Shepherd and Wedderburn reported 5% turnover growth to £62.2 million in the year to 30 April 2022. Net profits (before partner distributions) grew 3% to £26 million. In recognition of their commitment to the firm and its clients, in addition to the firm’s performance-related bonus scheme, colleagues will receive an exceptional bonus of 5% of annual salary ...
With the lifting of the restrictions on the presentation of winding up petitions, and the likely cash flow pressures caused by price inflation, it is widely anticipated that we will see an increase in the number of companies subject to winding up proceedings ...
The Supreme Court has ruled that any worker or employee who works for part of the year but has been employed on a continuing contract must receive 5.6 weeks’ leave at full pay. This means they will likely receive proportionately more annual leave and pay than their full-year counterparts. Employers cannot pro-rate a worker’s statutory holiday allowance to reflect the number of weeks they actually work ...
On 18 July 2022, the UK government introduced the new Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (Bill). What is the Bill? The new Data Protection and Digital Information Bill contains the government’s proposals to reform the UK’s data protection regime. The Bill quickly follows the government’s publication in June of its response to its consultation on the Data Reform Bill carried out in Autumn 2021 ...
Last month the Scottish Government published “Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation”, a consultation paper on a new Land Reform Bill. The paper sets out the proposals for the bill and seeks views on various related issues, including measures aimed at “large-scale holdings”, changes to subsidies, the introduction of a new type of agricultural tenancy, and transparency of land ownership ...
Esports will this year feature in the Commonwealth Games for the first time. Alongside the Commonwealth Esports Championships, the Commonwealth Esports Forum will be held at the same venue on 5 August. The Forum will bring together thought leaders and idea creators to discuss business opportunities and current issues in the esports sector. Competitors and businesses will be travelling to the UK from around the world to participate in the Esports Championships and Forum ...
With the next August public holiday on the horizon, we look at what can be a complicated area in calculating bank holiday entitlement for individuals who work part-time and/or on compressed hours. Under the Working Time Directive (WTD), which is now retained EU law, a worker has the right to a minimum of 4 weeks’ annual leave (or 20 days for a full-time worker). The Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR), which implement the WTD into UK law, provide an additional 1 ...
On 21st July 2022, the COVID-19 Inquiry was opened. Module 1 will consider the extent to which the risk of a Coronavirus pandemic was properly identified and planned for and whether the UK was ready for that eventuality. In broad terms, the module will look at the UK’s preparedness for whole-system civil emergencies, including resourcing, the system of risk management and pandemic readiness ...
ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) has become a familiar phrase and, in practice, the component parts of it are developing at different rates. ESG in leasing models: focus on the ‘social’ ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) has become a familiar phrase and, in practice, the component parts of it are developing at different rates ...
Merger control is an integral part of competition law. The Norwegian Competition Authority (NCA) enforces the Norwegian merger control rules. Notification to the NCA is compulsory before closing and implementing all mergers and acquisitions that bring about a structural «change of control» in the market and exceed the national turnover thresholds ...
On June 21, 2022, the government adopted Resolution No. 702 , which regulates the procedure for receiving partial unemployment benefits. From now on , self-employed persons and employees who have lost part of their income can count on assistance from the state. However, it should be noted that it is not the employee, but the employer who should seek help ...
We are pleased to introduce our Regulatory Compliance Quarterly Updates. These updates are intended to keep Maltese regulated entities informed of regulatory changes and developments taking place in the local financial services space. In this issue, we focus on the sector specific and cross-sectoral regulatory updates relating to Investment Services and Asset Management. Our first Regulatory Compliance Quarterly Update can be found here ...
This article explores the importance of protecting your cryptocurrency investment by having access to the ‘private key’. Without it, you are not really in control of that cryptocurrency and can’t prove you are the true ‘owner’ of it. Crypto, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, blockchain – exciting, enticing, and quickly becoming a favoured source of investment ...
Daniil Lozovsky, Senior Attorney of the Competition/Antitrust Practice, and Grigory Viktorov, Junior Attorney of Competition/Antitrust Practice prepared an article “The new foreign direct investments regime in Russia” in Mergers & Acquisitions Expert Guide 2022 published by the Corporate LiveWire magazine. The article is aimed at informing the readers on the new FDI regime, the corresponding legal basis and the related matters ...
In light of the sanctions imposed, ALRUD experts have prepared an Overview of Russian Counter-Sanctions measures that have been taken in response to the actions of unfriendly countries since 24 February 2022. The overview focuses on: Russian counter-sanctions measures Liability Prospects for foreign business Recent trends in litigation and arbitration Assumptions and limitations The review is updated on an ongoing basis. Follow the link to learn more ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar on reducing scope 3 emissions: Fuel and Energy-Related Activities. Shoosmiths is delighted to be sponsoring United Nation Global Compact Network (UNGC) UK’s series of webinars on ‘Reducing Scope 3 Emissions’ ...
A year after Ms Maya Forstater succeeded in establishing in the Employment Appeal Tribunal that gender-critical beliefs are a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010, she has won two of her claims for direct discrimination and one claim for victimisation. Employers need to tread very carefully both to balance individual employees' rights to hold sometimes conflicting protected beliefs and to foster a culture that is truly inclusive ...
The recent Argos decision has partially overturned the Bakers of Nailsea decision in relation to summary only offences and the requirements of Criminal Procedure Rules. Public prosecutions begin after an authorised body applies to the magistrates’ court for a summons alleging an offence. The rules underpinning this process are in the Criminal Procedure Rules (CrimPR) Part 7 (and associated Practice Direction). One such rule, CrimPR 7 ...
Background The Malta Financial Services Authority has informed investment firms of the amendments carried out to Part BI of the investment services rules for Investment Services Providers. These amendments seek to implement the provisions of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1253 ...
On 21 July 2022, Baroness Heather Hallett issued an opening statement in respect of the COVID-19 Inquiry ('the Inquiry'). As Chair, Baroness Hallett expressed her determination to “run the Inquiry as thoroughly and as efficiently as possible” and “to undertake and conclude the work of this Inquiry as speedily as possible so that lessons are learned before another pandemic strikes ...
The Supreme Court has handed down its decision in the claim of Harpur Trust v Brazel, which may have a significant impact on employers of part-year workers. Background Under the Working Time Regulations (“WTR”), workers are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks’ annual leave and to be paid holiday pay at a rate of a week’s pay ...
Does the recent High Court decision in Butler-Sloss and Others -v- The Charity Commission and the Attorney General change the law on how charity trustees should approach investing their funds? The short answer is “no”. The decision is a reinterpretation of the 30-year-old decision in the Bishop of Oxford case for our modern world and a reinstatement of the fundamental duty of charity trustees to act in the best interests of their charities’ purposes ...
Dr Christine Calleja and Dr Warren Ciantar, in collaboration with 21 Malta, delivered a one hour presentation on the new rights introduced by the Work-Life Balance for Parents and Carers Regulations, on Wednesday 20th July 2022. The main rights to be introduced by the Regulations will be paid paternal leave, partly paid parental leave and unpaid carer’s leave ...
