Articles

On 12 April 2021, we enter Step 2 of the government’s roadmap for easing lockdown restrictions in England. The headline changes include the opening of outdoor hospitality, non-essential retail, hairdressers and beauty salons, the easing of restrictions...

The new off-payroll working rules came into effect today (6 April 2021), which sees a major shake-up in the requirements around contractors working in the private sector via a personal services company (PSCs). Many people will know this existing framework as...

On 31 May 2021, the Employment Rights Act 1996 (Protection from Detriment in Health and Safety Cases) (Amendment) Order 2021 is due to come into force, extending the right not to be subjected to detriment to workers in certain health and safety cases. ...

On 18 March 2021, the government published its white paper titled “Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance”. The white paper sets out a series of ambitious reform proposals intended to strengthen the UK’s audit, corporate...

A Supreme Court ruling brought a four-year battle with Uber to an end by determining that drivers are not self-employed, but workers. Lloyd Davey and Emily Hocken examine the wider implications of the judgment. Uber and its drivers were not the only ones...

A new report by the Muslim Council of Britain has provided a detailed analysis of Islamophobia, how it is defined and how it can be identified, and therefore how it can be tackled across various aspects of British society. Of importance to employers is the...

As a heavily regulated sector, products, services and healthcare professionals are all subject to extensive legislative requirements, which are monitored and enforced by a number of regulatory authorities. We set out below an overview of the main regulators...

In September 2020 we summarised some key LIBOR transition developments in our article entitled “ Update on LIBOR transition ”.    LIBOR transition continues apace in 2021, with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) confirming...

Free movement under EU law ended on 31 December 2020 and there are now different immigration rules applicable to EU, EEA and Swiss nationals (European nationals) depending on whether the European national first arrived in the UK before or after 31 December...

Step 1B of the government’s roadmap to the easing of national restrictions came into effect on 29 March 2021. There is no longer a legal requirement to work from home, although employers should consider carefully before permitting staff to return...

On Monday 29 March 2021, the "stay at home" restrictions ended and are replaced by "stay in the UK" restrictions. Under new regulations , it will remain unlawful to leave the UK unless you fall within one of the specified...

Succession arrangements are vital to protecting a business on the death of a shareholder or director. While surviving directors can take over the running of a company, the position is complicated for companies with only a sole director and, even more so,...

The government is encouraging employers across all sectors to introduce workplace testing if they have staff who cannot work from home. There is no legal requirement for employers to implement testing, but there are many benefits for employers of doing...

As the UK slowly emerges from the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government has announced the further extension of the duration of certain temporary measures initially introduced pursuant to the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020...

Research and Development (R&D) refers to a specific project aimed at developing new products or processes that make an advance in science or technology. Commonly, carrying out a full R&D project is beyond the capabilities of a single entity, either...

You may recall that the basic position under Articles 44 onwards of the GDPR is that personal data may not be transferred or processed outside the EU to third countries unless a derogation or adequacy or appropriate safe guards apply. Following the...

On 9 March 2021, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruled on the latest case concerning the boundaries of the "communication to the public" right in the online environment. 1  The decision clarifies that: Embedding copyright works on...

In the recent and related cases of Capitol Records and others v British Telecommunications plc and others , and Young Turks Recordings Ltd and others v British Telecommunications plc and others , the High Court ordered the six main internet service...

Summer may be around the corner, but chill economic winds are forecast to blow through many a UK high street for a good while yet. According to a recent report published by PwC and the Local Data Company, store closures hit a record of 48 per day during...

At Budget 2021 the government announced a review of research and development (R&D) tax reliefs, supported by a consultation seeking views from stakeholders. The government hopes that, by reducing the costs of innovation, R&D tax reliefs will play a...

Apple’s recent law suit against its former employee, Simon Lancaster [1] , is an illustration of how vulnerable highly innovative companies are to employee trade secret theft.   Secrets provided to a journalist Apple alleges that Lancaster used...

Findings made against the claimant’s witnesses in the recent High Court decision of PJSC Tatneft v Gennady Bogolyubov and others [2021] EWHC 411 (Comm) underline the importance of taking the correct approach to oral and written witness evidence. ...

Certain rules around sponsoring individuals were relaxed when the new immigration system came into force on 1 December 2020. Previously, in many cases the employer had to advertise the vacancy in a very specific way to the resident population and employers...

The industry has this week welcomed new guidance published by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which confirms that recognition by the UK of EU/EEA batch testing of imported medicines will not be ending on 1 January 2023 as...

On 4 March 2021, the Home Office published a Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules detailing changes that will take effect on 6 April 2021 (unless otherwise specified). The changes mostly relate to work and study routes and include the introduction...

On 24 February 2021, the government published new draft Administration (Restrictions on Disposal etc. to Connected Persons) Regulations 2021 (the Regulations), following the consultation process conducted in late 2020. The Regulations are still to...

The recent and very public skirmish between the European Commission and AstraZeneca over the Covid-19 vaccine demonstrates the difficulties suppliers face when demand for their product exceeds supply. This is often a problem for life sciences companies,...

The sight of a Texan lawyer having to deny he was a cat during a live court hearing last month was the source of much hilarity (and no doubt many a meme) across the world. For those in the legal sector however, that cat’s curiosity should act as a...

The Chancellor announced in his budget on 3 March 2021 further details of proposed changes to the UK immigration system. The reforms aim to attract and keep highly skilled individuals and entrepreneurs in the UK. The government also hopes that the reforms...

There is a widely held belief that an employee who creates software outside normal working hours is entitled to the copyright in that software. While this may be true in some cases, the correct position is that, subject to contrary agreement, the copyright...