By all accounts, in common with 2021, broad uncertainty will remain a key theme for the UK economy in 2022. Statistics from 2021 are an unhelpful indicator for 2022. But all signs currently point to a slowing of the UK economy in 2022 following an undeniable 2021 bounce-back as people matched unexpected savings with spending on goods, services and holidays ...
Extensive new powers to investigate and intervene in deals that could have national security concerns come into play this month, lenders and borrowers need to understand the implications now. The National Security and Investment Act (“the Act”) regime came into effect on 4 January 2022. It creates a new national security screening regime for corporate acquisitions in the UK. Certain aspects of the Act apply retrospectively from 12 November 2020 ...
Without doubt, the traditional employment relationship has changed. Whilst the Coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact, the changing nature of the employment relationship has been taking place for several years. But what does this mean for employers? CIPD in a recent report has suggested that atypical workers could be anywhere from 18.6% to 42.4% of the workforce (depending on how narrowly atypical working is defined) ...
The persisting spectre of the pandemic continues to create uncertainty in the market. Over the last 18 months, insolvency figures remained consistently low due to the government support which has been in place. With the prospect of that support coming to an end there is likely to be a reckoning, but when that will begin is unclear. Overall, this next year is likely to be one of resolving loose ends and tidying up before the economy can take off afresh ...
Following on from the Migration Advisory Committee's annual report, the government have announced welcome changes to the Health and Care visa route. The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published their annual report in December. The report considered a variety of subjects and took a detailed look at the health and care sector ...
Pensions analysis: The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has issued its levy rules and associated guidance and appendices for the 2022–23 levy year. Partner Suzanne Burrell examines the latest rules and guidance, the changes made since last year, the implications for pension schemes and what happens next ...
Trends in leasehold transactions during 2021 and expectations for 2022. Now that the decorations are back in the loft, retailers are announcing their Christmas trading updates. There is a general consensus that the retail sector had a difficult time in 2021 as has been the trend in modern years and whilst some retailers will be announcing positive news to the markets, there are undoubtably some that are likely to continue to have a challenging time in 2022 ...
Keeping up to date with the shifting property landscape is never easy. So, what do property professionals need to keep in mind for 2022? Developers Building Safety Bill Residential developers will need to pay close attention to the progress of the Building Safety Bill through parliament ...
It is now common knowledge that after January 2, 2022, issuing a cheque that is dishonoured for the lack of funds is no longer going to be a criminal offence in the UAE (for a primer on the changes made to the law, clickHere). But what of ongoing complaints and criminal cases regarding cheques that were dishonoured prior to January 2? Circular No. (9) of 2021, issued by the Dubai Public Prosecution Department on 19 December 2021, helpfully clarifies how such cases are to be handled ...
Revitalization of brownfields has long been considered a centerpiece of community efforts to encourage growth and development of properties impacted by contamination. But the additional complexity and cost of addressing pre-existing contamination often sinks projects that might otherwise have positive economic and development potential. This is especially true inside Oregon’s urban growth boundaries ...
On Thursday, January 13, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay pausing implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Emergency Temporary Standard, finding that the challengers to the ETS are likely to prevail. Justices John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh issued the decision to stay the OSHA ETS. Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Clarence Thomas concurred with their own separate opinion ...
On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a final rule on the use of Coronavirus State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) provided to state, local, and tribal governments pursuant to the American Rescue Plan (ARP). While the final rule largely includes the eligible uses of SLFRF funds described in the interim rule issued in May of 2021, the Treasury expanded and provided more detail on eligible uses ...
While the U.S. Supreme Court continues to deliberate over whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) is a valid exercise of OSHA’s regulatory authority, OSHA has continued to update their ETS FAQs to provide more guidance to employers. In particular, OSHA has clarified the requirements that apply to the use of over-the-counter COVID-19 tests (OTC Tests) for compliance with the testing requirements of the ETS ...
On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a final rule on the use of Coronavirus State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) provided to state, local, and tribal governments pursuant to the American Rescue Plan (ARP). While the final rule largely includes the eligible uses of SLFRF funds described in the interim rule issued in May of 2021, the Treasury expanded and provided more detail on eligible uses ...
On Jan. 13, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States lifted the injunction on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) vaccine mandate (Mandate).[1] Previously, injunctions were imposed by district courts in Missouri and Louisiana, and affirmed on appeal by the Eighth and Fifth Circuits, respectively, thereby prohibiting enforcement of the Mandate in 24 states ...
On Jan. 13, 2022, the United States Supreme Court issued an order blocking enforcement of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring (among other things) employers of 100 or more employees to require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or ensure unvaccinated employees are tested for COVID-19 weekly ...
On December 16, 2021, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board readopted the Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS), but included several revisions which will go into effect on January 14, 2022 and which will remain in effect for three months. In addition, CDPH issued updated guidance for the general public this month. That guidance on isolation and quarantine requirements has now replaced the ETS exclusion periods and return to work criteria for all workers as of January 14, 2022 ...
As the pandemic persists and the disruption of the previous two years continues to impact projects, the construction industry faces a continued period of uncertainty in 2022. Further disruption The pandemic and issues around the availability of materials may continue to disrupt projects into 2022 leading to higher costs and further delays ...
On January 3rd, 2022, the Chilean Financial Market Commission (FMC) opened a public consultation process (the "Regulatory Proposal") on new regulations regarding the procedure to authorize the existence of certain special stock corporations (SSCs) and to authorize the commencement of operations of general fund managers (GFMs) ...
This is the second article in 'Back to Basics', a series of articles looking at insolvency processes in Scotland. This article will examine the court process for sequestration, focusing on petitions by creditors. Sequestration is the Scottish legal term for personal bankruptcy ...
How will the UK become a Net Zero-aligned Financial Centre? Last month, the UK Government announced that the UK was to be the world’s first Net Zero-aligned Financial Centre. The Institute for Government defines “net zero” as “a balance between the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere” ...
Over the years, employers have become accustomed to the practice of an injured worker filing a request for compensation (typically an initial award or increase in permanent partial disability) or medical treatment days before the applicable statute of limitations in order to keep the claim alive. It has long been held that an application for such benefits tolls the statute of limitations while that issue is adjudicated before the Industrial Commission ...
This is a reminder that as of January 6, 2022, the Small Business Administration is requiring all small businesses to use a five-year period of measurement in determining their size under a revenue-based size standard. On January 6, 2020, the SBA published its final rule providing for a five-year period of measurement for determining a small business’s size under revenue-based size standards ...
