A campaign that ran throughout March has been extended into April, and will focus on refurbishment, repair and maintenance works. Statistics show that more than half of workers who died on construction sites in recent years were working on refurbishment projects ...
As of 17 April 2023 new creditors winding up petitions can be presented in accordance with the Insolvency (Amendment) Rules (NI) 2023. This means that the restrictions faced by creditors in filing winding up petitions will be lifted, and ultimately more companies will be open to pursual. The introduction of the Insolvency (Amendment) Rules (NI) 2023 on 13th March 2023 was awaited by practitioners, businesses and creditors ...
Prepared following concerns expressed by MPs about the government’s oversight of the waste industry. The National Audit Office (NAO) has recently published its report ‘Investigation into the Government’s actions to combat waste crime in England’ ...
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 ...
Governments around the world are thinking about encouraging data sharing on a larger scale by using regulation. In the EU we have the EU Data Act, which will take effect in 2025 so is fast coming around the corner. It’s a juggernaut, and once it hits things may never be quite the same again. So what effect will it have? A recent CJEU ruling illustrates some of the problems it is likely to cause ...
Hybrid working is now an accepted way of working for many employees who relish the balance it brings to their lives. The approach has challenges for employers; not least performance management of remote employees and how to deal with issues that arise. Hybrid working certainly has its benefits, with many surveys reporting that employees who work from home for part of the week feel more productive and can maintain a better work / life balance ...
It is generally accepted that hybrid working is here to stay, along with all the challenges that managing a remote workforce presents. Here we focus on how an employer can effectively manage absence when employees are working remotely. As we discussed in our previous article, The Future of Work: Performance management in a hybrid working world (shoosmiths.co ...
With all the changes to the world of work that we have recently experienced and are continuing to experience, our webinar programme this year is focused on the future of work and in particular the hot topics HR teams are having to handle now in order to future proof their organisations. Our latest seminar focused on whistleblowing and, in particular, how approaches to whistleblowing have changed as a result of the pandemic ...
With all the changes to the world of work that we have recently experienced and are continuing to experience, our webinar programme this year is focused on the future of work and in particular the hot topics HR teams are having to handle now in order to future proof their organisations. Our latest seminar focused on recruitment and retention ...
With all the changes to the world of work that we have recently experienced and are continuing to experience, our webinar programme this year is focused on the future of work and in particular the hot topics that HR teams are having to handle now in order to future-proof their organisations. Our latest seminar focused on menopause in the workplace ...
With all the changes to the world of work that we have recently experienced and are continuing to experience, our webinar programme this year is focused on the future of work and in particular the hot topics that HR teams are having to handle now in order to future-proof their organisations. Our latest seminar focused on effective performance management in a hybrid working world ...
The pandemic alongside a renewed focus on climate change following COP26 and the growing interest in ESG credentials are all contributing to a changing world of work ...
As consolidation in the domestic energy supply market continues, a new report has been commissioned by Shoosmiths and produced by Cornwall Insight. It considers what is driving the consolidation, whether this looks set to continue and the outlook for the market. Current situation At its peak in 2018, there were 62 suppliers of domestic energy in the UK market ...
Yesterday, Shoosmiths hosted an event by The Fashion Network titled ‘The Future of Social Commerce: Connecting Business with Community’. During this event we heard from fashion industry leaders on social commerce's transformative impact on fashion and FMCG ecommerce - in partnership with The Ecommerce Club ...
Like many UK cities, Sheffield is going through a period of major transformation, offering modern new office space, repurposed buildings and making headway on its net zero ambitions. However, Sheffield is unique as the only city with a national park within its boundary – in fact, 61% of Sheffield’s entire area is green space ...
COVID-19 has forced us to completely rethink the way we live, work and move around. It has begged the question: what is it that makes a great city? Manchester is one of the fastest-growing cities in the UK. With cranes dominating the skyline, billions continue to be invested into the city centre as it evolves into a city of quarters ...
At the beginning of the pandemic, businesses had to rapidly adopt new ways of working and enable staff to work from home as much as possible. Nine months on, the threats posed by the virus remain, and ways of working have changed beyond recognition. We consider below the longer term impact of COVID-19 on flexible working, and the extent to which employees are willing (or not) to return to their ‘normal’ place of work ...
Comment from Paula Swain, Partner National Head of Commercial Recoveries and Head of the Solent office for Shoosmiths, Paula is also a Director with the Solent LEP and was part of the Freeport taskforce which was successful in its bid ...
Our recent interview in The Lawyer sets out why the future of lawyering is all about tech and EQ. Its our recipe to thrive. We’ve been thinking about emotional intelligence, or EQ, a lot recently. After all, lawyering is a people business. It requires not only a high IQ—that’s a given—but also a highly-developed EQ ...
On 16 May, a letter was signed by over 50 participants and groups from the digital asset industry. They sent it to the Speaker and Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging them to back a Bill (HR 4763, the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act or “FIT 21”). FIT 21 is expected to be debated and voted on this week ...
It's the final countdown to the new Consumer Duty. After what feels like a lifetime of consultations, responses and commentary on the FCAs new Consumer Duty, the final countdown is upon us. With just over 5 months to go before the Consumer Duty comes into force, the big question is.. ...
New regulations that ban businesses from imposing excessive fees on consumers making payments will extend to small businesses from 12 June 2014. The Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012 (the 'regulations') - the first of many legislative changes that form part of the major ongoing overhaul of consumer protection legislation - came into force for most businesses on 6 April 2013 ...
In a judgment handed down on 14 June 2022 in The Federal Republic of Nigeria v JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A [2022] EWHC 1447 (Comm) (FRN v JPMC) the court again considered the scope of the Quincecare duty and gross negligence. The decision is good news for Banks. The case related to the payment of over $1 billion by JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) to accounts held by a Nigerian company called Malabu Oil and Gas Limited (Malabu) ...
In April 2024, the FCA issued practical steps and finalised guidance on the Anti-Greenwashing rule, effective from 31 May 2024, ushering forth the FCA's regulatory priority accorded to ESG and sustainability. On 28 November 2023, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published consultation paper, GC23/3, (the “CP”) outlining its proposed guidance on the Anti-Greenwashing rule (ESG 4.3.1R, the “Rule”) ...
In the policy statement PS21/16 issued at the end of November 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) set out its new approach to decision makers when issuing statutory notices ...
