It is not unusual for an employee to raise a grievance during their employment. However, this can become the default position, often when the working relationship breaks down. We consider some practical steps for employers to take when this occurs. What is a grievance? The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) defines a grievance widely as any complaint, concern or problem that an employee wishes to raise with their employer ...
The Shoosmiths pensions team has hosted a webinar for non-pensions professionals, trustees and company directors to provide an oversight of pensions issues likely to effect businesses over the next 12 months ...
On February 22, the government extended the state of emergency by 90 days, to May 23. The extension also applies to the transitional provisions the government passed in the earlier phase of the pandemic for the protection of health and the economy. Among these transitional rules is the so-called Home Office Decree. This decree relaxed the regulation in the field of the otherwise strict and rigid rules pertaining to teleworking and home office work ...
This publication is part of a DFDL series focusing on Corporate Insolvency Regime in consideration of the COVID-19 outbreak in Asia. DFDL published the previous editions in a series of tailor-made FAQs on restructuring and insolvency matters that businesses and stakeholders need to keep track of in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam ...
A NEW PATHWAY From Uber to Jumia and even older technology (tech) companies like Etranzact and Chams Plc, it is arguable that Initial Public Offerings (“IPOs”) have not offered great returns for tech companies in Nigeria and across the globe[1]. Investors are speculating on whether the great tech bubble is about to burst because, considering the cost of IPOs, tech companies have to scrutinise the expected returns when contemplating an IPO ...
Tech Companies and Fund Raising: The New Way of Going Public (Part 2) In the second part of our article, we focus on Spotify, a digital music service that utilised a direct listing to become a public company, the key steps they took that differed from a traditional IPO, and how the NSE can modify its current regulatory framework to include direct listings. Case Study: Spotify Technology S ...
Cal-OSHA’s COVID-19 regulation remains in effect after the trial court rejected a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by a coalition of employers. This included challenges to: (1) compensation for employees excluded from work; (2) mandated testing; and (3) health and safety requirements for employer-provided housing and transportation. Therefore, employers must continue to abide by the requirements of the emergency regulation ...
For the first time, a restructuring plan has been confirmed under the new Court Approved Restructuring Plan Act (Wet Homologatie Onderhands Akkoord, or WHOA). This court confirmation illustrates how a "Dutch Scheme" comes about in practice. In this article our restructuring specialists Jelmer Baukema and Willemijn Bouman briefly discuss the court confirmation ...
Good news in times of crisis: The eagerly awaited draft of the Restructuring and Insolvency Directive Implementation Act (RIRL-UG) was published yesterday. The law with which Directive (EU) 2019/1023 (Restructuring Directive) is implemented in Austria is to come into force on July 17, 2021 (at the end of the implementation period). The review phase will run until April 6, 2021 ...
Legal Notice 59 of 2021 has amended the annual leave provisions in the Organisation of Working Time Regulations (S.L. 452.87). With effect from the 1st of January 2021, the days of annual leave have been reduced from 27 days to 24 days but employees shall be entitled to an additional day of annual leave in respect of public or national holidays falling on a Saturday, Sunday or weekly day of rest ...
This week, Westlaw Today published an article by Dinsmore partner J.T. Wilson III about the generational shift in attitudes toward racial equity in light of George Floyd's death and about how business owners and employers must react accordingly ...
We wish to bring to your attention that the deadline for applying for foreign employee work permits for 2021 with the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training (“MLVT”) is 31 March 2021. This obligation applies to every employer in Cambodia employing foreign employees, including representative offices, branches, private or public limited companies, non-governmental organizations and associations ...
New research from the CIPD has confirmed that LGBT+ employees experience higher level of work-based conflict, and almost one in five transgender workers feel psychologically unsafe at work. The CIPD’s recent report, Inclusion at work: perspectives on LGBT+ working lives confirms that while workplace inclusivity is fundamental to good, fair work and positive employee outcomes, many organisations have been slow to make headway to support their LGBT+ workforces ...
As of March 11, 2020, the date on which the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic, States have taken various measures such as social distancing, restriction of free movement, the closure of borders, among others, which have undoubtedly had a decisive impact on people in general, and especially on workers and employers ...
Is Wi-Fi sickness a disability? The California Court of Appeal just said it is in Brown v. Los Angeles Unified School District (2d Dist., Div. Eight), Case No. B294240. In a case that tests the limits of California’s liberal pleading standard, the appellate court green-lighted a claim of a woman who asserted a disability of “electromagnetic hypersensitivity,” or, as the concurring justice put it, “Wi-Fi sickness ...
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 ...
In the Official Gazette No. 27, volume No. 426, dated February 10th, 2020, was published Decree No. 463, which contains the Law of Electronic Commerce – hereinafter “LCE” -, which has the purpose of establishing a legal framework for electronic relations of a commercial, contractual nature, carried out by digital, electronic, or technologically equivalent means. As stipulated in Decree No ...
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 ...
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 ...
The reasons for the changes to the Golden visa rules: A legislative authorisation in the 2020 State Budget 2020 authorised the Government to review the rules on residence permits for investment provided for in Law 23/2007 of 4 July by the end of 2020. The aim is to encourage investment in inland areas, urban regeneration, cultural heritage, activities of high environmental or social value, and productive investment and job creation ...
In January 2021, the U.S. Dept. of Justice (DOJ) announced $2.2 billion in False Claims Act (FCA) recoveries for fiscal year 2020, which ended on September 30.[1] Although this amount is substantial, it nonetheless represents the smallest recovery figure in 10 years. These figures reflect the Trump administration’s unaggressive enforcement efforts and its restrictive view of the FCA. As recently as 2016, FCA recovery exceeded $4.5 billion. Recoveries in 2019 were $3 ...
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 ...
