With greater emphasis being placed on employee wellbeing in recent times and in a bid to remain competitive in the market, some employers have sought to increase holiday entitlement and provide ‘unlimited’ annual leave each year. What does this mean? In theory, ‘unlimited’ holiday means employees can take as many paid days off work as they wish. In practice, however, it is not quite as straightforward as it sounds ...
Like many employers, Google LLC is considering how to increase employee office attendance. Over the pandemic, employees in a variety of roles showed that their jobs could be done effectively from home, and few companies have returned to a policy of asking their employees to work in the office on a full-time basis ...
A recent Financial Times newspaper article raises the question whether the mandate underlying the UK's competition authority (the CMA) should be reviewed. The argument is based on the CMA's blocking of the Microsoft/Activision merger, compared to the EU's conditional consent decision. The CMA's decision is being appealed by the merger parties ...
As global regulators continue to grapple with the challenges of developing and implementing effective Artificial Intelligence (AI) regulation, and with AI sitting high on the agenda for Rishi Sunak’s meeting this week with President Biden, the UK Government has announced that it will be hosting a global AI Summit later this year ...
All employment related securities (ERS) annual returns for the 2022/23 tax year must be filed by 6 July 2023. The returns are filed via HMRC’s online service (via the PAYE for Employers – Employment Related Securities section). There are separate returns for the tax-advantaged employee share schemes (i.e. EMI, CSOP, SAYE and SIP) and one for all other arrangements (e.g. non-tax advantaged options, or the direct issue of shares to employees or directors) ...
The British Standards Institution (BSI) has released a new workplace standard relating to menstruation and menopause. The BSI standard (BS 30416) aims to support the health and well-being of all employees who menstruate or experience peri/menopause. The standard suggests that there are many actions that employers can take to improve the accommodation of all its employees ...
What is changing with how prudential regulators view fintech partnerships? How is this affecting financial institutions TPRM programs? Prudential regulators appear to be acknowledging the role that fintech partnerships have in the marketplace, both to expand banking services to previous unbanked/underbanked populations, and to allow smaller, regional banks to develop new markets for their services ...
The top attorney for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently declared that most non-compete agreements violate labor laws by barring workers from opportunities to seek new jobs. The May 30, 2023 memo from NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo is the latest to address the issue of non-competes. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a proposed ruling earlier this year to ban them completely. Urging the NLRB to adopt the standard she first argued in Stericycle, Inc ...
On June 23, 2023, major amendments to section 45 of the Competition Act1 (the ?Act?) are set to come into force. Adopted in 2022 by the Parliament of Canada, these amendments are primarily designed to harmonize Canadian non-competition law with legislation in various other countries, particularly the U.S., which restricts certain business practices regarded as harmful to workers ...
Cybersecurity is a looming threat for most businesses. The impact of a major cyber event can resonate for weeks, months, and even years after the initial attack. To mitigate the risks to consumers, there have been several legislative updates to address these evolving threats, including a significant change for entities in, and adjacent to, the financial services space ...
Industrial action is happening on the largest scale we have seen for decades and across multiple sectors at the same time. Maintaining positive employee relations is more crucial than ever, given the cost of living crisis and geopolitical climate ...
Most commentary around AI looks at the big picture or the future of work, but in this article we look at some practical data protection implications for businesses that are considering implementing AI systems. 1. Automated Decision-Making There are specific rules in both the EU and UK GDPR (in this article we will refer to both together) covering individuals’ rights when processing involves solely automated decision-making, including profiling ...
Managing Partner Simon Malko talked to Bloomberg’s Vivia Chen about how his own experiences dealing with stress and anxiety inspired him to make mental healthcare more accessible to everyone at the firm. He shared, “When I became a managing partner [in 2019], I had a lot of anxiety. I was dealing with a lot at work and the stress of raising two kids at home. I had an awful lot on my plate, and I was struggling with managing it all ...
On June 1, 2023, China's Ministry of Science and Technology ("MOST") officially released the Implementation Rules for the Regulation of Human Genetic Resources Administration ("Implementation Rules"), which will come into effect on July 1, 2023 ...
On May 30, 2023, National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo took yet another step to ban restrictive covenants in the employment context. In a memo issued to all regional offices, she set forth her view that nearly all non-compete provisions, with very limited exceptions, violate the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) ...
Less than a month to go! Our Tax Team wishes to remind you of the fast-approaching deadline for the submission of your annual corporate tax returns for the financial year ended 31 March 2023 (“FY 2022-2023”). All Myanmar taxpayers (corporate entities, non-profit organizations, and individuals) should file their annual tax returns on or before 30 June 2023 ...
I. INTRODUCTION The post-Soviet states, including the Russian Federation, are mired in corruption across all levels of government-the judiciary, parliament, executive and executive agencies.' Naturally, a "culture of corruption" within government distorts several necessary components that make up the rule of law. Corrupt parliament members will not be responsive to the citizenry ...
In November 2021, the New York City Council passed a bill requiring that artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools used by employers to make or assist in hiring decisions or internal promotions undergo bias audits to screen for discriminatory effects. Under the City Charter, the bill became law a month later after it was returned unsigned to the Council by then-mayor Bill DeBlasio ...
“The building has to earn the commute. There has to be a reason for people to come into an office building, and that’s why you’re seeing this bifurcation between the best and the rest,” said Steven Mew, customer experience and flex director at GPE, during Shoosmiths’ recent roundtable on the UK’s flexible office space sector ...
Anecdotally, we are hearing that interim relief applications are on the rise. In this article we give employers the low down on what an application for interim relief actually is and why they should be on the lookout for them ...
For a decade or more, Meta has been sending Facebook data from European users – in the form of photos, chat, posts, and more – over to its parent company in the US for storage. Since the Snowden revelations, Europe has been aware that this data has been open to US intelligence services on a large scale, without – it says – the protections and accountability afforded to people in Europe ...
BT announced earlier this week that it plans to cut between 40,000 and 55,000 jobs by 2030. It expects around 10,000 of these roles to be replaced by AI, particularly in customer services. BT’s recent announcement is a reminder that increased use of AI is now a key board agenda item, with businesses exploring whether they can increase efficiency and improve operations by investing in generative AI ...
Employment and immigration specialists Emma Morgan and Amy Leech look at the immigration considerations that arise in redundancy situations, acquisitions and insolvency procedures. A recording of the webinar is below along with a summary of key takeaways. In current economic conditions, with the cost of living rising and the effects of the pandemic still lingering, businesses are having to look at ways to make cuts and reduce costs ...
