Insights & News
Search for Insights & News
-
Ireland - Linda Hynes advises employers on employee complaints post office parties on The Examiner
12 December 2022When hosting a staff party, employers need to remember they have a duty of care for everyone’s wellbeing and that all present should be advised that they’re still legally ‘at work’ while attending a ‘work event’, advises a leading employment lawyer.
-
Christmas Party Chaos: Síobhra Rush comments for Today FM
12 December 2022Christmas party season is in full swing and for many people this is the first time back at a work gathering since before the pandemic.
-
From crypto winter to crypto trading platform collapse – paving the path to greater regulation of crypto
12 December 2022The trajectory of the crypto sector has been marked by a number of events over the course of this year from the crypto-winter (including instability in crypto markets, the collapse of Terra (an algorithmically-backed stablecoin supplemented by a reserve of Bitcoin) and consequential failures of crypto-related firms) through to the collapse of the centralised crypto trading platform FTX and most of its associated businesses. The regulatory message from Sir John Cunliffe has been consistent throughout: we need effective regulation of crypto technologies in finance.
-
e-Signatures in corporate transactions – what you need to know
12 December 2022In 2019 we published an article called “Dotted lines are disappearing but the Law Commission has joined the dots on electronic signatures”. The article predicted a shift towards more widespread adoption of e-signatures, especially following the publication of a Law Commission report aimed at helping “users of e-signatures to proceed with confidence.”
-
Ads & Brands Law Digest: November 2022
08 December 2022Welcome to the November 2022 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.
-
CSOP options – A new lease of life?
08 December 2022As part of the infamous Mini-Budget published on 23 September 2022, the then-Chancellor announced some surprise changes to HMRC’s rules around ‘CSOP option’ grants – and they’re some of the few changes announced in that rather ill-fated reform package still to be going ahead.
-
Modernising flexible working - day one “right to request” but no “right to have”
08 December 2022The government’s response to consultation on flexible working proposes a “day one” right to request and various other changes to the current rules, but stops short of more radical reform.
-
Sexual misconduct in the legal sector: a seasonal reminder that prevention is better than cure
07 December 2022This time last year Omicron cases were on the rise, leading to the cancellation of countless Christmas celebrations. Many law firms are now due to host ‘in person’ Christmas parties for the first time in almost three years. Although the spirits of party-starved lawyers are bound to be high, inhibitions may not be. Ahead of these festivities, it’s therefore important for firms to be clear about appropriate workplace behaviour and the potential consequences of sexual misconduct.
-
Extension of UK-Switzerland Services Mobility Agreement
06 December 2022The UK and Switzerland have agreed to extend the Services Mobility Agreement (“SMA”) for another three years to continue enabling British and Swiss professionals to work in each other’s countries with greater flexibility until 31 December 2025.
-
Criminal Records Checks in Employment
05 December 2022Criminal record checks can be a useful and sometimes necessary way of checking the suitability of an employee for a particular role. However, employers must be careful that they are not exceeding the boundaries of what they are permitted to request and are complying with their data protection obligations. This Inbrief covers how employers can carry out criminal record checks on prospective or existing employees, and the limitations on what they can do.
-
Lewis Silkin announces Gold Partnership with Catalyst
05 December 2022We are delighted to announce our Gold Partnership with Catalyst, an independent not-for-profit organisation working with innovators and entrepreneurs in Northern Ireland.
-
Lewis Silkin moves into Top 20 on Social Mobility Employer Index
05 December 2022For the third consecutive year, Lewis Silkin has improved its ranking in the Social Mobility Employer Index, rising to 18th place - up from 34th last year and 59th the year before. The firm now falls within the top ten law firms in the Index.
-
Virtual Christmas card tree planting initiative
02 December 2022At Lewis Silkin we are committed to reducing our environmental impact, and have committed to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions in our value chain by no later than 2050, in line with the Science-Based Target Initiative’s Net-Zero Standard.
-
Helpful guidance updates for sponsors of workers
30 November 2022The Home Office released updated sponsor guidance on 9 November 2022, in line with the Autumn Immigration Rule updates. This includes some potentially helpful changes for sponsors of workers, however there are some areas of ambiguity as well as some upcoming changes that sponsors should be aware of.
-
Masking for trouble? Can employers require staff to wear a face mask even if an employee says they have a disability that prevents them from doing so?
30 November 2022The use of face masks at work is back under the spotlight as winter approaches, with two recent Employment Tribunal decisions considering whether it could be an act of disability discrimination to require disabled employees to wear face masks.
-
Law Society and CLLS update 2016 practice note on electronic execution of documents
29 November 2022A (very) brief history of key guidance on electronic execution of documents.
-
In Conversation with Anna Josse, Founder and CEO of Prism The Gift Fund
29 November 2022“Philanthropy is inherently personal; there are as many reasons for giving as there are people who give. We’ve found that not only would many people like to give more, but that others would be happy to start if they weren’t intimidated by the complexities of charitable giving.” We spoke to Anna Josse, Founder, CEO of Prism the Gift Fund to get the low down on effective giving vehicles, Donor Advised Funds.
-
Secret gardens and the ever-increasing demand for properties on those squares
24 November 2022We spoke to Priyank Lakhia the Founder & Director of Independent Agency, 5Bay Group about the numerous garden squares spread around central London, which Priyank says are one of the city's most distinguishing features.
-
Adtech’s ‘compliance theatre’ may be heading for its final curtain
24 November 2022On 7 September 2022 the Brussels Court of Appeal dismissed numerous grounds of IAB Europe’s appeal from a decision of the Belgian Data Protection Authority – Autorité de protection des données (“APD”) – and referred various questions relating to fundamental concepts of the GDPR to the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”).
-
Inflation, interest rates & money markets - what are the implications for real estate?
23 November 2022The economic impacts of the former chancellor’s ‘fiscal statement’ of 23rd September, the subsequent u-turns and the resulting uncertainty and market disruption, continue to reverberate and have increased the chance of house price falls to a level not seen since 1990.