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 ...
This bulletin is on recent Philippine legal developments in data privacy, fintech and digital banks. PRIVACY UPDATE Caring about Sharing: New Rules on Data Sharing Agreements On December 23, 2020, the Philippine data privacy regulator, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) issued NPC Circular No. 2020-03 on data sharing agreements (2020 DSA Circular).1 The circular supersedes NPC Circular No ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 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 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Over the last few years, companies listed on both the primary and secondary market of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (“JSE”), have been obliged to comply with increasingly onerous and often unclear reporting obligations in respect of the status of their transformation. On 3 February 2021, the B-BBEE Commission offered some clarity, however, there are still uncertainties that need to be addressed for many JSE-listed companies to overcome reporting challenges ...
With the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 ("POPIA") deadline closing in on 1 July 2021, many organisations are starting to feel the mounting pressure of becoming compliant with POPIA. A good starting point in any POPIA compliance journey is the appointment of an Information Officer for your organisation. Who is the Information Officer? POPIA, by default, designates the head of any private body as the Information Officer ...
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 ...
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 ...
