The objective of open banking is to have a payments and markets infrastructure which provides customers with the ability to review all their banking and financial information seamlessly. Open banking will lead to a situation where regardless of how many accounts and financial products a customer has with multiple institutions, he can manage them from a centralised location without having to check out from one system to another ...
On February 15th, 2020, Law No.21,312 (hereinafter, the “Law”) was published in the Official Gazette, which extends the enforcement of the benefits and entitlements established in Title I of law No.21,227 (“Employment Protection Act”) and in Law No.21,263 (that temporarily amends the requirements to access and increases the amounts of the benefits of the unemployment insurance) and grants new provisions with charge to the unemployment mutual aid fund ...
The FSI has published the BIS’s research paper titled “Fintech regulation: how to achieve a level playing field” in February 2021 (the “Paper”). The Paper explores how regulation should evolve to encourage fair competition between traditional banks and new fintech and big tech players ...
On 12 January 2021, the Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/Head of the National Land Agency (“MOA”) issued Regulation No.1 of 2021 on Electronic Certificates (“MOA Reg. 1/2021”). This new regulation is intended to optimize the use of information and communication technology by implementing electronic-based land services and thus improve public services and the ease of doing business. Under MOA Reg ...
With businesses now building back up following the pandemic, focus has moved onto ensuring organisations are as efficient, effective and resilient as possible. Key to this is ensuring that managers are fully equipped to handle workplace issues. The session focuses on dealing with DSARS and other practical data protection issues for employers. The key takeaway points are set out below: Brexit and Data Protection The Data Protection Act 2018 continues to apply in the UK ...
This is the final article in a series reflecting on employee mental health and wellbeing challenges that employers are currently facing. It focuses on how employers can support employee mental health going forwards. Flexible future? If COVID-19 has done one thing at the very least, it is to open employers’ eyes to different and more creative ways of working ...
On February 9, the Commission for the Financial Market ("CMF") published a proposal for the bill known as “Fintech Law”, the new regulation that intends to establish a legal framework applicable to Fintech companies in Chile, which until now have been characterized by operating without a specific regulation. The CMF’s proposal establishes a regulatory perimeter for certain types of Fintech companies and, also, in turn places them under the CMF's oversight ...
The Pension Schemes Bill received Royal Assent on 11 February 2021, becoming the Pension Schemes Act 2021. Originally introduced into Parliament in Autumn 2019, the Act covers a mix of pensions-related matters which we outline in this article. Parts One and Two set out the legislative framework for establishing a collective money purchase scheme, commonly known as a collective defined contribution scheme (Part Two extends this to Northern Ireland) ...
A summary of the decision in Allay (UK) Limited v S Gehlen and a reminder to employers to keep equal opportunities training up to date to be able to rely on the all reasonable steps defence under s 109 (4) of the Equality Act 2010. It is common for employers to provide employees with equal opportunities training, to underpin workplace culture as well as to prevent discrimination from taking place. A recent case, however, provides a salutary reminder to keep such training up to date ...
With the ushering in of a new administration, several changes have quickly taken place at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Within hours of taking office, the Biden administration removed Trump appointee NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb and replaced him with interim General Counsel Peter Ohr. (Ohr may only serve as acting General Counsel for 40 days, per the National Labor Relations Act, unless the administration submits a nomination to the Senate ...
South African law currently does not have any legislation that specifically requires employees to take the COVID-19 vaccination. The president was also emphatic that no one would be forced to take the vaccination, which is being rolled out in a governmental attempt to vaccinate 67% of the population (approximately 40-million people in South Africa) ...
The South African Airways (“SAA”) saga continues, with another Labour Court judgment handed down on 8 February 2021. Given the financially parlous position that SAA has been in, even throughout its business rescue proceedings, the Department of Public Enterprises (“DPE”), SAA’s sole shareholder and sole lender, offered SAA employees a salary settlement agreement ...
