This newsletter features a look into Finnish competition law developments and recent enforcement practice. 2023 starts with reforms in Finnish merger control Lower turnover thresholds enter into force Revised merger control turnover thresholds entered into force in Finland on 1 January 2023. The thresholds are applicable to all transactions signed on or after this date ...
Take-up of electric vehicles has been a rare success story for the UK government’s vision of achieving a net zero economy by 2030. The government reports that in 2022, one in six new vehicles sold in UK was a plug-in electric vehicle (EV). But dreams of an exhaust-free utopia have suffered a recent reality check ...
General Trends – EU & international tax > Click here for more details 2022 was another year rich in tax developments in Luxembourg and Europe. In an exceptional economic and geopolitical context, the European institutions continued to launch and implement international tax initiatives ...
This is the third article in our series about sponsor licences. This article focuses on the effect of insolvency on a sponsor licence. Businesses are facing challenging times in the current economic downturn and insolvency is a real possibility for many, with 5,595 company insolvencies in the third quarter of 2022[1] alone. If a business is on the brink of insolvency this will potentially have an impact on any sponsorship licences held within the company group ...
Charities face challenges on many fronts right now, but one silver lining to the cost-of-living crisis is the popularity of charity shops, especially among younger people. Today sees the launch of Charity Super.Mkt at the Brent Cross Shopping Centre in North London, a great illustration of necessity being the mother of invention, meeting the demand for sustainable fashion and bringing life back to vacant retail space. Charity Super ...
BigTech has kept information about advertising (who is seeing the adverts, who is clicking on the adverts...) largely in a safe under lock and key. This is about to change and advertising agencies could be a major beneficiary. Advertising agencies likely need to invest in capabilities to analyse huge volumes of data, or engage external advisors to do this work ...
Year 2022 included several significant legislative reforms in the field of employment law. As we have now entered 2023, it is a good time to take a look back to the previous year and to have a look at reforms and amendments coming up during 2023 within the field of employment law ...
Dr Nicholas Valenzia, head of the Shipping and Aviation Practice Area at the firm, was invited to speak at the National Aviation Conference which was organised by the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects on the 18th of January 2023 at the Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana. Dr Valenzia discussed the aircraft financing and leasing market in Malta and the challenges to enhancing sectorial capacity and improving socio-economic benefits ...
This article looks at current trends and influences and how we expect them to impact the market in 2023. Whilst the market rebounded tremendously following COVID-19, it is now facing fresh challenges with rising interest rates, inflation and increased regulation featuring heavily on board room agendas. It was a slower end to 2022 compared to last year, but this unrest will no doubt present opportunities (as well as risks) in the coming year for lenders and businesses alike ...
It’s 2023 and in the first of our HR Improve articles for this year we focus on three key areas for employers to consider when bringing new talent into their business. Permission to work in the United Kingdom Making sure that any new starter has the right to work in the UK is essential and this should be checked prior to the first day of employment to make sure that they can start as planned ...
The end of the first month in 2023 also marks the end of the next quarter in our case law update series. Here we highlight the most significant employment law cases since November 2022 and the lessons that employers should take from them. Redundancy pool Deciding on which employees to include in a redundancy pool is usually straightforward. However, problems can arise, particularly where the pool includes just one person, as the case of Teixeira v Zaika Restaurant Ltd and another demonstrated ...
On 31 December 2023 under the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, all retained EU law will be revoked. Suzanne Burrell, partner, and Kim Muddimer, PSL at Shoosmiths examine the background to the Bill and the possible impact on UK occupational pension schemes. On 22 September 2022, the UK government announced that all retained EU laws will be sunset (meaning revoked) on 31 December 2023 under the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (Bill) ...
Pensions analysis: On 16 December 2022, the Pensions Regulator (TPR) published its consultation on the new defined benefit (DB) funding code of practice together with a response to its first consultation and a consultation on its proposed twin track regulatory approach to assessing valuations including its proposed Fast Track design. Suzanne Burrell, partner at Shoosmiths examines the consultation and its implications ...
FinTech is important to the financial services sector in both India and the UK. A trade agreement could facilitate FinTech growth and deepen trade between the two countries. Kiran Desai, Head of Shoosmiths Brussels is joined by colleague Prakash Kerai to host Prashanth Ramdas of Khaitan & Co ...
The jewel in Glasgow’s famous shopping crown is known as the ‘Golden Z’, referencing the ‘Z’ shape which the famous shopping streets create – Buchanan Street linking Argyle Street to Sauchiehall Street ...
This is the second article in our series about sponsor licences. This article focuses on the effect of an acquisition on a sponsor licence. When selling or acquiring a company that already holds a sponsor licence, certain reporting duties will arise in relation to that transaction ...
Following the introduction of similar legislation in Scotland and Wales*, and a consultation exercise by the UK Government (the outcome of which was announced on 14 January 2023), a range of polluting single-use plastics will be banned from use in England from October 2023. What is coming into force and why? Under the Environmental Protection (Plastic Plates etc. and Polystyrene Containers etc ...
July 2022 saw the formal commencement of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. Opened by Inquiry Chair Baroness Heather Hallett, we later witnessed preliminary hearings for Modules 1 and 2, held in October and November. As a reminder, Modules 1 and 2 cover the overarching topics of the UK’s pandemic preparedness and resilience, and core political and administrative decision-making throughout the UK (incorporating sub-modules for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), respectively ...
We are pleased to issue our third edition of the 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 a landmark decision delivered on the 11th January 2023, in the names ‘Av. Jonathan Abela Fiorentino noe vs Eolia Limited’ (case no. 68/2022 ISB), the Civil Court (Commercial Section) rejected the application filed by defendant company demanding the Court to order a retrial of the liquidation proceedings that led to the company being placed into liquidation ...
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, On 1 January 2023, Federal Law No. 237-FZ dated 14 July 2022 (the “Law”) came into force. The Law changed the way companies cooperate in terms of the engagement of individuals under civil law contracts. The text of the Law is available in Russian here. Considering the latest recommendations from the Russian Ministry of Labour, companies also need to consider these changes in relation to contractors who live abroad ...
Scotland’s position on addressing biodiversity in planning and development is different from England. The approach being adopted north of the border is based on ‘enhancing’ the biodiversity of a site, rather than the 10 per cent net gain requirement set to be introduced in England in November 2023 ...
With the new year in full swing, we look at what we can expect in the employee incentives space in 2023. Board discretion for enterprise management incentive (‘EMI’) options: A key development last year was the arrival of the long-awaited HMRC guidance on the use of board discretion in the context of EMI options in October 2022. The uncertainty around HMRC practice had been causing hesitation in advice and delays on corporate transactions ...
This is the first of three articles in our series on sponsor licences. This article focuses on how to obtain a sponsor licence as a Start-up business. In the eyes of the Home Office, a Start-up is a company that has been operating or trading in the UK for less than 18 months on the date that they make a sponsor licence application ...
To help further the objectives of the Women’s Health Strategy for England (published by the Department of Health and Social Care in July 2022) £1.97m has been awarded to help women in the workplace who are experiencing reproductive health issues. The grant will be shared between 16 charities which include, amongst others, Fertility Network UK, Sands, Tommy’s and Mind ...
