Welcome to the new half-yearly review of Krogerus' highlights! In this newsletter, we will share recent case highlights, firm news and insights. Foreword As 2024 draws to a close, it has been a busy year at Krogerus, despite challenging market conditions and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties. While there is still a degree of darkness and uncertainty in the world, we are seeing positive signs in the transactional market, which often signal the start of economic recovery ...
The story of the Captain Tom Foundation reinforces the basic point that a charity should not be established for the purpose of making money for private gain, even if that would not be the only reason for setting one up. For those of us who have been sitting in a tin can far above the world, by way of a brief recap in April 2020 Captain Tom inspired the nation, completing the challenge of walking 100 laps of his garden whilst recovering from illness and in tribute to the NHS ...
In this edition, we offer a diverse range of content: First, we present an update on an upcoming case before the Supreme Court concerning section 36 of the Contracts Act. We will also provide some insights from a recent Supreme Court ruling on the insurance condition regarding sudden and unforeseen physical damage. Additionally, we discuss significant takeaways from the appeals judgment in the Dutch Shell case ...
The Employment Rights Bill seeks to bring about seismic change to the employment law landscape, requiring employers to adapt their current practices and policies. Our latest webinar focused on the key provisions of the Bill and how these will impact on current practices and procedures. We also looked at what further changes may be coming down the line and what steps organisations can take to prepare for them ...
HR teams have a lot on their plate, but a key priority for 2024 is undoubtedly protecting the employee brand proposition. Our 2024 online programme is focused on supporting HR teams to do just this, equipping them with the tools they need to protect the employee brand proposition of the organisations they work for. Our latest webinar focused on what organisations need to do to respond to workers who blow the whistle ...
Just seven weeks after the 158-page Employment Rights Bill was introduced into Parliament, the House of Commons issued a 53-page paper full of various proposed amendments to the Bill. Almost all of them are government led, made by Justin Madders, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade). We consider below some of the key amendments proposed by Mr Madders and other Labour MPs ...
The Office of the Small Business Commissioner has announced the New Fair Payment Code. This is now open for businesses to apply to the new Code and it replaces the Prompt Payment Code which was introduced in 2015. Following on from our article on Payment Terms in Supply Chains (Payment Terms – what are the current rules and those coming down the track), we now have clarity on what is included in the new Fair Payment Code ...
Unlike virtual reality, which is fully immersive and where the real world disappears from view entirely, augmented reality (“AR”) is more nuanced and enables digital assets to be layered over physical assets, like a building ...
Are you an influencer? Take note! The Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority has now published guidelines that influencers should follow when uploading sponsored posts on social media platforms. We all know how important advertising is in the business world and, with the number of sponsored posts that are flooding social media platforms, businesses have taken to use influencers as the new powerhouses of digital marketing ...
In case number 4109/JHP decided on 25 November 2024, the Industrial Tribunal upheld the dismissal of a former employee by a Company, determining that the termination was lawful and justified. The case centered on the employee, who had served as a Senior Customer Support Agent, and whose ongoing mental health challenges and resulting inability to perform his duties led to his dismissal ...
The European Blockchain Sandbox (the ‘Sandbox’) is a pan-European dialogue between innovators who come up with particularly interesting, original and useful applications for blockchain technology, and the relevant regulatory authorities that would be involved in such a project. The Sandbox is running from 2023 to 2026 and each year is supporting 20 use cases on the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) ...
Stay up-to-date with the ****latest developments in labour law related to employee remuneration****. These updates are essential for ensuring accurate payroll calculations, particularly in cases of employment termination, and for aligning local regulations with current legal requirements. New Minimum Wage Effective January 1, 2025, a revised minimum wage for a standard monthly work schedule will come into force ...
Hot on the heels of the Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023 coming into force, the new government announced preliminary steps in its Autumn Budget to reform the business rates system. The key changes introduced by the Act, combined with the proposals outlined in the Budget, are set to have a major impact on businesses in the coming years ...
Siri comes to us from her role as a private practice lawyer at Legal in Stavanger. With more than two decades of experience as a corporate lawyer, she has worked with major international entities in the oil and gas sector, including Aker Solutions, Subsea 7, Aibel, and Archer. Additionally, Siri led the contracts and legal department for Acergy’s Asia and Middle East region in Singapore for a period ...
Family offices which choose to manage their global investments from Malta have been given a new legal exemption through a recent amendment in the applicable investment services rulebook of the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”). On the 27th of November 2024, the MFSA issued a circular titled “Establishment of Single Family Offices in Malta” ...
The Gaming Authority has already initiated an audit to identify which websites are subject to blocking, and many gambling companies have already received pre-warning letters from the Gaming Authority. Also, “circumvention” of the payment transaction ban (Norwegian banks are required to block payment transactions for foreign gambling offers) is now, according to the authorities, considered to be sufficient for a gambling offer to be “aimed at” Norway ...
Artificial intelligence (‘AI’) is revolutionising various industries and in today’s consumer-driven world, ensuring the safety of products is of paramount importance, more so when considering the innovative products being placed on the market. At the core of the AI Act [1] are requirements that providers, manufacturers, importers, and distributors of AI systems must meet before making an AI system available for use or distribution on the Union market ...
The Law Commission has published its much-anticipated consultation paper on proposed reform to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. This consultation asks a fundamental question: should a statutory scheme of security of tenure exist and if so, how should it operate? Commercial leases, from warehouse premises to offices and shops usually have a legal right to a new lease when the existing lease ends, unless the parties have agreed otherwise, or a landlord can meet one of a short list of exceptions ...
The new Network and Information Systems Directive (NIS2) came into effect on 18 October 2024 and with it comes an overhaul of the way in which cybersecurity risk management is regulated in Europe. In this article we cover the applicability of NIS2 to digital infrastructure providers and digital services providers (collectively “digital providers”), an expansion in scope under NIS2 that represents a major shift for the EU’s digital sector ...
An exploration of key aspects of the Employment Rights Bill which will impact living sector employers; day 1 right to claim unfair dismissal, changes to the use of zero hour contracts and the extension of the duty to protect employees from harassment. Employment Rights Bill – A Shake Up for the Living Sector The Employment Rights Bill (“ERB”) is poised to introduce significant change to the UK’s workforce ...
When must controllers respond to DSARs with more than just a copy of personal data? Is it enough to point to a privacy notice to satisfy the extra GDPR requirements? UK and EU courts are increasingly saying that it's not enough. Handling data subject access requests (DSARs) is an ongoing compliance burden for many organisations. In this series, we consider how different strategies can cut the task down to size ...
Introduction Directive No. 19 (the “Directive”), issued by the Central Bank of Malta (the “CBM” or the “Central Bank”) on the 7th July 2021 officially came into effect on 1st January 2022, with amendments issued in September 2024. It applies to all paper-based instruments issued, processed, or encashed within Malta’s jurisdiction, as long as these instruments are denominated in euros ...
Metro Bank PLC was fined £16,675,200 (after a 30% discount) by the Financial Conduct Authority for failings in its transaction monitoring systems and controls. The FCA found that the bank’s failures led to the risk it was inadvertently being used for the purposes of financial crime. Key facts: Metro Bank PLC implemented an Automated Transaction Monitoring System (“ATMS”) to monitor customer transactions ...
Our final article in this series discussing different protected characteristics and the discrimination claims they give rise to, focuses on age, how employers can fall foul of the law and the steps they need to take to avoid age discrimination claims. What is age discrimination? The Equality Act 2010 prohibits both direct and indirect age discrimination, as well as age related harassment and victimisation ...
