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The long-awaited reciprocal enforcement regime for Hong Kong-Mainland China judgments
05 January 2024The Mainland Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance (Cap 645) and rules are set to come into force on 29 January 2024. The Ordinance aims to provide a more comprehensive mechanism for reciprocal enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters between Hong Kong and Mainland China.
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Green Building Certifications
03 January 2024In the current climate, “green” buildings are taking the market by storm. Why? Corporate occupiers are seeking light, airy, green, flexible working spaces to retain, and attract, employees. ESG goals are at the top of most businesses’ agendas and where better than the office to showcase the “E” in ESG.
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Horizon Scanner - Intellectual Property for Chinese Businesses
03 January 2024At Lewis Silkin we are constantly monitoring the legal landscape and liaising with policymakers and regulators. This enables us to stay informed about how law and regulation will change in key areas for our clients.
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Labour market policy and employment law under a Keir Starmer-led government: a recent report may offer a crystal ball
03 January 2024Can we see a glimpse into the future approach of a Labour government to labour markets and employment regulation from the recent Resolution Foundation report?
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What’s happening in Northern Irish employment law in 2024?
03 January 2024Following the political talks before the holidays, could we see the return of the Executive and Assembly in Northern Ireland in early 2024? The current political stalemate is causing an increasing divergence between the employment laws in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. That said, the post-Brexit reform agenda impacts Northern Ireland and holiday pay litigation will keep many busy following the landmark Agnew decision. Here’s our summary of what to expect in employment law in 2024.
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What’s happening in UK employment law in 2024?
03 January 2024From carer’s leave and day 1 flexible working requests to new laws requiring proactive steps to prevent workplace sexual harassment, there’s a lot of legislative change on the horizon. Here’s our summary of what to expect in employment law in 2024.
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The new football agent regulations – where are we now?
03 January 2024Those working in the football industry were given a Christmas treat over the festive period. Firstly, after many months of uncertainty and waiting, the FA finally confirmed on 21 December 2023 that the FA’s new Football Agent Regulations will enter into force on 1 January 2024 and will supersede The FA’s Working with Intermediaries Regulations.
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Working time changes in Northern Ireland: here’s what it means for employers
03 January 2024EU rules on holiday pay are being kept, according to new regulations that speedily came into force on 1 January 2024. This article looks at the new laws.
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UK government issues further details on net migration reduction policy
02 January 2024The main new detail for employers to note is that occupation-related going rates of pay will be increased alongside the general salary thresholds. There will be transitional arrangements for Skilled Workers, however users of the system will be required to pay more in salaries and other immigration-related costs throughout the period of sponsorship. Senior carers and carers will be prohibited from bringing dependants from the new year, and the increased minimum income requirement under the five-year Partner route will be raised initially to £29,000 instead of £38,700.
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Lewis Silkin's 12 tech trends and predictions for 2024
02 January 2024Welcome to this year’s technology predictions!
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A big shakeup to Ireland's employment permit system
22 December 2023In a surprise pre-Christmas announcement, the Irish Government significantly expanded Ireland’s employment permit system but also increased the salary requirements for most employment permit types. While this is welcome news, it also means that some employers may need to review and reforecast their budgets for employment costs to ensure any employment permit holders they employ can continue to work in Ireland.
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EU Platform Workers Directive – more changes as political agreement reached
21 December 2023The Platform Workers Directive has taken another important step towards being adopted by the EU, with political agreement on the text being reached on 13 December. This involves some significant changes to the originally proposed draft wording.
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Q&A from What’s happening in immigration law webinar – 7 December 2023
20 December 2023This Q&A covers questions raised in our webinar. This session discussed:
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Redundancy protection to be extended to cover pregnancy and return from family leave
14 December 2023From 6 April 2024, employees who are pregnant or returning from maternity, adoption or shared parental leave will gain priority status for redeployment opportunities in a redundancy situation. We explain the new rights and implications for employers.
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Carer’s Leave – the new law explained
14 December 2023From 6 April 2024, employees will have a statutory right to a week’s unpaid leave to care for a dependant. The Carer’s Leave Regulations 2024 have now been published in draft form and provide the details on how this new right will work in practice.
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Financial promotions regulatory horizon scanner
12 December 2023Our financial promotions horizon scanner (below) identifies regulatory changes and updates that are likely to impact firms who offer financial services and products in the UK. The tracker identifies key current and future developments across numerous areas including, anti-greenwashing, social media, high risk investments and cryptoassets.
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New Immigration Rules expand activities allowed for visitors
12 December 2023On 7 December 2023 the Home Office published new Immigration Rules. These expand the range of activities visitors are allowed to do in the UK from 31 January 2024, including remote work, research, provision of legal services and paid engagements. The Youth Mobility Scheme is also amended to include citizens of Uruguay and to restructure the arrangements for Japanese and South Korean citizens.
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Is early workforce consultation required for small scale redundancies?
12 December 2023In a decision with potentially significant implications for employers, the EAT has indicated that the lack of ‘general workforce consultation’ at a formative stage in a small-scale redundancy exercise could taint the fairness of the process.
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Ads & Brands Law Digest: November 2023
07 December 2023Welcome to the November 2023 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.
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The National Security and Investment Act 2021: will it lead to greater certainty and lower burdens for businesses?
07 December 2023Since the National Security and Investment Act (the NSI Act) came into force on 4 January 2022, one of the criticisms levelled at the legislation has been its broad scope and ambiguity over whether a transaction might be captured by the mandatory notification regime or voluntary notification regime.