The JCT Constructing Excellence Contract 2006 is seen as a radical departure from the JCT's more "traditional" building contracts. However, will it be used used by developers in the private and public sectors? Many of the more "traditional" forms of contract (JCT and ICE in particular) were perceived to encourage an adversarial approach ...
Earlier this month the European Commission closed an investigation into a development in the German City of Flensburg. On the facts which the Commission eventually established it decided to close its file and take no further action, but it is the background which is interesting and provides a pointer to what best practice should be – particularly now that the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 have been in force for a number of years ...
As if employers and contractors needed reminding, two recent decisions emphasise the importance of having a contract in place as soon as possible, and the dangers of starting work on a letter of intent ...
Product liability insurance is often offered as an alternative to professional indemnity insurance by sub-contractors but is it really an alternative? The two forms of insurance have some fundamental differences. Professional indemnity insurance covers claims arising out of the professional activities of design consultants, sub-contractors or the contractor ...
Throughout the industry press, the topic of conversation at networking breakfasts, you can’t escape the doom and gloom of the global credit crunch. But what does this really mean for the industry? First and foremost, it means that risk will increase. There is more chance of a party experiencing cash flow difficulties, or even going bust. There will be less work around, resulting in keener prices and greater competition ...
The risks to employers of proceeding with construction works whilst relying solely on letters of intent are nothing new. The risks to employers of proceeding with constructions works whilst relying solely on letters of intent are nothing new ...
The Electronic Communications Code was subject to a wholesale re-write in 2017, with the intention of facilitating the faster roll-out of the UK’s digital communications infrastructure. Three years on, the government has commenced a consultation on proposals to revise aspects of the Code to ensure it is fit for purpose ...
The Government is undertaking a consultation on the secondary legislation required to implement the new public procurement regime established by the Procurement Bill ...
The Government is undertaking a consultation on the secondary legislation required to implement the new public procurement regime established by the Procurement Bill ...
The government is consulting on a proposal to introduce a new UK-wide tax for residential property developers from 2022, with a view to generating revenue to cover the costs associated with the removal of unsafe cladding. The measure is intended to generate at least £2 billion over the course of a decade, which the government says is a “fair contribution” to the overall cost of the remediation programme ...
With less than a month to go until the Consumer Duty comes into force on 31 July 2023, it is crucial that businesses are asking themselves the proper questions, reflecting on the right things, and having the honest discussions to ensure that they can maximise the remaining days left before the 31 July 2023 deadline ...
On the 1st March, the FCA issued the remaining portfolio letters in respect of the implementation of consumer duty. For this summary, I have focussed on the motor finance portfolio letter. I had a look at what words were being used in the letter and their frequency (see the word cloud graphic). Whilst this is not a detailed analysis, it’s interesting to note the prominence of “products”, and “information” in the context of the motor finance letter ...
For those that have been able to enjoy a break over the festive period, welcome back. If your dinner table discussions were like mine and involved catching-up with friends and various branches of the family tree, it no doubt involved the inevitable question of “how’s work going?” ...
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has proposed the introduction of a new Principle that “a firm must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers” together with three cross-cutting rules and four proposed customer outcomes ...
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill's granting of power to the Competition and Markets Authority to impose financial penalties has grabbed the headlines. The Government’s press release published alongside the Bill boasts that the CMA will be able to fine businesses up to 10% of their global turnover for mistreating customers ...
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the UK body responsible for consumer protection, has increased its focus on tackling misleading online sales practices ahead of the introduction of new legislation, expected later this year. The CMA has launched a new campaign to help consumers identify and report misleading online sales practices, including pressure selling, hidden charges, subscription traps and fake or misleading reviews ...
These days, it seems as if every passing week brings with it a new story in the press about the legal risks of engaging with social media. We have heard much recently about the dangers of defamation on Twitter.Earlier this year, Sally Bercow learned to her cost just how easy it can be to libel someone without explicitly accusing them of anything, after sharing a message about Lord McAlpine with her Twitter followers: "Why is Lord McAlpine trending? *innocent face*" ...
The Supreme Court on 10 May 2023 considered whether damage caused by an oil spill in 2011 could constitute a “continuing nuisance” – and so extend the limitation period for a claim ...
International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated each year on 8 march to mark the progress made towards gender equality and what still needs to be done. Several months on, we reflect on learnings from IWD and the importance of continuing the conversation. The first IWD was celebrated in 1911 and it has since grown to become a global movement that is celebrated in many different ways ...
The Supreme Court refuses to re-open lease contracting-out issues previously determined by the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court has denied the Fragrance Shop’s request for leave to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision in TFS Stores Ltd v The Designer Retail Outlet Centres (Mansfield) General Partner Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 688 ...
The long-awaited and controversial Equality Bill (the Bill) has been published and laid before Parliament. Public consultations are scheduled on several of the measures outlined in this very significant piece of legislation, though it is not expected to come into force until the end of next year. With a General Election likely in June 2010, it remains to be seen how quickly the Bill will progress and how much of it will survive ...
As a part of our conversation with clients webinar series, Helen Wilson, Head of Legal at Weetabix joined Sebastian Price, Partner at Shoosmiths to talk about her experience of career development including success insights, job changes, individual versus organisational impact on progression and more ...
Automated activism is here now on how compliant businesses are. Are you ready for potential tech-enabled complaints on your site's cookies? In 1993 Tesco ran a trial of a loyalty scheme: the Tesco Clubcard. When the results of the trial of the scheme were presented to the board in 1994, the chair, Lord Ian MacLaurin, said, ‘what scares me about this is you know more about my customers in three months than I know in 30 years’ ...
On 24 November 2021 Shoosmiths hosted a webinar exploring recent developments and forthcoming changes in environmental regulation – the COP26 climate change conference, the Environment Act 2021 and trends in sentencing for environmental offences. COP26 David Symons, director of sustainability at WSP UK outlined the three main messages from the COP26 conference: The 1 ...
The Coronavirus pandemic is presenting companies and their directors with many challenges. Simply planning for “business as usual” requires change to usual practices, involving a balance between compliance obligations and official public health advice. Holding general meetings, particularly as we enter AGM season for listed companies with a 31 December year-end, is one such challenge ...
