Insights & News
Search for Insights & News
-
Illegal working civil penalties due to triple from 13 February 2024
25 January 2024The civil penalty an employer may receive for employing an illegal worker will rise from £20,000 to £60,000. This significantly increases the financial risk to employers of failing to carry out rigorous and compliant right to work checks.
-
Acas Code of Practice on handling requests for a predictable working pattern: Lewis Silkin’s consultation response
25 January 2024We have submitted a response to Acas’ consultation on its draft statutory Code of Practice on handling requests for a predictable working pattern. The draft Code helpfully recognises the similarities between this new regime and the more familiar one of flexible working. However, there are new concepts and processes in the legislation which may be challenging for employers to navigate without further clarity and detail.
-
Ambush Marketing and the Law: A look ahead to the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games 2024
24 January 2024The biggest sporting event of 2024 will undoubtedly be the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games held in Paris. As ever when it comes to big sporting events of this nature, we expect ambush marketing (where a brand piggybacks on an event to promote their products without an official association with that event) to be a key concern.
-
Are Smart Buildings becoming trendy?
19 January 2024Before we dive into the trends surrounding Smart Buildings, we should take a step back and look at what the Smart Building market is doing, and it’s safe to say it’s growing. In fact, it’s predicted that the market for Smart Buildings is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.5% from 2023 to 2030. That’s an impressive rate – as a comparison - Netflix had a compound quarterly growth rate (CQGR) of 27.5% between 2016 and 2021.
-
NYT v OpenAI: The Publishing Sector’s AI Content-Scraping Conundrum
19 January 2024Text and Data Mining (TDM) – and “web scraping” more generally – has been thrust into the spotlight with the recent explosion of Generative AI. At the heart of the issue lies a tension between AI companies on the one hand and publishers on the other.
-
How careful attention to warranties can avoid transfer nightmares
18 January 2024This article outlines the importance of warranties in football transfer agreements.
-
Immigration Health Surcharge due to rise imminently
18 January 2024Substantial rises to the Immigration Health Surcharge have now been approved by Parliament to come into effect on 6 February 2024. Individuals hoping to avoid these should submit their UK immigration application by 5 February 2024 to be sure they are not impacted.
-
Protected disclosures in Ireland – new statutory Guidance published and more employers now required to comply
18 January 2024With more Irish employers now caught by the requirement under the protected disclosures legislation to have whistleblowing procedures in place, and the introduction of new statutory Guidance towards the end of last year, we look briefly at what employers should be considering in 2024 when dealing with protected disclosures in the workplace in Ireland.
-
Cold weather working and snow days: the legal position
18 January 2024Following on from one of the mildest Decembers on record, we’re now into the colder months with parts of the country experiencing temperatures as low as -14°C. What should employers be doing during these months to keep their staff safe, warm and productive?
-
Explainability and AI: the silver bullet?
17 January 2024Lawmakers faced with rapid advances in AI are turning to the safeguards needed to protect individuals whose interests are affected by AI systems and to build trust in automated decision-making. Building trust in automated outcomes will be much more of a challenge for many years following the revelations which are emerging from the Post Office scandal. Common among these safeguards are auditing, human oversight, effective contestability, transparency and explainability. But what is most likely to be effective?
-
Ads & Brands Law Digest: December 2023
16 January 2024Welcome to the latest edition of our Digest, covering legal and regulatory developments from the last few weeks relevant to advertising, marketing, and brand-owning businesses. As usual, for each item we provide a succinct summary accompanied by a link to the full text of the relevant official source or our own report.
-
Double trouble: is dual employment a recipe for disaster?
16 January 2024Double the employers means double the trouble according to the Employment Appeal Tribunal, which, in a decision last year, cast doubt on the legal possibility of dual employment. However, although there might be a presumption against this arrangement, there are situations when the law allows for this.
-
Statutory paternity leave: new rules from April
15 January 2024New parents will have more flexibility to choose when to take statutory paternity leave under changes applying from April 2024. Here’s what employers need to know and do.
-
Our inaugural Digital, Commerce & Creative Report is here!
12 January 2024We are delighted to announce that we have published our inaugural Digital, Commerce & Creative Annual Report.
-
Settlement agreements can settle future employment claims
11 January 2024In a helpful decision for employers, the Scottish Court of Session has ruled that a settlement agreement can be used to settle future as well as existing employment claims – even where those claims only arise after the agreement has been signed.
-
Immigration law in Ireland - a roundup of 2023 and looking ahead to 2024
11 January 20242023 ended with a significant announcement on the largest expansion and shakeup to the employment permit system since its inception. In 2024, we expect to see further changes to the employment permit system and the possibility of the enactment of the Employment Permits Bill. However, we also expect to see further changes adopted as part of the Department of Justice’s modernisation programme, like those we have seen with the naturalisation process and the possibility of proposals on the adoption of a single application procedure.
-
Thinking ahead - Tenant considerations when finding new premises
11 January 2024For a corporate occupier, committing to a multi-year lease with a substantial rent as well as added service charge liability is a significant financial commitment.
-
Litigation trends
11 January 2024Our Dispute Resolution team has compiled an overview of some of the key themes we are seeing in the litigation landscape of England and Wales.
-
What’s happening in ROI employment law in 2024?
11 January 2024From the commencement of the right for employees to request remote and flexible working, increases in statutory sick pay and minimum wage entitlements, the lowering of the threshold for employers who will be obliged to report on their gender pay gap and an ever-increasing focus on all things AI, guidance on, and extension of, whistleblowing obligations, there is a lot of change on the horizon for employers in Ireland. Here’s our summary of what to look out for in 2024.
-
What's happening in UK immigration law in 2024?
10 January 2024This year we expect to see a host of restrictions aimed at bringing down net migration and stamping out abuse of the immigration system, alongside a liberalisation of short-term immigration routes and the introduction of technology-based innovations. Increases in the Immigration Health Surcharge and maximum civil penalty for employing an illegal worker were anticipated for January 2024 but now will be deferred into February 2024 or later, depending on when implementing regulations are finalised by Parliament.