Last year, the cost-of-living crisis, industrial action and global conflicts dominated the headlines and added to the challenges faced by UK businesses. So, what does 2024 have in store for employers, in the employment law arena at least? Changes to the Working Time Regulations and TUPE Following a consultation last year, the government published the Draft Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023 on 8 November 2023 ...
January 2, 2024 By: Leah Lively and Alexandra Shulman It is a new year, which means new employment laws for employers in the Pacific Northwest. The following is a brief overview of significant new laws and changes for Washington and Oregon employers (all effective January 1, 2024). Washington Increased Minimum Wage: The Washington state minimum wage is now $16.28 per hour. Local minimum wage rates are higher: The Seattle minimum wage is now $19 ...
Another great year for the Ocean team at SVW has ended. The Shipping industry had a great year, as we have witnessed it through our clients’ engagements. More steps have been taken toward environmentally smarter investments by many clients, not only within the fuel engine options in new-building orders, but also piloting strategic joint ventures and collaborations in the fuel terminals infrastructure (hydrogen/ammonia), as well as power plants ...
Enhanced obligations for the employer in reorganizations and redundancies From January 1, 2024, certain employer obligations that previously applied to each separate company will now extend to all companies within a corporate group. The legislative changes mandate that the employer is obliged to consider (and offer to the employee) other suitable work throughout the group, even if the employee is not formally employed in any of the other companies within the group ...
By: Daniel Silva, Sanjay Bhandari, and Manisha Malhotra The Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) emerged as a lifeline for small businesses grappling with the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lenders navigated a landscape of regulations that Congress quickly drafted in response to the pandemic. These regulations and obligations evolved, subtly yet materially, from the first and second rounds of PPP “draws ...
The U.S. Department of State has released details on a proposed pilot program testing the agency’s ability to resume domestic visa renewals for certain nonimmigrant visa categories and to study the effect the program has on reducing visa wait times worldwide. The program will begin on January 29, 2024 and end on April 1, 2024 ...
Employment Tribunals have a duty to make reasonable adjustments where a participant is disadvantaged, for example due to disability, to ensure fairness in proceedings. We share our recent experiences of how the Tribunals apply this duty in practice ...
Updated on 8 January 2024.Food law is extensively harmonized throughout the EU, but national law still has a role to play. In this short article, we look at three developments in Belgian food law that have taken place in 2023: the amendments to the Food Safety Agency’s administrative fining regime, the introduction of nutrivigilance, and the announced revision of the food hygiene legislation.1 ...
Both the Belgian legislator and government have played an active role in 2023 when it comes to pharma legislation, which has led to a number of changes in the legal framework. In this article, we look back and discuss five noteworthy developments in Belgian pharma law. 1 ...
On the 1st of August 2023, Bill No. 63 entitled the Air Navigation Act (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”) was published in the Supplement to the Government Gazette. The proposed Act has reached the stage of the Third Reading and shall repeal the Civil Aviation (Air Operators’ Certificates) Act (Chapter 218 of the Laws of Malta), the Air Navigation Order (Subsidiary Legislation 499 ...
On December 13th, 2023, the Chilean Congress approved a bill that modifies the Labor Code regarding prevention, investigations and sanctioning of sexual harassment, workplace harassment and violence in the workplace (hereinafter, the “Law”). Companies subject to the new regulations The Law is applicable to all companies, regardless of their size. The Law also includes regulations applicable to the State Administration and its multiple agencies ...
The Home Office have released a Statement of Changes which includes changes to be made to the rules for visitors coming to the UK, particularly in relation to their permitted activities. On 7 December 2023, the Home Office released Statement of Changes HC 246 with various changes to the Immigration Rules to be implemented prior to the end of January 2024 ...
In an increasingly unpredictable climate, adverse weather can prevent employees from attending the workplace on time, or at all. Here, we discuss what employers can do to mitigate the effect of adverse weather on their business ...
Introduction Block exemption regulations (BER) for liner shipping companies have been in place in one form or another since 1986, originally as «Conference» BER, and since 2008 as «Consortia» BER. With the discontinuation, the liner shipping segment joins other shipping segments as fully subject to the competition rules in the EU, including the prohibition against anti-competitive cooperation under Article 101 TFEU ...
Introduction The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (“MARPOL” or the “Convention”) was promoted by the International Maritime Organisation (“IMO”). It was adopted on the 2nd of November 1973 to tackle the menace of marine pollution by oil, chemicals, and other hazardous materials from ships through operational or accidental causes ...
The government has produced draft regulations which will make further changes to holiday laws in Great Britain. We look at what is planned and what it means for employers. The government has been reviewing which European Union laws to retain and has taken that opportunity to consult about changes to holiday pay, resulting in the publication of draft regulations. We look at what is planned and what it means for employers ...
It is highly documented that the transport sector is heavily male dominated. Indeed, reports suggest that while women account for 47% of the general UK workforce, within the transport sector women only account for 20% of the workforce and only 3% of HGV drivers in the UK. Many employers are aware of the work that needs to be done in this sector in terms of addressing and challenging behaviours, changing mindsets and creating inclusive cultures ...
Over the last three years, the U.S. Department of Justice has pursued its first-ever criminal antitrust cases targeting alleged deals between companies to avoid poaching each other's employees and to fix wages. In total, the DOJ has brought six cases. Four resulted in acquittals, while just one case yielded guilty pleas. Last month, the DOJ voluntarily dismissed its sixth and last case without explanation. A number of lessons can be drawn from this wave of labor-market prosecutions ...
Module 6 of the UK’s Covid-19 Public Inquiry opened on 12 December 2023, with public hearings set to begin in Spring 2025. This article explores what Module 6 will examine and explains how and why members of the Care Sector may want to become involved ...
This article explores the reasons why sickness absence and mental health issues may rise among employees during the festive period and what employers can do to support their employees during this time. Christmas is traditionally an exciting time of year, but the colder weather and shorter nights can cause lower mood for a lot of people. When feeling low, people can also be more susceptible to illness, picking up unwanted coughs and colds which leaves them feeling even lower ...
