It is well-known that a solid framework for attracting investment is a key strategy for fostering investments in a sector as big and significant as telecommunications are. As consolidation and M&A activities continue to be looked for in the region, there is an idea that the use of new technology and smart solutions is the best way to gain a competitive advantage over other market participants ...
On January 4th, 2016, the President of the Republic introduced a series of amendments to the bill of law that, “modifies the Health Code in order to regulate generic bioequivalent pharmaceutical products and prevent the vertical integration of pharmaceutical laboratories and pharmacies”, – Bill No. 9914-11- (“Pharmaceutical Bill II”) ...
Increased deal activity is likely in Australia's health and aged care sector in 2016, driven by:• investment interest from China• Australian players targeting outbound opportunities through joint ventures and partnerships; and• consolidation in the aged and home care services areas.Rapidly ageing populations across our region are driving demand for high quality health care, especially in countries such as China and Japan ...
Employment law specialist and Karanović & Nikolić's Senior Associate, Jelena Danilović, has contributed to the newest edition of Women, Business and the Law 2016 – Getting Equal, issued by the World Bank Group.This report is the fourth in a biennial series of reports that provide objective measures of legal and regulatory barriers to women's entrepreneurship and employment ...
The Serbian Foreign Investors Council (FIC) has re-elected Mirko Kovač to the position of Vice President of the FIC HR Committee for a period of 2 years, effectively giving Mirko his second mandate as the Vice President of the HR Committee ...
On February 29, 2016, the European Commission issued a draft of the so-called Adequacy-Decision for the new agreement between the European Union and the USA called EU-US Privacy Shield to facilitate data transfers between the European Union and the USA. It is doubtful whether the Privacy Shield will be a reliable basis for a simplified transfer of personal data ...
The Modern Slavery Act 2015 introduces a new area of compliance for commercial organisations. The Act is amongst the toughest anti-slavery and human trafficking legislation in the world. Although legal penalties are restricted, interest from patients, consumers, investors, NGOs, pressure groups and brand risk is expected to enforce compliance ...
European Court of Human Rights Considers an Employer's Right to Monitor EmployeesIn its recent judgment Bărbulescu v. Romania, the European Court of Human Rights ("ECHR") considered an employer's right to monitor an employee's work computer and an employee's right to privacy ...
Further to our previous alert relating to inspections of the Russian Data Protection Authority (‘DPA’) we would like to draw your attention that DPA is also entitled to undertake measures of so-called systematic monitoring in order to supervise compliance of data controllers with the Russian legislation on personal data. These measures mainly cover checking websites and information placed in a public domain ...
The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2016 come into force on 1 April 2016. Employers need to be aware of their new obligations in good time to ensure compliance. What is the National Living Wage? The National Living Wage (NLW) is a new, mandatory premium to be paid on top of the current national minimum wage (NMW). This will increase minimum pay for all workers over the age of 25. Workers under this age will be unaffected ...
According to judgment of 5 February 2016 from the Danish Western High Court, an employer's summary dismissal was justified in consequence of the employee's non-salaried assignment on the board of directors in a competing company. The case involved the question whether an employee had acted disloyally to his former employer when he became a member of the board of directors in another company during his release period ...
The new Labour Law of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the "Labour Law") which introduced changes to the term of fixed term employment contracts, employee benefits, collective bargaining agreements and contracts with company managers, was declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of the FBiH on 23 February ...
Serbia – Executive Summary of Qualification of a Director's Mandate (in a local or foreign company) This article, authored by Jelena Danilović, was originally published in the 2016 'Social Security for Directors Working in Multiple Jurisdictions', published by World Services Group.Domestic Rules1. Social security regimeRegistered legal representatives i.e ...
After a long wait, on February 12, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for HHS (“CMS”) issued a final rule that clarified the obligations of Medicare providers and suppliers to report and return overpayments within 60 days (the “Rule”).1 The Rule becomes effective on March 14, 2016. The Rule, which applies only to Medicare Part A and B providers and suppliers, enforces a statutory requirement from 2010 implemented by the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) ...
The United States and the European Union recently concluded a new agreement aimed at allowing U.S. companies to continue to collect, use and disclose personal information concerning European citizens, while still preserving their fundamental rights ...
The government recently published draft legislation introducing an apprenticeship levy which is expected to come into force on 6 April 2017. In this article we look at the impact on employers. What is the apprenticeship levy? In last year's budget, the government announced its intention to introduce a levy on large employers in order to fund 3 million new apprenticeships in England by 2020 ...
On November 24, 2015, the Québec Court of Appeal rendered a much anticipated judgment in the case of Université McGill v. McGill University Non Academic Certified Association (MUNACA)1 (“McGill”) ...
With the use of zero-hours contracts 'ZHCs' increasing and new regulations in this area coming into effect, employers should ensure compliance with the new rules. Background Since our previous article, the Exclusivity Terms in Zero Hours Contracts (Redress) Regulations 2015 (the 'Regulations') came into force on 11 January 2016 ...
Employment law expert, Mirko Kovač, attended a Roundtable discussion on the new Law on Conditions for Secondment of Employees Abroad and their Protection organised by the Ministry of Labour on 13 January 2016. Our office previously analysed this law in more detail and additional information on the novelties it introduces may be found on our website (http://www.karanovic-nikolic.com/2015/11/16/serbia-adopts-law-on-conditions-for-secondment-of-employees-abroad-and-their-protection/ ) ...
Over the past year, the Tribunal administratif du Québec (TAQ) has issued several rulings dealing with oversight of the medical practice of professionals working in health and social services institutions. Several of these rulings will be of interest to institutions since they set out principles that tend to confirm the existence of a form of management rights over physicians, despite the lack of the traditional relationship of subordination between such institutions and their physicians ...
2015 was an eventful year for government contractors as the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) finalized several key rules related to contractors’ relationships with employees and job applicants. With more rules expected to be finalized in 2016, the OFCCP will exercise increasing oversight over contractors’ activities ...
The purpose of this newsletter is to raise the awareness of employers regarding the problems related to making knowledge of English a requirement for employment ...
As we previously reported, the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (“POPI”) was signed into law in November 2013. Those provisions which deal with the establishment of the Information Regulator came into effect on 11 April 2014. Expectations are that the President will proclaim the rest of the provisions of POPI into effect once the Information Regulator has been established ...
A new bill on restrictive employment covenants has been adopted. Restrictive covenants concluded after 1 January 2016 will be subject to the new rules. We have listed some of the key changes below. Non-competition clauses can now only be entered into with employees who hold a very special position of trust. Previously, it was only a requirement that the employee held a special position of trust ...
On January 11, 2016, Vadim Kazenelson, a project manager for Metron Construction Corporation (“Metron”), was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.1 This sentence follows the decision rendered on June 26, 2015 in which the Superior Court of Ontario found Mr. Kazenelson guilty of the five charges against him, including four counts of criminal negligence causing death and one count of criminal negligence causing bodily harm ...
