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Pay Attention Episode 1: What is the EU’s groundbreaking Pay Transparency Directive?
Podcast
14 December 2023In the inaugural episode of our "Pay Attention” series, we delve into the EU’s groundbreaking Pay Transparency Directive.
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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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Exiting Office Leases: On the Move
Press
12 December 2023In an article for PLC Magazine, Rachel Francis-Lang, Tom Merrick, Patrick Brown and Kate Davies discuss the key considerations for a business that wishes to exit its leased office space.
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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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New year new standards: will regulated individuals in financial services need to be “paragons of virtue”?
Podcast
12 December 2023The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) and Prudential Regulation Authority (“PRA”) are looking to re-emphasise the regulators’ position that non-financial misconduct is misconduct for regulatory purposes. On the agenda by Lewis Silkin, we discuss the fitness and propriety and conduct rules requirements, as well as the forthcoming guidance ahead of the consultation closing date on 18 December.
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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.
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Advertising foods high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS)
Inbrief
07 December 2023Advertising of HFSS foods is under a lot of scrutiny in the UK due to the obesity crisis, but recently has been put more on a back burner by the UK government due to the cost-of-living crisis and opposition to proposed legislative measures from some government MPs. Advertising HFSS products is already tightly regulated in the UK, but there are new rules on the horizon.
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How can employers support older employees in reskilling and returning to the workplace?
07 December 2023With an ageing population and a resurgence of over-50s returning to the office, employers are increasingly needing to rethink recruitment and retention strategies in response. This article explores ways employers can support older workers in the workplace, without falling foul of age discrimination legislation.
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Virtual Christmas card tree planting initiative
06 December 2023Instead of printing and posting Christmas cards every year, we have chosen to email virtual cards and plant trees.
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UK immigration policies announced to lower net migration
05 December 2023On 4 December 2023 the UK Government announced a ‘five point plan’ to lower net migration, following on from recent high net migration figures. These include raising the general threshold for Skilled Worker visas, abolishing the salary discount for shortage occupation roles and prohibiting care workers from bringing dependants.
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Paul Gillen comments on why workplaces must be neurodivergence-aware for the Belfast Telegraph
Press
05 December 2023While major employers are now actively recruiting people with neurodivergent backgrounds, the number of industrial tribunal cases involving neurodiverse employees has quadrupled in the last four years. Paul Gillen comments for the Belfast Telegraph.
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FCA publishes long-awaited rules and guidance on anti-greenwashing and sustainability
01 December 2023The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published long-awaited guidance on anti-greenwashing and sustainability due to come into effect in 2024.
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Updated Comparative Table of employment law developments across Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland
30 November 2023Do you need to stay up to date with employment law developments across Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland? If so, our updated Comparative Table, prepared in conjunction with Legal Island, will be a handy reference guide.
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The employee voice, social media and the culture wars - where to draw the line?
30 November 2023Employers are walking the tightrope between ensuring an open and inclusive workplace, inviting employees to bring their “whole selves” to work, yet protecting against discrimination, harassment and an outbreak of culture wars. Knowing whether and when to step in can be a challenge, particularly in the age of social media and instant communications.
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Limited partnerships: litigation following dissolution and winding up
30 November 2023A decision has been taken to wind up a limited partnership - that heralds the end for all concerned… or does it? Can a cause of action which accrued pre-dissolution be litigated by the general partner post-dissolution following the apparent winding up of the limited partnership? The High Court (at least on an interim basis) has said, yes.
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How to avoid a right to work check headache when BRPs are phased out
27 November 2023The Home Office intends to phase out biometric residence permits and other physical immigration documents from 1 January 2025. Although details of the process are still awaited, employers should take the opportunity now to review the volume of repeat right to work checks are due on 31 December 2024 and aim to minimise bottlenecks with processing these.
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Lewis Silkin strengthens Dispute Resolution practice with addition of partner Fraser Mitchell
Press Release
27 November 2023Lewis Silkin has today announced the appointment of Fraser Mitchell as a partner in the firm’s Dispute Resolution group.
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VSP update – A trio of recent developments for Video Sharing Platforms (and a glimpse ahead to what enforcement under the Online Safety regime might look like)
27 November 2023The Online Safety Act 2023 recently received Royal Assent and Ofcom has begun the process of consulting on various codes of practice. Most, if not all, Video Sharing Platforms (VSPs) will be caught by the Act, However, in the meantime, VSPs still need to comply with the existing Video Sharing Platform rules, and recent activity from the regulators indicates that they are keen to remind VSPs that they can’t sit on their laurels until the Online Safety regime kicks in. Regulatory activity can also be taken as an indication of how enforcement action may be approached under the Online Safety regime, as there are many parallels in the regulations.