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently updated its Compliance Manual Section on Religious Discrimination, seeking to clarify how Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) protects individuals from religious discrimination in the workplace. The enforcement guidance also discusses the legal protections available to religious employers, which have been bolstered in recent years ...
Workplace harassment is once again in the news given our former Governor General’s resignation from her post after a 132 page investigation report was issued following accusations of a toxic work environment at Rideau Hall. While the Government of Canada took the correct steps in hiring an independent investigator once the allegations surfaced, meeting with all witnesses, and then meeting with Ms ...
Introduction The employee’s right to be represented on the Board of Directors («BoD») is governed in the Limited Liability Companies Act (Nw: aksjeloven) and the Public Limited Liability Companies Act (Nw: allmennaksjeloven). We will in the following refer to the Limited Liability Companies Act («the Company Act»), as the wording is the same ...
Please find, herein, the latest up-to-date digest of the most significant court decisions, concerning legal regulation in the field of labour and employment. Here are the key decisions of the Higher Courts of the Russian Federation, as well as precedents of regional judicial authorities, in the second half of 2020. Electronic Evidence <>1 ...
Takeaways from webinar on 2 February 2021 hosted by Karen Howard, Matthew Stimson and Grace Mitchell from our planning & environmental team. What are public rights of way and why are they relevant? A public right of way (PROW) is a type of highway - a route across land over which the public at large has a right to pass/ repass without permission or interference ...
Over the next decade, challenges around public funding and a shift in live/work priorities will create an increasing need for public-private collaboration as we seek to rebuild and regenerate our towns and cities in a post-Covid and post-Brexit climate ...
February marks the start of the second month after Brexit materializing. The Member States have finally understood that the United Kingdom (UK) is no longer in the Europen Union (EU) so that the fairy-tale of the Single Market that has lasted for decades is now over. Although many businesses resolved various legal or regulatory issues before 1st January, new challenges inevitably keep arising now, when Brexit is a reality ...
The Supreme Court has issued Supreme Court Administrative Matter No. 20-12-01-SC (Re: Proposed Guidelines on the Conduct of Videoconferencing) dated December 9, 20201 (Court Videoconferencing Guidelines) to ensure that hearings via videoconferencing are conducted in an orderly manner and that the constitutional rights of the accused are protected ...
In recent years, with the continuous improvement of science and technology standards in China, the country’s cryptography technical capabilities have also begun to enter the global forefront. In turn, China has promulgated various policies and measures to fulfill its non-proliferation obligations, which have promoted the gradual implementation of control measures for the export of cryptographic technologies ...
You’ve attended the webinars on navigating COVID-19. You’ve read the trade publication tips. You have implemented measures to protect your workers. So, you’re ahead of the game, right? Well, you’re certainly ahead of the Florida sheriff who reportedly instructed his employees not to wear masks in the office. If a visitor entered Sheriff Billy Wood’s offce with a mask, they were reportedly instructed to remove it ...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released long-awaited guidance on the 2021 H-1B lottery process. The service announced it would continue with a random-selection lottery for 2021. The registration system will be open from noon Eastern March 9, 2021 to noon Eastern March 25, 2021 and the entry fee will be $10 for each case entered into the system. USCIS also announced plans to delay the Trump-era wage-based lottery registration through Dec ...
On 8 February 2021, two significant developments took place in the employment law arena. These will have far-reaching implications for employers and employees alike. New earnings threshold First, the so-called “earnings threshold” has been increased for the first time since July 2014. Previously the earnings threshold was ZAR205 433.30. As from 1 March 2021, the new earnings threshold will be ZAR211 596.30 per year (approximately ZAR17 633.00 per month) ...
The Minister of Communication and Informatics (“MOCI”) has finally issued MOCI Regulation No. 5 of 2020 on Electronic System Organizers (“ESO”) in the Private Sector (“MOCI Regulation 5/2020”) that serves as the new implementing regulation of Government Regulation No ...