Milton Keynes, the New Town famous for its grid system, roundabouts and concrete cows is every bit the planner’s dream. Fifty-five years after its foundation and bidding for city status in the Queen’s platinum jubilee year, Milton Keynes has come of age ...
We are very excited to be supporting the UN Global Compact Network UK’s ‘Transitioning to a Net Zero’ webinar series ...
We are very excited to be supporting the UN Global Compact Network UK’s ‘Transitioning to a Net Zero’ webinar series. On Tuesday 19 October 2021, the ‘Transitioning to Net Zero for Professional Services’ webinar took place. In this webinar our Chairperson, Peter Duff, discussed the challenges facing professional services firms in setting and reaching net zero targets ...
We are very excited to be supporting the UN Global Compact Network UK’s ‘Transitioning to a Net Zero’ webinar series ...
We are very excited to be supporting the UN Global Compact Network UK’s ‘Transitioning to a Net Zero’ webinar series ...
We are very excited to be supporting the UN Global Compact Network UK’s ‘Transitioning to a Net Zero’ webinar series ...
The Norwegian government, as owners of the frigate, has held the owners of the tanker liable for the collision and presented a claim of some NOK 13 billion for the loss of the frigate and an additional NOK 770 million for costs related to removing the wreck. Liability is disputed and is due to be adjudged next year. Simonsen Vogt Wiig acts for the owners of the Sola TS ...
The dispute relates to MV «Cheshire» incident in 2017, where a cargo of 42,000 metric tons of fertiliser was subject to a major decomposition incident off Gran Canaria, during a voyage from Norway to Thailand. The fertiliser was completely damaged and the vessel was declared a total loss. The cargo owners held the ship owners jointly liable for the cargo damage. Bibby Transport Ltd and a number of H&M insurers held the fertiliser producer liable for the damaged vessel ...
A VERY early start but, actually, (aided by copious amounts of coffee) how refreshing to attend the Bisnow Later Living: Building Vibrant Communities event in London recently. What also helped to shake off the morning cobwebs were the startling statistics unapologetically - and understandably - highlighted by the panels of experts in the later living field, one of which was chaired by our very own Edell Asquez ...
Early last month, all companies, charities and public sector departments with 250 or more employees were required to submit their gender pay gap reports for the financial year 2020/2021. So what did the reports show? Progress is slow The initial analysis by the BBC showed little change since the last financial year. Whilst there were more businesses reporting in time for the deadline, this hasn’t affected the overall gender pay gap of 10.4%, which remains as it had been ...
With the 5 October 2021 deadline for reporting 2020 gender pay gaps now passed, the impact which the pandemic has had on progress to reduce gender pay gaps can clearly be seen. The effect of furlough and childcare on women over the past 18 months coupled with the financial strain many organisations have been under has resulted in, at best, no change in gender pay gaps and, at worst, an increasing gap between the average pay of men and women ...
Our Shoospeak HR podcast welcomes special guests Peter Morris (Partner in the Shoosmiths' family team) and Mahdiya Malik (HR and CSR Manager at Vaultex). Shoosmiths colleague Andy Graham chats to special guests Peter Morris (Partner in the Shoosmiths family team) and Mahdiya Malik (HR and CSR Manager at Vaultex) about Vaultex's recent introduction of a domestic violence policy ...
Defined contribution (DC) pension schemes will soon be required to disclose more information than ever before in a bid to assess and improve value for their members. On 16 September 2021, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a joint discussion paper on developing a common regulatory framework for measuring value for money (VFM) for DC members. Background VFM has become a key element of DC governance in recent years ...
Calculating holiday pay can be a difficult and complicated area of employment law to navigate. There have been a number of notable cases handed down over the last five years, and it’s fair to say that further clarity is still needed for employers. In this article, we discuss five different areas that employers often have to grapple with when tackling holiday pay issues. 1 ...
Following the government’s consultation on calorie labelling for food and drink served outside of the home in 2018, qualifying businesses in the out of home (OOH) sector will be required to display calorie information per portion from 6 April 2022. What is changing? Currently, businesses serving non-prepacked food and drink in the OOH sector are not required to provide calorie (energy) information ...
As it draws to a close, COP26 has seen world leaders aim to reach a consensus on actions to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and the adoption of electrical vehicles (EV) has been cited as a critical step in achieving that aim. According to data from the Scottish Greenhouse Gas Statistics published by the Scottish Government, the transport sector is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in Scotland, accounting for around 30% of all emissions ...
Between Brexit and the pandemic, the UK is experiencing its most severe labour shortage since the 1990s. Businesses can mitigate against these recruitment issues by obtaining a licence from the Home Office to sponsor foreign staff. A sponsor licence may not magically generate willing workers, but it will ensure the holder remains agile when an international recruitment opportunity arises ...
In the recent case of Shanghai Shipyard Co. Ltd. V. Reignwood International Investment (Group) Company Limited [2021] EWCA Civ 1147 the Court of Appeal (COA) unanimously overturned the first instance decision and found a parent company guarantee to be a guarantee “on demand”. Despite arbitration proceedings having commenced under the underlying contract, the COA found the guarantor liable to pay $170 million under the guarantee ...
New regulations are in force that require occupational pension schemes providing defined contribution (DC) benefits to demonstrate value for members or face consolidation. The New Regulations The Occupational Pension Schemes (Administration, Investment, Charges and Governance) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (the new regulations) came into force on 1 October 2021 ...
The Italian Government has approved the long-awaited annual bill on competition (“Draft Bill”).1 The Draft Bill covers a broad spectrum of controversial topics, including local public services, energy and transportation. In the next weeks, the Draft Bill will be submitted to the Italian Parliament for approval ...
In this update, we consider the draft Commercial Rent (Coronavirus) Bill published yesterday and in particular the proposed binding arbitration scheme for resolution of rent arrears under business tenancies. As discussed in our update yesterday, the Government has now published draft legislation which is intended to resolve payment of the estimated £7.5bn rent arrears still due across the real estate sector ...
As we begin to move beyond the pandemic, flexible work looks set to remain the norm. We consider how employers can successfully navigate long-term hybrid working models and ensure that they minimise any associated disadvantages. We recently commented in a previous post on the detrimental effect that a ‘day one’ right to flexible work could have - in particular, highlighting the potential impact on junior employees ...
In Lloyd v Google, the Supreme Court denied claims for mere 'loss of control' and ruled against mass class actions for data claims. Here, Philip Tansley and Matthew MacLachlan consider the court's reasoning and the broader implications for such claims. Case In its landmark judgment today, the Supreme Court unanimously held that a representative class action brought on behalf of approximately 4 ...
In Kabab-Ji SAL v Kout Food Group, the UK Supreme Court recently considered the question of which system of law the English courts must apply to decide whether there is an enforceable arbitration agreement. This case illustrates the different approaches taken in determining questions of applicable law and the consequences this can have for both annulment and enforcement proceedings in different countries ...
The financial sector has seen its fair share of discrimination cases and the trend continues. In Lacatus v Barclays Executive Services Limited the Employment Tribunal turned its mind to sexism. A female Analyst in the Rates Options Structured Trading Middle Office department brought a number of claims against the bank, including a sex discrimination and harassment claim centred around her line manager’s repeated use of the word “bird” to describe a woman ...