11 November 2002 ...
The Ministry of Labour and Social Security (“MLSS”) issued the Letter on Issues Relevant to the Occupational Qualification Certificates Held by Foreigners Seeking Employment in China on 13 September 2005. The Letter is likely to make it more difficult for foreigners to take up employment in China in positions or jobs for which Occupational Qualification Certificates must be held ...
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 ...
Scottish Enterprise has a number of schemes to make it easier for small to medium-sized businesses to access growth funding, such as a loan, equity finance - where the investors take shares in your company - or a combination of the two ...
On 6 April 2006, new regulations, called the Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment - TUPE - Regulations 2006 came into force to replace the well-known 1981 Regulations. These are the Regulations that make provision for protection of employees ? from dismissal and in their terms and conditions - where a business is transferred from one company to another. TUPE 2006 differs in a number of ways from the 1981 Regulations ...
The 18th Session of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People’s Congress adopted the amended Company Law of the of the People’s Republic of China on 27 October 2005. President Hu Jintao promulgated the Law on the same date. The Law, which enters into effect on 1 January 2006, is a significant reform of the Company Law. It simplifies company establishment requirements and statutorily expands the rights of shareholders in PRC companies ...
At the 18th Session of the Standing Committee of the 10th National People’s Congress held on 27 October 2005 amendments to the Securities Law of the of the People’s Republic of China were adopted. The amendments, which were promulgated by President Hu Jintao on 27 October 2005 and enter into effect on 1 January 2006, represent a significant reform of the Law which was first promulgated in 1999 ...
The State Council passed the Regulations of the People's Republic of China for the Administration of Production Licences for Industrial Products on 29 June 2005. The Regulations were promulgated by premier Wen Jiabao on 9 July 2005 and entered into effect on 1 September 2005. The Regulations repeal the Trial Regulations for Industrial Product Production Permits promulgated by the State Council on 7 April 1984 ...
The Ministry of Labour and Social Security (“MLSS”) issued the Letter on Issues Relevant to the Occupational Qualification Certificates Held by Foreigners Seeking Employment in China on 13 September 2005. The Letter is likely to make it more difficult for foreigners to take up employment in China in positions or jobs for which Occupational Qualification Certificates must be held ...
The State Council Information Office and the Ministry of Information Industry issued the Regulations for the Administration of Internet News Information Services on 25 September 2005. The Regulations, which entered into effect on the date of their promulgation, impose licensing and recordal requirements on providers of online news information services in China ...
From 1 October 2006, new legislation comes into effect intended to combat age discrimination. During a recent series of seminars, commercial law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn carried out a survey of delegates to understand employers' concerns and see what efforts they are making to take the new law on board. More than one in four delegates claimed they themselves intended to work past the anticipated default retirement age of 65 while a further 15% were unsure ...
Under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), employers who provide group health plans and have 20 or more employees must offer continuation coverage to “qualified beneficiaries” who have lost health coverage as a result of certain qualifying events. This article addresses a number of common COBRA-related issues ...
On Wednesday 21 December, Ms Justice Laffoy issued her long-awaited judgment in Fyffes’ multi-million euro insider dealing action against Jim Flavin and his company Development Capital Corporation plc (DCC) and two of its subsidiaries. The decision follows 87 days of evidence, which closed in July 2005. Ms Justice Laffoy ruled that the defendants were not in possession of price sensitive information at the time they sold their shares in Fyffes and as such, no civil liability to Fyffes arose ...
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 ...
The Government has recently announced changes to the proposed regime of confirmation by directors of compliance by a company with its obligations. This note explains the background to the announcement and comments on the new proposals. Background - 2003 Act From the time that the Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Act, 2003 was first published there was considerable and widespread concern voiced about the proposed regime for Directors’ Compliance Statements ...
On December 6, 2005 the British Columbia Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of Hupacasath First Nation v. British Columbia(1). In this decision, the court held that Crown’s duty to consult with first nations, as articulated by the Supreme Court of Canada in Haida Nation(2) and Taku River,(3) extends to government decisions regarding planning, development and use of private land ...
Employment Law Update In This Issue... Change to Win Coalition Focuses on Certain Industries to Revitalize Labor Movement ...... 1 Boss’s Workplace Fling May Be Everybody’s Business ............. 2 Employers Must Recognize the “Duty to Act” ........................... 4 Work Eligibility and Citizenship — It May Be Time To Dust Off Those I-9s ................................... ...
On October 13, 2005, the Court of Appeal rendered judgment in two cases involving The Maritime Life Assurance Company and its insured, Madeleine Houle. In the first case, the Court of Appeal stated that the insurer is entitled to obtain a counter expertise by summoning its insured by writ of subpoena (art. 399 C.C.P.) even if it had its insured examined previously. In the second case, the Court ruled on the right of an insurer to have the insured examined by the expert of its choice (art ...
Persons responsible for filing annual returns for the following types of companies should be aware of this commencement order: Most private unlimited companies; Private companies not trading for the acquisition of gain by the members; Companies not having a share capital which are formed for an object that is charitable and is under the control of a religion recognised under Article 44 of the Constitution; and Companies which are exempted from certain filing requirements by order of the Co
Judgement of the Court of First Instance in case T-28/03 – Holcim (Deutschland) AG v. European Commission. By Decision 94/815/EC of 30 November 1994 the Commission ordered Alsen Breitenburg Zement- und Kalkwerke GmbH and Nordcement AG (in 1997 these companies merged to become Alsen AG, now Holcim (Deutschland) AG) (hereinafter the "Applicant" or "Applicants") to pay total fines of EUR 3.841 million for infringement of Article 85 of the EC Treaty ...
Judgement of the European Court of Justice in case C-287/03 – Commission v. Belgium, dated 12 May 2005 The decision follows an action of the Commission against Belgium for breach of Article 49 of the EC Treaty providing for the free movement of services. The Commission alleged that the way in which the prohibition of a “linked offer” under Belgian law was applied constituted an obstacle to free movement ...
The judgement of the European Court of Justice in case C-191/03 – North Western Health Board v ...
On November 24, 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada handed down its decision in the case of Mikisew Cree First Nation v. Canada (Minister of Canadian Heritage).(1) In the decision, the Supreme Court confirmed that, while governments have the power under treaties to authorize land uses which infringe on treaty rights, the exercise of that power imposes on governments a duty to consult where the taking up of land adversely affects those rights ...
