By Ministerial Resolution Nº 174-2021-PRODUCE, published today July 1, 2021 in the extraordinary edition of “El Peruano”, is established the “Provisional Fishery Regime for the Hake Resource (Merluccius gayi) for the period July 2021 to June 2022, applicable to the industrial fleet and in the area between the northern end of the maritime domain and 07°00′ South Latitude ...
In our third quarterly case law update for 2021, we look at some of the key cases published since April 2021 and consider the lessons we can learn from them. Health and Safety Related Dismissals Over the past six months, we have seen the emergence of a series of cases related to health and safety dismissals. Unsurprisingly, several of these relate to Covid-19 ...
In the first article of this three-part series we looked at the future of personal transport. In this second piece, we turn to consider mass public transport and how it could play a significant part in the future of commuting. Birmingham is beginning to make substantial changes to its transport infrastructure, but are the changes big enough? The Metro Opened on 30 May 1999, the West Midlands Metro provided a link between Wolverhampton and Birmingham ...
In our previous article we set out what kind of information needs to be disclosed for it to qualify as a protected disclosure. Here we look at another key requirement, that the person making the disclosure reasonably believes it is in the public interest. What is (or is not) in the ‘public interest’ is not defined in legislation, and subsequently it can be difficult to determine ...
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has revised its Rules of Practice and Procedure (Revised RPP) which govern the proceedings before the ERC through the issuance of ERC Resolution No. 01, Series of 2021.1 The Revised RPP took effect on April 13, 2021 (or 15 days after its publication in Business Mirror, a newspaper of general circulation). It allows the ERC to adapt to changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and modernizes the ERC rules of procedure ...
Broadly speaking, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing is understood as investing that incorporates ESG factors in investment decisions. It is often used interchangeably with the terms sustainable investing, responsible investing, ethical investing and impact investing ...
Litigation between the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) may be nearing an end (The Associated General Contractors of America, Inc. vs. United States Small Business Administration, et al.,United States District Court for the District of Columbia). AGC initially filed a lawsuit against SBA in December 2020, challenging the introductions of Form 3509 and Form 3510 (Loan Necessity Questionnaires) in October 2020 ...
With the third wave of COVID-19 in full swing in South Africa, it has never been more important for South African employers to anticipate and prepare for the various COVID-19 related disputes that may lie ahead. It is vital to learn from the challenges already confronted by employers worldwide concerning issues such as vaccination, occupational health and safety, and flexible working arrangements and their approaches to such matters ...
Starting around October 26, 2020, the Small Business Administrations (the “SBA”) asked Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) lenders to provide certain questionnaires to PPP borrowers with loans of $2 million or greater. There are two questionnaire forms on the Treasury: Form 3509 for for-profit borrowers and Form 3510 for non-profit borrowers ...
In a case concerning the validity and effect of certain deeds relating to pension increases, the High Court has handed down its judgement. The case also considers the application of scheme forfeiture clauses to arrears of underpayments. The case, concerning the Axminster pension scheme (‘Scheme’), was brought by the Scheme’s independent trustee. Many of the original issues were compromised by the parties, meaning that the court was asked to approve the compromise ...
The Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021 is being expedited through the legislative process. It will provide for extensions to a number of time limits, including for the passing of development plans. Importantly however it will also allow for extensions, or additional extensions, to existing planning permissions to allow projects be completed. Planning permissions have a fixed duration, usually five years ...
The draft Occupational Pension Schemes (Climate Change Governance and Reporting) Regulations 2021 (‘Regulations’) have been laid before parliament and are due to come into effect on 1 October this year. The Pensions Minister announced on June 8 the final version of the Regulations which are designed to regulate how trustees of certain trust-based occupational schemes must engage with, and report on, climate change risk as part of their duties ...
Deadlines loom, as changes to rules on the rights of EEA and Swiss citizens to live and work in the UK are fast approaching. With many developments to keep apace of, we have highlighted the key dates and points which employers need to mark in the diary. 1 ...
As many of us continue to work from home and/or have opportunities for travel and meeting up restricted, we are continuing to run our essential webinar series for employers to ensure that our clients and contacts remain up to date and equipped to deal with all eventualities! Our latest seminar focused on diversity and inclusion in the workplace ...
On June 21, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a new rule to restrict the amount of non-tip-producing work a tipped employee can perform when an employer is taking a tip credit. The proposed rule clarifies that if an employee performs work that directly supports tip-producing work for a substantial amount of time — at least 20 percent of the hours worked in a workweek or at least 30 continuous minutes — the worker must be paid the standard minimum wage ...
On 11 June 2021, the Minister of Employment and Labour released the much-anticipated vaccination guidelines. These are included in the amended Consolidated Direction on Occupational Health and Safety Measures in certain Workplaces (the “Directive”). While some have interpreted the Directive as giving employers carte blanche to impose mandatory vaccination policies, this is not the case ...
Employers who are faced with employee requests for accommodation on the basis of family status may find that the response to such requests depends on the province of employment ...
The pandemic has shined a bright light on the importance of safety and health in the workplace. While most employers are well aware of the rules that they are required to follow when it comes to safety and health, many have not thought about what to do when an OSHA inspector arrives at the workplace. Here in Oregon, with some exceptions, most employers fall under the jurisdiction of Oregon Occupational Safety and Health (Oregon OSHA) ...
In one of the most highly anticipated decisions in the employment law arena, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has found that Maya Forstater’s ‘gender-critical’ belief is a philosophical belief worthy of protection under s10 of the Equality Act 2010 (“EqA”). Ms Forstater complained to the employment tribunal that she was discriminated against because of her gender-critical belief that sex is biologically immutable and that ‘transwomen are men’ ...
Free movement of workers from the European Economic Area (EEA) was ended by Brexit and the UK Government introduced the EU Settlement Scheme to bridge the gap between the UK’s two immigrations systems of those coming from the EEA, and those coming to the UK from outwith the EEEA. The EU Settlement Scheme is a mechanism for any EEA citizen who lived in the UK before 31 December 2020 to remain lawfully in the UK ...
In the latest article for our Tricky Issues series, we explore what employers need to consider when seeking to change contracts of employment and the legal risks which may arise when those changes are not agreed by the employees concerned. A contract is a binding agreement between its parties and cannot normally be amended without the express consent of all signatories ...
