This article looks at current trends and influences and how we expect them to impact the market in 2023. Whilst the market rebounded tremendously following COVID-19, it is now facing fresh challenges with rising interest rates, inflation and increased regulation featuring heavily on board room agendas. It was a slower end to 2022 compared to last year, but this unrest will no doubt present opportunities (as well as risks) in the coming year for lenders and businesses alike ...
It’s 2023 and in the first of our HR Improve articles for this year we focus on three key areas for employers to consider when bringing new talent into their business. Permission to work in the United Kingdom Making sure that any new starter has the right to work in the UK is essential and this should be checked prior to the first day of employment to make sure that they can start as planned ...
The end of the first month in 2023 also marks the end of the next quarter in our case law update series. Here we highlight the most significant employment law cases since November 2022 and the lessons that employers should take from them. Redundancy pool Deciding on which employees to include in a redundancy pool is usually straightforward. However, problems can arise, particularly where the pool includes just one person, as the case of Teixeira v Zaika Restaurant Ltd and another demonstrated ...
On 31 December 2023 under the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, all retained EU law will be revoked. Suzanne Burrell, partner, and Kim Muddimer, PSL at Shoosmiths examine the background to the Bill and the possible impact on UK occupational pension schemes. On 22 September 2022, the UK government announced that all retained EU laws will be sunset (meaning revoked) on 31 December 2023 under the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (Bill) ...
Pensions analysis: On 16 December 2022, the Pensions Regulator (TPR) published its consultation on the new defined benefit (DB) funding code of practice together with a response to its first consultation and a consultation on its proposed twin track regulatory approach to assessing valuations including its proposed Fast Track design. Suzanne Burrell, partner at Shoosmiths examines the consultation and its implications ...
FinTech is important to the financial services sector in both India and the UK. A trade agreement could facilitate FinTech growth and deepen trade between the two countries. Kiran Desai, Head of Shoosmiths Brussels is joined by colleague Prakash Kerai to host Prashanth Ramdas of Khaitan & Co ...
The jewel in Glasgow’s famous shopping crown is known as the ‘Golden Z’, referencing the ‘Z’ shape which the famous shopping streets create – Buchanan Street linking Argyle Street to Sauchiehall Street ...
This is the second article in our series about sponsor licences. This article focuses on the effect of an acquisition on a sponsor licence. When selling or acquiring a company that already holds a sponsor licence, certain reporting duties will arise in relation to that transaction ...
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 ...
July 2022 saw the formal commencement of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. Opened by Inquiry Chair Baroness Heather Hallett, we later witnessed preliminary hearings for Modules 1 and 2, held in October and November. As a reminder, Modules 1 and 2 cover the overarching topics of the UK’s pandemic preparedness and resilience, and core political and administrative decision-making throughout the UK (incorporating sub-modules for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), respectively ...
Scotland’s position on addressing biodiversity in planning and development is different from England. The approach being adopted north of the border is based on ‘enhancing’ the biodiversity of a site, rather than the 10 per cent net gain requirement set to be introduced in England in November 2023 ...
With the new year in full swing, we look at what we can expect in the employee incentives space in 2023. Board discretion for enterprise management incentive (‘EMI’) options: A key development last year was the arrival of the long-awaited HMRC guidance on the use of board discretion in the context of EMI options in October 2022. The uncertainty around HMRC practice had been causing hesitation in advice and delays on corporate transactions ...
This is the first of three articles in our series on sponsor licences. This article focuses on how to obtain a sponsor licence as a Start-up business. In the eyes of the Home Office, a Start-up is a company that has been operating or trading in the UK for less than 18 months on the date that they make a sponsor licence application ...
To help further the objectives of the Women’s Health Strategy for England (published by the Department of Health and Social Care in July 2022) £1.97m has been awarded to help women in the workplace who are experiencing reproductive health issues. The grant will be shared between 16 charities which include, amongst others, Fertility Network UK, Sands, Tommy’s and Mind ...
The Supreme Court has upheld a summary judgment against a tenant in respect of payment of service charge where the demand was referred to in the lease as being “conclusive" once certified by the landlord - but also held that this does not prevent the tenant from then bringing a counterclaim in relation to its underlying liability. The tenant is therefore required to pay immediately, and then challenge disputed elements of the costs ...
Gone are the days when marketing campaigns are relegated to just hard copy printed materials. They are more often than not found, promoted and run online, and increasingly through social media which offers a speedy and an efficient method of an organisation speaking to its audience. It also offers the audience the opportunity to like, share and comment on the campaign, providing a unique and ‘in the moment’ conversation between a business and its customers ...
2023 is set to be a landmark year for the real estate industry, with major legal developments expected and new legislation coming into force. These changes are analysed below, with Shoosmiths’ experts examining the legislation and its implications on developers, investors, occupiers and others operating across the real estate sector ...
2022 was a record year for the UK’s living sector. Investment into the sector exceeded £10bn in Q3, fuelled by growth across build to rent, student accommodation and healthcare. While the data for Q4 is yet to be revealed, JLL predicts that the total investment for the year could surpass the £13.8bn recorded in 2021 ...
Hot on the heels of the Subsidy Control Act 2022 fully entering into force on 4 January 2023, the three streamlined routes under which UK public authorities will be able to give subsidies without having to assess each one against the subsidy control principles have recently been laid before Parliament: Subsidy Control Act 2022: Streamlined Routes - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) The routes cover (i) research development and innovation (ii) energy usage and (iii) local growth ...
In the world of privacy and data, after another whirlwind year, what are the safe bets and the long shots for change in 2023? Like the technology driving it, privacy and data law moves fast, and covers many territories, so it’s not always easy to keep track of developments. Long-awaited rulemaking - such as an overarching US federal data protection law – can get stuck in the weeds, while unexpected developments in technology and politics can serve up some complete surprises ...
In the second part in this series, we take a look at the possible changes that could be made to improve the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) and the Agency Worker Regulations 2010. Working Time Regulations - 48-hour week The WTR derive from the EU Council’s Directive on working time (1993) and the Council Directive on the protection of young people (1994) ...
Cyber criminals, the twenty-first century equivalent to the highwaymen of yesteryear, don’t offer charities the stark alternative of “their money or their life”, but instead their money or their data, the lifeblood of many charities. Ransomware attacks present a critical risk of their services grinding to a halt for weeks if not months – even if data is restored - as well as swingeing fines for personal data breaches in multiple jurisdictions ...
It has been some time since there has been talk about bonfires in Parliament but the continued debate (albeit largely outside of the Chamber thus far) as to when we should finally say 'farewell' to 'retained' EU legislation is one that many of us are watching with interest. When originally introduced, the suggestion that some 4,000 pieces of legislation would essentially evaporate by the end of this year caused something veering between confusion, concern and, let's be honest, disbelief ...
Goldman Sachs can’t make profits in the FinTech sector, as reported recently in the Financial Times newspaper. Competition must be tough. Where is competition coming from? A source, still arguably on the edges, is BigTech, who are using FinTech essentials (digital technology and big data) to become a player in the financial services market ...
The Charity Commission has today (17 January) begun a public consultation on proposed new guidance for charities’ use of social media. It encourages charities to adopt a social media policy which is right for them. Social media presents charities with great opportunities to campaign and comment, to communicate the value they create and to fundraise. But these channels also present serious risks for charities ...
