On June 23, 2023, major amendments to section 45 of the Competition Act1 (the ?Act?) are set to come into force. Adopted in 2022 by the Parliament of Canada, these amendments are primarily designed to harmonize Canadian non-competition law with legislation in various other countries, particularly the U.S., which restricts certain business practices regarded as harmful to workers ...
The top attorney for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently declared that most non-compete agreements violate labor laws by barring workers from opportunities to seek new jobs. The May 30, 2023 memo from NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo is the latest to address the issue of non-competes. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a proposed ruling earlier this year to ban them completely. Urging the NLRB to adopt the standard she first argued in Stericycle, Inc ...
Industrial action is happening on the largest scale we have seen for decades and across multiple sectors at the same time. Maintaining positive employee relations is more crucial than ever, given the cost of living crisis and geopolitical climate ...
Managing Partner Simon Malko talked to Bloomberg’s Vivia Chen about how his own experiences dealing with stress and anxiety inspired him to make mental healthcare more accessible to everyone at the firm. He shared, “When I became a managing partner [in 2019], I had a lot of anxiety. I was dealing with a lot at work and the stress of raising two kids at home. I had an awful lot on my plate, and I was struggling with managing it all ...
Less than a month to go! Our Tax Team wishes to remind you of the fast-approaching deadline for the submission of your annual corporate tax returns for the financial year ended 31 March 2023 (“FY 2022-2023”). All Myanmar taxpayers (corporate entities, non-profit organizations, and individuals) should file their annual tax returns on or before 30 June 2023 ...
On May 30, 2023, National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo took yet another step to ban restrictive covenants in the employment context. In a memo issued to all regional offices, she set forth her view that nearly all non-compete provisions, with very limited exceptions, violate the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) ...
In November 2021, the New York City Council passed a bill requiring that artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools used by employers to make or assist in hiring decisions or internal promotions undergo bias audits to screen for discriminatory effects. Under the City Charter, the bill became law a month later after it was returned unsigned to the Council by then-mayor Bill DeBlasio ...
“The building has to earn the commute. There has to be a reason for people to come into an office building, and that’s why you’re seeing this bifurcation between the best and the rest,” said Steven Mew, customer experience and flex director at GPE, during Shoosmiths’ recent roundtable on the UK’s flexible office space sector ...
Anecdotally, we are hearing that interim relief applications are on the rise. In this article we give employers the low down on what an application for interim relief actually is and why they should be on the lookout for them ...
For a decade or more, Meta has been sending Facebook data from European users – in the form of photos, chat, posts, and more – over to its parent company in the US for storage. Since the Snowden revelations, Europe has been aware that this data has been open to US intelligence services on a large scale, without – it says – the protections and accountability afforded to people in Europe ...
BT announced earlier this week that it plans to cut between 40,000 and 55,000 jobs by 2030. It expects around 10,000 of these roles to be replaced by AI, particularly in customer services. BT’s recent announcement is a reminder that increased use of AI is now a key board agenda item, with businesses exploring whether they can increase efficiency and improve operations by investing in generative AI ...
Employment and immigration specialists Emma Morgan and Amy Leech look at the immigration considerations that arise in redundancy situations, acquisitions and insolvency procedures. A recording of the webinar is below along with a summary of key takeaways. In current economic conditions, with the cost of living rising and the effects of the pandemic still lingering, businesses are having to look at ways to make cuts and reduce costs ...
In the last few months, the UAE authorities have introduced a number of measures intended to increase the number of UAE nationals who are employed in the private sector. The Emirati Cadres Competitiveness Council (Nafis) program, originally established in 2016 with the aim of attracting UAE nationals to the private sector, has been reinvigorated ...
In a welcomed change to a class certification process that has long favored plaintiffs, the Sixth Circuit’s May 19, 2023 decision in Clark/Holder v. A&L Homecare and Training Center, LLC adopts a new standard for certifying Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions. In doing so, the Sixth Circuit becomes just the second appeals court to reject district courts’ use of the common two-step procedure for collective action certification ...
Progression of developments in technology have always led to impacts on the general workforce. With increased international focus on the speed of AI development and use, what could the impacts be of AI be on today’s workforce? The BBC have recently covered that “a March 2023 report from Goldman Sachs estimated that AI capable of content generation could do a quarter of all the work currently done by humans ...
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has issued a report which provides guidance on supporting employees who are experiencing fertility issues. The report surveyed 300 workers who experienced difficulties with fertility while in employment within the last five years, as well as over 2,000 senior HR professionals and decision makers ...
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan (SyCipLaw) has just published the SyCipLaw TMT and Data Bulletin covering significant Philippine legal and regulatory developments in the technology, media, telecommunications and data space, from late 2022 to the first quarter of 2023. It also notes links to podcasts and materials relating to TMT and dataPLUSa commentary on whether AI can replace a local counsel ...
We look at what employers should consider when dealing with a data subject access request ('DSAR') made when tribunal proceedings are involved. The obligations to comply with a DSAR and disclosure in litigation are governed by two distinct processes. DSARs As part of their privacy rights an employee has the right to request from their employer a copy of their personal data, through making a DSAR ...
In the Industrial Tribunal case with number 3945/CC, the applicant, a Chief Operating Officer and Director, engaged with Amicorp Fund Services Malta Ltd, was dismissed by means of a letter of termination due to the fact that, according to the defendant company, he was not properly performing his functions. The Tribunal commented that the case was a particular one since it dealt with senior management, in which cases usually an amicable termination is arrived at ...
On 10 May 2023, theInformation Regulator(the “Regulator”), an independent body established to monitor and enforce compliance by public and private bodies with the provisions of the promotion of access to information act, 2000 and the protection of personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPIA”) announced that it had issued anEnforcement Noticeto the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (“theDepartment”) in terms of POPIA on 9 May 2023 ...
Gone are the days when satellite communication was limited to those brick phones with long antennas. Satellite communications services are gaining traction globally as they offer alternative ways of connecting end users to the Internet and other related communications services. However, as electronic communications services via satellites become more popular and accessible, service providers are met with regulatory challenges ...
Have you ever browsed one of your favourite online retail platforms and noticed an entirely new clothing collection launched by the brand for your metaverse avatar? In February of this year, we stumbled upon Zara’s Valentine’s Tale range. The collection comprised 22 digital assets which included necklaces, earrings, rings and bags that could be purchased for your avatar through Zepeto, which is Asia’s largest metaverse platform ...
On 10 May 2023, the government announced its proposals for reforming employment law post-Brexit in its policy paper, Smarter Regulation to Grow the Economy, the main headline of which was the decision to reverse the sunset date from the Brexit Bill. The new policy paper sets out the first series of reforms in the government’s vision for a post-Brexit world and in particular focuses on how current EU derived regulations can be improved to reduce burdens on businesses ...
