Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on standards of quality and safety Current regulatory framework and scope of application The EU regulatory framework on substances of human origin (“SoHO”) is reflected in Directives 2002/98/EC for blood and 2004/23/EC for tissues and cells ...
Our latest article provides a useful checklist to help in-house legal teams consider potential implications when dealing with employment claims arising from the pandemic, which are linked to civil and/or criminal claims and the COVID-19 public inquiry. Companies have been receiving Employment Tribunal claims arising from the pandemic – ranging from unfair dismissal (no jab, no job) to whistleblowing and bullying claims relating to alleged employer breaches during the multiple lockdowns ...
Pensions dashboards have been a long time in the making, but we can be certain now that they are coming, and soon. Trustees of schemes with more than 100 members (excluding pensioner members) will need to ensure that they connect to the dashboard by their statutory connection date - but there’s a lot of preparatory work needed to make that possible ...
The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 (the Act) came into force on 30 June 2022. Headlined as one of the ‘most significant changes to property law in a generation’, the Act restricts ground rents on newly created long residential leases. Ground rents have been replaced by a token one peppercorn per year – effectively zero in monetary value. By restricting ground rent, the government is aiming to make leasehold ownership more affordable ...
Introduction On 30 June 2022, the Council of the European Union (EU) announced1 that the Council presidency and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the proposed markets in crypto-assets regulation (MiCA). More details here. The aim behind the proposed regulatory framework is to bring legal and regulatory certainty for crypto-asset operators across the EU ...
The Feedback Statement on the final Corporate Governance Code (hereinafter referred to as the “CGC” or the “Code”), accompanying the publication of the final CGC dated 5th August 2022 outlines the feedback received from stakeholders and provides the MFSA’s way forward in response to the feedback it received. The CGC is a code issued by the MFSA intended to enhance the governance, culture and conduct of MFSA Authorised Entities ...
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 ...
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 ...
The inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championships and Commonwealth Esports Forum will be staged at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham on 6-7 August 2022. The championships are a result of the strategic partnership between the Global Esports Federation and the Commonwealth Games Federation, which was announced in May 2020 ...
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 ...
The National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSIA) came into force on 4 January 2022. The UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published last month its first Annual Report on the NSIA in its first three months of operation. More on this can be found here ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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’ ...
