As we face a new period of lockdown, the memories of March come flooding back. However, it is useful to remember that, as a nation, we are better prepared this time, and our shared experiences of the last ten months will help to ensure we tackle the challenge ahead positively, constructively and from a more informed position than before ...
UK law firm Shoosmiths has been mobilising its legal advisors and support staff to keep its clients up-to-date on the many potential impacts of the coronavirus outbreak. Its free, online COVID-19 hub is already packed with a wealth of information on topics that might have both short and long-term effects on business ...
With employees potentially returning to the workplace, we take a look at what will need to be done to tackle a number of mental health challenges – both for people and the companies they work for. Part three of our mental health series. With the second lockdown now over and the tier system fully in play, some employers are finding themselves able to open and trade again ...
This article looks at the dynamics and tensions which exist between remote and agile working versus the role of hierarchy and the competing needs of teams. Where does the power lie in deciding what the future of work looks like? Does it sit with management, leadership, employees or HR? Many leaders and managers seem to have embraced working remotely, having previously spent days/weeks and possibly months commuting every year ...
Many people have used their time at home to consider their health and well-being. Some have taken up exercise, yoga or getting a dog. Others have decided to find out more about their health in order to make healthier choices and use online portals like 23andMe (saliva test), Thriva (blood test) or Pharmacy2u (blood or urine test) to point them in the right direction ...
As non-essential retail stores get set to re-open, we share below some key recommendations for suppliers to help minimise competition law risk over the coming weeks and months. Current market conditions are tempting some people to reach out to their counterparts at competitors – but any competitor contact needs to be managed carefully from a competition law perspective ...
As dealer networks in the automotive sector re-open for business following the COVID-19 lockdown, we share below our main competition law watch outs for suppliers over the coming weeks and months. We know that current market conditions are tempting some people to reach out to their competitors – any competitor contact needs to be managed carefully from a competition law perspective ...
Following the latest government announcements, where do landlords and tenants stand in relation to the recovery of rent unpaid during the Coronavirus pandemic? The simple answer is there is a significant degree of uncertainty, and an awful lot of detail around the government’s proposals and that has yet to be resolved ...
Over the next decade, challenges around public funding and a shift in live/work priorities will create an increasing need for public-private collaboration as we seek to rebuild and regenerate our towns and cities in a post-Covid and post-Brexit climate ...
The COVID pandemic has catalysed the decline of traditional retail as the dominant offer in our town centres. There is a growing consensus that a significant part of most town centres needs to have a greater focus on the local community, be experimental and better address local needs. Alongside this, we have the government agenda to ‘level up’ and to ‘build back better’ ...
In our third quarterly case law update for 2021, we look at some of the key cases published since April 2021 and consider the lessons we can learn from them. Health and Safety Related Dismissals Over the past six months, we have seen the emergence of a series of cases related to health and safety dismissals. Unsurprisingly, several of these relate to Covid-19 ...
This article forms part of our ‘New How: Perspectives’ report: ‘Can real estate help solve the productivity puzzle?. To access this free report, please click on the download link to the right of this page. If somebody asked me at the start of 2020 whether I could join a meeting by video, my immediate thought would have been: “no, that sounds far too difficult and I don’t think we really have the technology to do that” ...
We’re excited to announce that Shoosmiths is one of the partners behind Platform – a six-month campaign that aims to make town centre property more accessible to communities and businesses. Being based in thirteen locations across the UK and with many clients whose businesses rely on a successful town centre, Shoosmiths is heavily invested in the issue of urban revival ...
The school holidays are almost here and many of us are thinking about travelling abroad. If your surname is different from your dependent children, then the ever-changing COVID-19 travel restrictions aren’t the only concern to consider when making your holiday plans. The rise of ‘blended’ families and couples choosing not to marry means it is not unusual for a parent to have a different surname to their dependent children ...
States’ responses to the global pandemic may, however well-intended, harm the interests of inward investors. Under international public law, those investors have rights and so a spate of investor-State arbitral claims may well be a legacy of the pandemic. Across the world, governments have responded to Covid-19 by introducing emergency measures, which have inhibited social interaction and hampered economic activity ...
The opening webinar of The Lawyer’s Smarter Working Week saw leaders from a broad range of different sized teams discuss their experiences over the past 12 months and how they will use these learnings to build back better and enhance the experience for their business ...
One issue which many employers are currently grappling with is whether to make vaccination against COVID-19 compulsory for employees returning to the workplace. In a 2-part article we consider this issue in the context of care homes and other workplaces. Care home employers In Part 1 of this article, we look at the situation for care home employers ...
If parents cannot agree whether their children should be vaccinated, they can make an application under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 to ask a judge to determine the issue. In M v H (Private Law Vaccination) [2020], the mother objected to the parties' two children aged six-years-old and four-years-old being given routine childhood vaccines in accordance with the NHS vaccination schedule ...
Lockdown 3.0 is upon us and once again schools are closed and working parents find themselves having to balance childcare and home-schooling whilst trying to manage their own work and responsibilities. For those who cannot reasonably work from home, or who may struggle with having to provide childcare at the same time as meeting the demands of their role, employers are able to consider offering furlough leave as an option ...
This is the first article in 'Back to Basics', a series of articles looking at insolvency processes in Scotland. In this article I examine the court process for winding up a company. A winding up petition is a form of legal action that can be used when a company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due. Sections 122 to 124 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (‘the Act’) deal with how to wind up a company in Scotland ...
Two weeks before the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections, Fraser Mitchell, partner at Shoosmiths sat down with political analyst, strategist, and commentator, Andy Maciver to discuss his views the current state of Scottish politics, the economy in the face of COVID, Brexit and the growing support for independence as well as key issues in the context of Scotland’s future. We have captured the key takeaways from the discussion below: Andy Maciver: AM Fraser Mitchell: FM 1 ...
The Financial Services industry has been quick to respond to the struggles facing individuals and businesses during the current coronavirus pandemic, but there are issues they need to consider when implementing their forbearance measures ...
To support our IHL community, on 21 April we hosted our latest webinar on “Fraud” where we discussed the recent upsurge in fraud due to home working, general awareness of fraudulent activity and what businesses can do to protect themselves. Here are the key takeaways: What types of fraud are you seeing at the moment? The world is a turbulent place right now, and therefore the perfect time for fraud and illicit activity to thrive ...
On 16 December we held a webinar as part of the IHL series looking at the preparatory steps you need to have in place within your organisation as well as outline the new Immigration routes from January 2021 and onwards. We have briefly summarised the key points discussed and further sources of guidance below. The information contained in it is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice ...
With COVID-19 taking its toll on some businesses, employees may find themselves placed at risk of redundancy. This article looks at the practical steps an employer should take when carrying out an individual redundancy consultation. Individual consultation is fundamental to the fairness of any dismissal for redundancy ...
