Employer Checking Service (ECS) checks are a vital step in the right to work check process. Positive Verification Notice (PVN) from the ECS can ensure that an employer maintains a statutory excuse against liability for a civil penalty for illegal working in situations where an employee’s visa expires during the course of their employment. ECS checks are required in situations where an employee is on a time limited visa that expires during employment ...
The non-fungible token (NFT) boom among luxury fashion brands recently made headlines again with a highly publicised trial involving the French fashion brand Hermès and its iconic Birkin handbags in New York. The case involved a prominent figure in the world of NFTs, digital artist Mason Rothschild. NFTs are digital assets that are unique, verified, and securely stored on a blockchain (a type of decentralised public digital database) ...
This article discusses the recent Insight Paper on Web3 (“Paper”) which was published by the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (“DRCF”) on 3 February 2023. It explores the regulatory perspective on the future vision of the internet and what the next steps are for the regulators and interested stakeholders ...
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) – which is underpinned by competition law - allows access to third parties to data previously held only by ‘Gatekeepers’, namely, large digital platforms, such as Google or Facebook ...
Hydrogen's potential to support the UK’s journey to net-zero depends in large part on how carbon-intensive the hydrogen we produce is. One of the challenges this presents is transparency. Much like electrons in a wire look the same (whether generated from coal or from wind), a hydrogen molecule looks the same whether produced by electrolysis powered by renewables or from carbon-intensive steam methane reforming ...
It's the final countdown to the new Consumer Duty. After what feels like a lifetime of consultations, responses and commentary on the FCAs new Consumer Duty, the final countdown is upon us. With just over 5 months to go before the Consumer Duty comes into force, the big question is.. ...
The number of knife offences is going down but are still higher than at the start of the pandemic. Will the new Sentencing Guidelines for sales of knives to those younger than 18 (which come into effect on 1 April 2023) reduce the number further? Certainly, that would appear to be the intention of the Guidelines which significantly increase the potential consequences for retailers who break the law ...
Hydrogen is often touted as the future of green industry, heating and fuels. It certainly has the capability to be just that, but there are many hurdles along the way to be overcome. In truth, while there are many methods to produce hydrogen, only four could potentially reach carbon zero ...
Blowing a whistle remains the most effective means of being heard above the crowd and drawing attention to an issue. Speaking up can help charities to do their work even better. The relevance of whistleblowing to charities A private member’s bill is wending its way through Parliament at the moment, looking to establish an Office of the Whistleblower ...
Our support of the UK’s first official Hydrogen Week continues this week, bringing together stakeholders across the UK to celebrate and promote the role of hydrogen in reaching net zero (NZ). Michael Bennett, construction legal director at Shoosmiths, explores the topic of hydrogen and its current journey to achieving net zero. The number that has been front and centre of every environmental conference is 1.5C ...
The planning system has a key role to play in both facilitating and legislating for environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles. In the final instalment of Shoosmiths’ planning video series, legal director Sam Grange and associate Eram Watson examine how the real estate industry and planning system is incorporating ESG ...
Is Tesco exploiting Lidl’s reputation as a discount or ‘value’ supermarket? This is what Lidl are alleging in the most recent supermarket trademark dispute. The question being put before the Court is essentially whether Tesco’s ‘Clubcard Prices’ logo infringes on Lidl’s brand logo, as both appear as text in a yellow circle on a blue background ...
An analyst estimates that the market value in 2023 for digital advertising will be US$701 billion. The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) is a legislative competition law 'key' to 'unlocking' the big-data relating to digital advertising held in the ‘safe’ owned by BigTech. Advertising agencies are potentially one class of beneficiary (see link for article - The Digital Markets Act - Strategy reboot for online advertising) ...
The UK government’s 2022 Policy Paper on AI Regulation made no specific reference to generative AI models such as ChatGPT, the chatbot that has been taking the world by storm. Considering the speed at which such AI models are developing, however, and the interest they are attracting, the government may look to consider regulating them more explicitly. In such case, it is unclear whether the government will stick to the principles set out by Liz Truss’s administration ...
Why is green hydrogen important and what is its role in energy transition? The UK’s first official Hydrogen Week takes centre stage this week, bringing together stakeholders across the UK to celebrate and promote the role of hydrogen in reaching net zero (NZ) ...
The Supreme Court has this week (8 February 2023) handed down a judgment considering whether landlords have management discretion to vary service charge percentages in residential leases. S.27A(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 (the Act) gives the First-tier Tribunal (FtT) the ability on application to make various decisions about service charges in residential dwellings, including whether it is payable or not ...
On Tuesday 7 February 2023, the Transport Secretary, Rt Hon Mark Harper, laid out his commitment to the rail industry for the first time during the George Bradshaw address. As it stands it was a huge night for rail, with the sector desperate for some clarity over what the next steps are in relation to a number of things ranging from the establishment of Great British Railways (GBR) through to where it will be based and visibility of work pipelines ...
The UK’s advertising regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), has recently issued a warning to advertisers to ensure that their marketing does not mislead or take advantage of consumers when advertising products as saving money in the cost-of-living crisis ...
Underpinning the litigation anticipated to follow the COVID-19 Inquiry is the feeling that it is still too early for claims on key matters to be issued. A recent theme of claimant firms has been to agree deadlines with counterparties where limitation issues arise, or to put counterparties on notice of claims but wait for evidence to be given to the Inquiry and any findings before taking claims forward ...
The Register of Controlled Interests in Land (RCI) opened in Scotland on 1 April 2022. As we reported last year, the main aim of the RCI Regulations[1] is to increase public transparency around individuals who have significant control over decision-making in relation to land or a registrable lease, but crucially who do not appear on the Land Register or Sasine Register ...
With the impact of climate change increasingly evident, it is no wonder that many consumers are endeavouring to make more environmentally conscious decisions in their day-to-day lives. Consumers’ focus to become more environmentally friendly often centralises around changes to their purchases of small, everyday goods such as food, toiletries and other household essentials ...
As an employer, how do you support your employees who are going through a divorce or separation? Lots of employers (including household names such as Asda, Tesco and Unilever) are working with Positive Parenting Alliance (PPA) to ensure that they have more family-friendly employee policies in place for employees going through divorce or separation ...
This week marks Children's Mental Health Week (6-12 February 2023). The focus on mental health has been increasing in recent years, with one in six children aged between five and 16 likely to have experienced mental health challenges. As a result, there are a growing number of workdays lost by parents, guardians, carers, and those with childcare responsibilities, to support and manage such challenges ...
Pensions analysis: The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has issued its levy rules and associated guidance and appendices for the 2023–24 levy year. Suzanne Burrell, Partner at Shoosmiths, examines the latest rules and guidance, the changes made since last year, the implications for pension schemes and what happens next. What is the background to the PPF’s consultation on the 2023/24 levy rules? The PPF’s consultation ran during the autumn of 2022 ...
For those engaged in the financial services sector, these seven letters often pave the way to difficult decisions, reprioritisation of projects and occasionally, an awkward shuffle in the seat. On receipt of their own Dear CEO letter from Unite the Union, I have no doubt that there has been a lot of awkward shuffling around the management tables at the FCA. The letter to Rikhil Rathi (CEO of the FCA) was sent on February 1 and it cannot make for comfortable reading ...
