This is a meaningful Budget for the affordable housing sector, with positive signs that housing, particularly affordable housing, is being prioritised by the government. This reflects a recognition of how crucial community building is for social cohesion and the economy. As highlighted in the Radix Big Tent Housing Commission’s recommendations last week, a prompt rent settlement is essential for the affordable housing sector and for Registered Providers ...
By the end of this year, the Home Office is transitioning to an entirely digital UK immigration system. This means that all physical immigration status documents will be replaced with digital immigration status, referred to as eVisas, and this includes any BRP’s, BRC’s or passport vignettes. The eVisa will be the only way to prove your immigration status once this transition is complete. The Home Office aim to complete the transition by 31 December 2024 ...
1. Introduction The Act imposes an obligation on companies and other legal entities to obtain information about the company’s beneficial owners. The purpose of the Act is to improve access to information about ownership and control in Norwegian companies, and to be a tool in the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and other financial crime. The parties subject to the Act are referred to in the Act as «obliged entities» ...
This article is part of our EU AI Act series which explores the effect of the AI Act across various industries and sectors. Investment legislation can be split into two broad categories: investment funds and investment services. The former principally relates to UCITS, AIFMD and local laws which regulate asset management and their service providers. The latter relates to regulating financial instruments and the investment markets thereof ...
If you find yourself at risk of personal liability as a director in respect of a company's affairs then it is vital that you seek urgent legal advice to mitigate your loss. As a general rule, any claims for wrongdoings committed by the company should be brought against the company as it is recognised as a distinct legal entity and is therefore separate from its shareholders and directors. However, this protection is not absolute ...
On 8 October 2024, the U.K. Investment Association (IA) published its Principles of Remuneration (the Principles) for the 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM) season, setting out the IA’s expectations on executive remuneration structures. The Principles are predominantly for companies with a main market listing but are also relevant to companies listed on other markets, such as AIM, or private companies (Companies). The Principles build on the remuneration expectations set out in the U.K ...
Background In January 2022, the Hordaland District Court issued a decision that authorised the Competition Authority to conduct a dawn raid and seize evidence at Kommunal Landspensjonskasse Mutual Insurance Company (“KLP”). The dawn raid was carried out in February 2022. The seizure included, among other things, electronic material produced by KLP’s in-house lawyers ...
Deadline for transposing NIS2 into national law in the EU and adoption of new implementing regulation On October 17 2024 – the same day as the deadline for transposing the NIS2 Directive into the national law of the EU Member States – the European Commission has adopted an Implementing Regulation to the NIS2 Directive regarding cybersecurity risk management and notification obligations for digital infrastructure and digital service providers ...
From 26 October 2024, employers will be required to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers must ensure they understand the parameters of this new duty and have implemented the measures needed to comply with it. What the Act says The Act requires employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers in the course of their employment ...
The recent takeover of Capital & Regional by NewRiver REIT marks the latest example of consolidation in the UK REIT market, following other notable deals such as the LondonMetric takeover of LXi, as well as the merger between Tritax Big Box and UKCM. This wave of corporate activity has been driven by several factors. One trend is the shift towards specialisation, with REITs increasingly differentiating themselves to investors by focusing on specific sectors ...
The new Network and Information Systems Directive (NIS2) came into effect on 18 October 2024 and with it comes an overhaul of the way in which cybersecurity risk management is regulated in Europe ...
This article is part of our EU AI Act series which explores the effect of the AI Act across various industries and sectors. Introduction The first article (see link below) in this EU AI Act series provided, inter alia, a breakdown of the scope, applicability, timeline and risk levels of the AI Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 [1] (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”) ...
Guidance published this month by the UK Government is designed to support firms in the UK financial sector to share customer information more easily in the pursuit of the prevention and detection of economic crime. Key facts: The UK Government has issued guidance for anti-money laundering regulated firms on the voluntary information sharing measures contained in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (the “Act”) ...
The UK’s Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is set to deliver her first Budget on 30 October and it is anticipated to bring significant changes to the tax landscape. With the Government having identified a funding shortfall of £22 billion, it seems almost inevitable that tax rises are on the way, with capital gains tax (CGT) squarely in the Chancellor’s sights. We’ve outlined some potential changes and key considerations that may be relevant before, and after, Budget Day ...
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is seeking feedback from stakeholders on new best practice guidance for food businesses that provide non-prepacked food. What is non-prepacked food? Non-prepacked food includes all foods that are not prepacked, e.g., loose foods, food packaged at the request of the consumer, food supplied by caterers, meals served in a restaurant, takeaway food, food made to order at cafes, etc ...
Stress and burnout at work is becoming an increasingly spoken about topic, particularly in high pressure roles and sectors such as cyber security professionals within the tech sector. How can employers help to prevent their employees from experiencing it? What is stress and burnout? There is no doubt that employee stress levels have risen as the demands of the workplace have increased ...
The European Commission published its draft regulation, the “NIS2 Implementing Regulation” (“N2IR”), for consultation on 27 June 2024. N2IR builds on the Network and Information Systems Directive 2022/2555 (“NIS2”), which was adopted on 16 January 2023 and will begin to apply from 18 October 2024 and beyond ...
Law firm Shoosmiths has advised Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK (TMUK) on two major agreements relating to the construction of a state-of-the-art anaerobic digester (AD) plant at the TMUK engine manufacturing facility in Deeside, North Wales (UK). The new waste to energy plant will be situated next to the Toyota Engine Plant and construction at the £282m privately funded venture will start next month ...
Working time’ for National Minimum Wage (NMW) purposes can cause a real headache for employers and the case law in this area continues to develop as (travel) time moves on. The National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/621) (NMW Regulations 2015) define various types of ‘work’ which includes ‘time work’ ...
Data subject access requests can be a compliance headache for businesses. The first of our series on DSARs looked at how data protection “by design” can make the job easier. But what about deciding whether or not to resist a DSAR when it actually lands? Dealing with data subject rights requests, or DSARs, is one of the biggest compliance headaches for many businesses ...
On the 7 October 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) published a ‘Dear CEO letter’ to Payment Service Providers (‘PSPs’) impacted by the mandatory reimbursement requirements for victims of authorised push payment fraud (‘APP’) ...
Insurance disputes are a timeless topic. However, in difficult economic times, the number of insurance disputes tend to increase. Our Dispute Resolution practice hosted a webinar on 17 September 2024 on the current trends in insurance disputes and shared their views on the challenges different parties may face in such disputes. The webinar also addressed practical strategies for managing disputes effectively. We have summarised the key topics of the webinar in the article below ...
The Employment Rights Bill 2024 promises to bring substantial change to employment law across Great Britain, designed to enhance worker protections and promote fair employment practices. We consider the key changes and their implications for employers. Key changes Day-one rights for unfair dismissal One of the most significant changes is the introduction of day-one rights for unfair dismissal ...
In our eighth article in the series focusing on the risk of discrimination in the workplace, we consider the protected characteristic of disability, the common issues that arise and what employers can do to avoid discrimination claims. What is disability discrimination? Disability discrimination occurs where a job applicant or employee is treated less favourably because of their disability ...
Previously ALRUD reported that an increase of the “exit tax” up to 40% of the valuation was being discussed by the Russian Government. The new information provided by ALRUD’s sources suggests that the “exit tax” will be increased ****up to 35%**** total, with ****three separate payments within 2 years**** from closing of a transaction. Please note, however, that no official statements have been made by the authorities ...
