The Responsible Actors Scheme (RAS) was launched on 21 July 2023. Eligible developers that fail to join or comply with the conditions of the RAS will be subject to building control and planning prohibitions. The Building Safety (Responsible Actors Scheme and Prohibitions) Regulations 2023 contain the detail of the RAS and are unchanged from the draft Regulations ...
The Government is undertaking a consultation on the secondary legislation required to implement the new public procurement regime established by the Procurement Bill ...
Experis, a global leader in IT professional resourcing, project services and managed services, recently conducted a survey of over 2000 British employers in relation to the employment outlook for 2023. In response, 54% of employers anticipate that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will have a positive impact in headcount over the next 2 years ...
As the financial services sector has developed and adopted technology, there has been a significant growth in Deferred Payment Credit, more commonly referred to as ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (“BNPL”) by consumers. Demonstrating the scale of growth, news outlets have recently reported that over £10 billion has been lent to consumers by BNPL companies in the last three years ...
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) is at the top of the agenda for many organisations. It is a collective term for a business’s impact on the environment and wider society ...
Employees have a right under data protection law to access their personal data processed by their employer. But what is essential and best practice for an employer to consider when responding to such request? There has been a noticeable trend of an upward increase in employee DSARs over the last few years, mainly stemming from employee disputes in the workplace such as grievances and tribunal proceedings ...
The Court of Appeal has partially clarified a significant loophole in the Telecoms Code, which was threatening to prevent the redevelopment of some telecommunications sites. The previous iteration of the Telecoms Code was infamously labelled ‘not one of parliament’s better drafting efforts’ by the High Court ...
25 July marks World In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) day (or World Embryologist Day) recognising the day in 1978 the first baby was born following successful IVF treatment. To mark the day, we ask what employers can do to support employees undertaking IVF. Background Louise Joy Brown was the first ever baby in the world to be born following IVF treatment ...
A recent survey conducted by the charity Pregnant Then Screwed, reported that almost a quarter (24%) of women who told their boss about their fertility treatment did not receive any support at work.In vitro fertilization (IVF) can place an emotional, physical and financial stress on women ...
Suzanne Burrell is joined by Adam Davis, Managing Director of K3 Advisory, and Becky Wood, Trustee Director at Vidett, to discuss recent risk transfer market experience, preparing for buy in or buy out, and some common issues in those projects. Last year, 2022, saw the completion of around 200 risk transfer transactions, representing around £30bn in liabilities moving from pension schemes to insurers ...
On 10 July 2023 in his Mansion House speech, Chancellor Jeremey Hunt announced the government’s plans to transform the UK’s financial services sector. The announcement was followed the next day by a raft of consultation documents from the DWP addressing a range of pension reforms aimed at boosting outcomes for pension savers and supporting growth across the wider economy ...
As the Procurement Bill reaches its final stages before royal assent, we take a look at some of the changes made since its introduction in May 2022. Whilst the Bill has not undergone radical changes, between the Commons and the Lords, there have still been some interesting additions. We will revisit these changes following consideration of Commons amendments scheduled for September 2023 ...
A summary of the key takeaways from a recent webinar Charities legal and regulatory preview. "Prevention rather than cure: understand and embrace the quiet revolution in charity regulation" Not our words, but those of the Chief Executive of the Charity Commission back in April when she spoke of the potential of My Charity Commission Account being rolled out for all charity trustees ...
The Regulations implement most of the recommendations made to the government in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 report which require a change in the Law and impact those responsible for buildings with at least two residential units and common parts ...
On 17 July 2023, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published its High-level Recommendations for the Regulation, Supervision and Oversight of Crypto-asset Activities and Markets: Final report (Report A) and its revised High-level Recommendations for the Regulation, Supervision and Oversight of Global Stablecoin Arrangements: Final Report (Report B) ...
Yesterday, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a consultation paper on social media guidance for firms promoting financial services and products. The draft guidance does not contain anything new so far as "dos and don'ts" for promotional material - including the new rules set to come into force on 8 October this year regarding promotion of crypto-related investments (see relevant article here) ...
On 13 July 2023, the UK government planned increases to fees across a range of immigration and nationality routes including the immigration health surcharge. The immigration health surcharge (IHS) is set to see a huge increase of around 66%. The current standard IHS rate is £624 per person per year of leave to remain granted and this will increase to £1,035. Similarly, the discounted rate for students and under-18s will increase from £470 per year to £776 ...
In this article we highlight the most significant employment law cases since April 2023 and the lessons that employers should take from them. Pregnancy discrimination In dismissal situations, the motivation of the decision-maker to dismiss is key rather than the motivation of other employees who may be indirectly involved, as the case of Alcedo Orange Ltd v Ferridge-Gunn demonstrates ...
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a letter to Cryptoasset firms on the 4 July confirming that qualifying cryptoassets will now fall within the scope of the financial promotions regime. From the 8 October 2023, all firms marketing cryptoassets to UK consumers, including firms based overseas, must comply with the financial promotions regime. What is a Financial Promotion? A financial promotion is a broadly defined term, with no technological boundaries ...
Shoosmiths’ mobility head, Jonathan Smart, was a speaker at the SMMT International Automotive Summit 2023, hosted in London. Jonathan moderated a panel discussion focused on the competitive challenges facing the UK’s automotive manufacturing sector. The summit was aimed at addressing the challenges facing the automotive sector, including building resiliency, international collaboration, unlocking potential, competitiveness and innovation ...
In a defining moment for the digital economy, Vodafone Germany has recently announced its partnership with Cardano, a public blockchain platform, to launch one of the world’s largest NFT collections. This move by Vodafone demonstrates the growing interest of global telecommunications corporations in embracing blockchain technology and digital assets ...
Sony Interactive Entertainment recently made headlines with the publication of an international patent application to make non-fungible tokens (NFTs) transferable between games and consoles. Despite an initial 2021 popularity boom, 2022 saw a dramatic decline in the trading volumes of NFTs. Whilst the downturn has been touted by some commentators as having “fallen off a cliff”[1], Sony’s patent application may be seen as indicative of a diversification of use-cases for NFTs ...
Vikas Shah MBE chats to Adam Wagner on the rule of law. Susanna Reid from ITV’s Good Morning Britain calls him “the barrister who kept the legal receipts”. Put simply, Adam knows more about the Covid regulations which upended our lives from March 2020 onwards than arguably anyone else in the country ...
On 16 June 2023 the High Court handed down its first instance decision in the case of Virgin Media Limited v NTL Pension Trustees II Limited and others, dealing with the impact on amendments affecting contracted out rights of failing to obtain a section 37 certificate ...
Nope, we’re not referring to Elvis Presley’s Suspicious Minds but rather in relation to the perils consumers have been facing when falling into subscription traps set by traders ...
