On 10 May 2023, the government announced its proposals for reforming employment law post-Brexit in its policy paper, Smarter Regulation to Grow the Economy, the main headline of which was the decision to reverse the sunset date from the Brexit Bill. The new policy paper sets out the first series of reforms in the government’s vision for a post-Brexit world and in particular focuses on how current EU derived regulations can be improved to reduce burdens on businesses ...
We hear so much about the rights of working families, but what about those who do not have children? Should employees without children be entitled to an equivalent form of ‘parental’ leave? We consider this question and how such leave could be managed. What is the position for parents? Parental leave is a form of statutory leave that allows working parents the right to take unpaid time off work to look after a child or make arrangements for their welfare ...
Although NFTs have existed for a number of years, and have changed the world of merchandise and art, it is worth considering how intellectual property (IP) rights interplay with this asset class. This article considers NFTs in their component parts with a view to understanding how IP law, and specifically the areas of copyright and trade marks, apply. What is an NFT? An NFT stands for non-fungible token and is a digital asset with a unique digital identifier, recorded on a blockchain ...
For those experiencing infertility, the impact on their mental and emotional well-being can be extremely detrimental. This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and we consider what employers can do to provide additional support. Recent years have seen an increased focus on mental health and well-being within the workplace - particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic ...
After just over a week of waiting, the Government yesterday confirmed that the plan to throw some 4,800 pieces of Retained EU Legislation (“REUL”) onto the bonfire at the end of this year has now been scaled back. Instead we will only lose in the region of 500-600 pieces of legislation, with all remaining REUL becoming English Law ...
On February 23, 2023, the Parliament adopted a new Law of Ukraine "On Collective Agreements and Contracts" (hereinafter - the " Law" ). Most of the provisions of the Law enter into force 6 months after the termination or cancellation of martial law, but we can understand what new this act offers now ...
By imposing the obligations, the regulation aims to end unfair practices and conduct which is harmful to competition and end users by the companies acting as gatekeepers in the online platform economy. Under the DMA, a firm will be considered as a designated gatekeeper if three criteria are met. First, the company must have a significant impact on the European market which is determined by the company’s turnover ...
It would be a surprise to many, but it has been common knowledge to criminal practitioners for years, that a criminal defendant’s sentence for a crime which they have been convicted can be increased based on consideration of conduct that the jury acquitted ...
Generative AI has become a worldwide sensation recently with the launch of ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, and other eye-catching products. Large language models such as ChatGPT have shown their phenomenal capacity for human language comprehension, human-machine interaction, text writing, programming, reasoning, etc. by generating output that is often on a par with the level of human intelligence, if not better ...
The Metaverse, retail and brand protection When first confronted with concepts such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs, it took most of us quite some time before we felt it was “safe enough” to make our first online purchase. For some, it was a case of calling a friend to find out if their experience was legitimate before taking that leap! Well, safe to say this is no longer the case ...
With cloud technology becoming increasingly important, data centres provide services critical to many businesses. Given the strategic value of data center to digital transformation, it is essential that data center vendors have a clear plan to manage the risks they face. What are some of the key risks for data center vendors Security Digital and physical security risks have been listed as the top 5 data center security risks for 2023 ...
Introduction On February 1, 2023, Minister of Justice Simon Jolin-Barrette introduced and tabled in the National Assembly Bill 8 entitled An Act to improve justice efficiency and accessibility, in particular by promoting mediation and arbitration and by simplifying civil procedure in the Court of Québec1 (hereinafter the ?Bill?). The Bill makes amendments to several laws, including the Courts of Justice Act2 and the Professional Code ...
The Home Office recently updated the ‘reporting duties’ section of its guidance for sponsor licence holders. In particular, the Home Office has added new detail to the ‘change of work location’ section and clarified (to some extent) when a report needs to be made where a sponsored worker undertakes their work either remotely or through a hybrid working pattern ...
Applicability of English case law and practice The relevant provisions of the Jersey companies law are based on the UK Companies Act 1985, and are similar to the equivalent provisions in the UK Companies Act 2006 ...
In the Industrial Tribunal case of David Magro v HSBC Bank Malta plc, the applicant alleged that he had been unfairly dismissed when the defendant bank had not accepted to renew his career break, resulting in his employment being terminated. The applicant had been granted such a renewal for several years but had agreed with the Bank that the last renewal would be final, and that by a specific date, he had to either resign or return to perform his duties with the Bank ...
Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) are financial institutions that offer electronic money services to customers. Legislation on EMIs is partially harmonised in the EU as there is only an Electronic Money Directive (Directive 2009/110/EC) (“EMD”) rather than a regulation. In Malta, the EMD is transposed in the Financial Institutions Act, Chapter 376 of the Laws of Malta ...
The SEC Division of Examinations (“Examinations”) issued a Risk Alert on April 26, 2023 to highlight the importance of establishing written policies and procedures for safeguarding customer records and information at branch offices. Examinations provides that a branch office includes any location other than a firm’s main office, including offices of any independent contractors through which a firm may offer investment products and services ...
Recently published government guidance on reporting ethnicity pay data will assist those employers who voluntarily choose to report their data. We highlight the key messages from the guidance and the challenges employers need to address when reporting. It is a statutory requirement for employers with 250 or more employees to measure and report gender pay gaps ...
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is a UK independent agency established by legislation that ‘must seek to promote competition…for the benefit of consumers’. To do so the CMA may carry out research. The CMA announced on 4 May 2023 it is opening an initial review of competition and consumer protection considerations in the development and use of AI foundation models ...
The progression of online financial ecosystems supporting any modern economy hinges on the citizens’ use of new financial technologies. In Malta, the word ‘fintech’ is neither defined by law nor found in the jurisdiction’s primary legislation. Yet, local stakeholders on the island commonly limit the meaning of the word to blockchain-based finance ...
Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) are increasing in popularity with many entrepreneurs and business owners now looking at this alternative structure of exit. EOTs were introduced through the Finance Act of 2014 to encourage founders and other shareholders to pass ownership of their company on for the benefit of its employees. The John Lewis Partnership, a long-established brand, is well recognised for employee engagement, however EOTs were relatively slow to take off in the UK ...
We highlight the most significant employment law cases since January 2023 and the lessons that employers should take from them. Without prejudice correspondence It is common for employers to use ‘without prejudice’ correspondence when negotiating with an employee on the termination of their employment ...
The UK government has proposed legislation (the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill) that would materially affect merger control for transactions of both UK and non-UK companies. This comment addresses the proposed introduction of a mandatory reporting regime as a prior step to the current merger control regime in the UK ...
The UK government has proposed legislation (Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament) that would materially affect merger control for transactions. This comment addresses the proposed changes that would be of concern to those engaged in mergers affecting local markets ...
