In a recent appeal by a pharmacy, Doorstep Dispensaree Limited (“Doorstep”), against a Monetary Penalty Notice and an Enforcement Notice issued against it by the Information Commissioner’s Office (the “ICO”), Doorstep was partially successful, specifically against the level of fine imposed by the ICO under the Monetary Penalty Notice ...
In October 2020 the Information Commissioner’s Office (the “ICO”) announced that it was issuing a Penalty Notice to British Airways (“BA”), imposing a financial penalty of £20 million following a data breach that resulted in hackers obtaining the personal data of 400,000 BA customers. This was a significant reduction from the ICO’s original intention to issue a fine of £183 million ...
Covering employee wages since 1 March 2020, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ("furlough") is set to end on 30 September 2021, with a deadline for final claims to be made by 14 October 2021. Employers still using the scheme should be engaging with employees about its end, and may now need to make some tough decisions that have been postponed while furlough continued ...
The UK government has announced proposals to make flexible working requests a ‘day one’ right for employees, as part of reforms to the Flexible Working Regulations 2014. Over the past 18 months, the pandemic has been a catalyst for increased flexible working. Although this has meant ‘working from home’ for most, flexible work can include other arrangements such as flexitime, job-sharing, condensed hours and part-time work ...
Recent cases provide a timely reminder that employers still make costly slip-ups when managing pregnant workers and those returning from maternity leave. We highlight some useful lessons from those cases on how to avoid discrimination claims. When a worker announces their pregnancy to their employer, the employer becomes subject to additional obligations until the end of the protected period when the worker returns from maternity leave ...
Particular issues may beset a sale of land between developer and Registered Provider but, by forecasting ahead, costs and delays can be avoided. As the demand for housing increases, so too will expected proportions of affordable housing provided as part of any development. Often the easiest way to provide on-site affordable housing is by bringing a Registered Provider (RP) on board. The RP might buy ready built plots or the land itself on which it will build ...
We are very excited to be supporting the UN Global Compact Network UK’s ‘Transitioning to a Net Zero’ webinar series ...
As many of us continue to work from home and/or have opportunities for travel and meeting up restricted, we are continuing to run our essential webinar series for employers to ensure that our clients and contacts remain up to date and equipped to deal with all eventualities! Our latest seminar focused on disability and Long COVID ...
Developments on hold, trips to the High Court, nutrient credit schemes... Ever since a European Court of Justice ruling in November 2018, being nitrate neutral has caused headaches and blockages for developers and planners. Shoosmiths partnered with Planning magazine on a virtual roundtable discussion which examined nitrate / nutrient neutrality, the rules and how developers and authorities can work within them to deliver the right kind of development ...
At the end of this month, court fees are increasing. The change is the result of a consultation led by the Ministry of Justice earlier in the year which considered whether court fees should be increased by inflation. The full consultation can be accessed here. From 30 September 2021, the cost of a divorce will rise from £550 to £593. At the moment, where the divorce is based on adultery, behaviour or desertion i.e ...
The National Security and Investment Act 2021 – a law that will introduce a screening process for certain acquisitions and investments. The National Security and Investment Act 2021 will introduce a new mandatory notification regime for transactions that comes into force on 4 January 2022. We take a look at what it will cover ...
In January 2020 the first signs of Covid-19 were of a commercial nature. Business activity related to China – which is a large part of the maritime industry in Asia – started slowing down considerably. Projects experienced delays, new ventures were postponed and a general slowdown could be felt throughout the maritime business world. As February and March came around, the first Covid-19 cases started being reported in Singapore ...
In principle, the author of a work protected by copyright has an exclusive right to reproduce or copy it. In Austria, however, anyone has the right to make copies of such works for private use. Originally, the legislator had scenarios in mind where people recorded music from the radio with their stereo system and a blank tape cassette, or recorded films via a video recorder. Collecting societies collect a levy as compensation for this private copying right ...
This week the government has published the draft legislation for the residential property developer tax (“RPDT”) for technical consultation. RPDT is a new tax, intended to be imposed on companies carrying out residential property development from 1 April 2022, and described by the government as being introduced “to ensure that the largest developers make a fair contribution to help fund the government’s cladding remediation costs” ...
On 23 September 2021 we hosted our latest IHL webinar on working with AI: the key types, implementing AI and what the future might bring. Ian Blackwell represented Next Retail Ltd on the panel, alongside Simon McArdle and Sebastian Price, Commercial Partners at Shoosmiths. The background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is here now, and its power is taking off. Put simply, AI is a gamechanger ...
As it is known, starting from October 15 until December 31, 2021 (the deadline set for the end of the state of emergency), the obligation to possess – and to show on request – the “green pass” 1 has been extended to all workers, including those of the private sector, in order to allow their access to workplaces. With regard to this matter, Law Decree no ...
A new report has found that men have substantially more private pension wealth than women, which may pose challenges when they divorce. In October 2019, Shoosmiths commissioned research to understand the gender gap in pensions and we found that a third of married couples and those in civil partnerships did not know that they were entitled to a proportion of their spouse’s pension on divorce ...
The Court of Appeal has overturned an earlier decision of the High Court in which guidance was given on the circumstances where a child might be able to give consent to the administration of puberty blockers ...
The UK government’s Hydrogen Strategy, published in August 2021, confirms that developing a thriving low carbon hydrogen sector in the UK is a key plank of the government’s plan to build back better with a cleaner, greener energy system ...
Please find, herein, the latest up-to-date digest of the most significant court decisions, concerning the conducting of internal investigations and the subsequent bringing of employees to disciplinary and material liability. Here are the key decisions of the Higher Courts of the Russian Federation, as well as precedents of regional judicial authorities, over the 2018 – 2021 period. 1 ...
Below, you will find some practical solutions to prepare you for the labour litigation in Russia. The peculiarity of labour disputes in Russia is that they seldom start with great financial demands from employees. They are more about the status of the organisation, its reputation and similar issues. However, practice shows that given the length and formality of litigation, financial claims, originally insignificant, can turn into fairly large claims, over time ...
The government is consulting on much anticipated draft regulations fleshing out the details of the new notifiable event requirements introduced by the Pension Schemes Act 2021 ...
Employment cases involving teachers can involve particularly nuanced considerations for schools. It is not easy to balance safeguarding duties with employment law obligations. We look at a recent case which highlights this very issue. The welfare and safety of children is at the heart of every educational establishment’s ethos, but balancing safeguarding duties with the legal rights of teachers can present difficulties ...
Pensions form part of the assets that can be distributed between a couple on divorce/dissolution. This guide will provide you with an overview of what you need to know about pensions if you are separating or getting divorced. What pensions can be shared? Defined benefit/final salary schemes (for example public sector schemes) Defined contribution/money purchase schemes (for example personal pensions, SIPPS and some occupational schemes) Additional state pension ...
On 17 August 2021, the UK Government presented its Hydrogen Strategy (the “Strategy”) to Parliament. The 120-page document set out the Government’s ambition to develop a thriving hydrogen sector in the UK and to place it at the forefront of hydrogen technology. What does it say and how might hydrogen feature in the future? Throughout this article, we will be referring to different colours of hydrogen (primarily blue and green) ...
