The continued increases in AI and blockchain development and advances in hardware have impacted on all areas of life and industry and as we start 2019 one can only imagine what the next decade holds....
The government has published its draft Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 which are intended to come into force on exit day. The draft Regulations are based on the assumption that the UK will become party to the World Trade Organisation’s Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) in its own right – currently the UK is only party to the GPA in its capacity as an EU member state. ...
It has been a difficult 2018 for all of us and with increased uncertainty over what the future holds in Europe consumers seem to have tightened their belts and spent less on eating out. ...
The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) will double on 8 January 2019. The IHS is a charge paid by temporary migrants to the UK. This increase means that most visa applicants (from outside the EU) will now pay £400 per year up from £200 per year. Student and Youth Mobility visa applications will have to pay £300 per year up from £150 per year....
At the end of 2018 the Supreme Court considered whether advantageous treatment, that had the potential to be even more advantageous, would constitute ‘unfavourable’ treatment within the meaning of the Equality Act....
In Global Corporate Limited v Hale the Court of Appeal overturned an earlier High Court decision that dividend payments made to company director-shareholders were actually salary. ...
The recent Judgment of the High Court in Katara Hospitality (a company incorporated in Qatar) v (1) Gerard Guez and (2) Jacqueline Rose [2018] EWHC 3063 (“Katara Hospitality”) highlights the importance of ensuring the proper and valid execution of an instrument and also serves as a timely reminder of the importance of ensuring that the scope of an instrument is expressly set out if it is to be successfully relied upon....
This week, in its response to the Matthew Taylor Good Work Review, the Government has published a range of proposed changes to employment law. While the Government announced these changes as the biggest reform of employment law in 20 years, the reality is more evolution than revolution....
Uber drivers are workers, finds Court of Appeal Upholding the decision of the Employment Appeal Tribunal made in November 2017, the Court of Appeal have ruled that Uber drivers are to be classed as workers....
Today, the Government has announced that it will introduce a new statutory code of practice which places greater responsibility on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and to act robustly when sexual harassment does occur. The announcement is particularly timely in the midst of Christmas party season, in which employers liability to protect staff from sexual harassment and misconduct extends to such events, as we blogged about earlier this month....
While U.K. citizens pondering passport issues such as: 'will it likely be red or blue after Brexit and what line will I need to queue in after a holiday?' There are also some seemingly unpleasant side effects of the transition....
Recruiters who plan to enjoy the holiday season with colleagues at a party or two should take a tip from a recent court case that suggests the party isn’t necessarily over even when off-site or out of the formal work environment. Highlighted by the recent Court of Appeal decision in Bellman v Northampton Recruitment, a business can be found to be liable for the acts of its staff even after the organised Christmas party is over under certain conditions. ...
Unpaid work trials have long been part and parcel of securing employment. Employers are naturally keen to assess an individual’s employability before remunerating their efforts. ...
While we are in the midst of Christmas party season, it is important that businesses focus on their responsibilities in connection to work social events, particularly when they involve alcohol....
The Electronic Communications Code 2017 (“the New Code”) came into effect on 28 December 2017 with the aim of making it easier for operators to obtain and secure certain rights. This was motivated by the Government’s wish to speed up the roll out of broadband and mobile network coverage across the UK, accepting that digital access is no longer considered a luxury but a necessity in line with other utilities. ...
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court decided in Rock Advertising Ltd v MWB Business Exchange 2018 that, where a written contract states that it can only be varied by observing specified formalities (for example by doing so in writing and signed by both parties), those formalities will – in most circumstances – need to be observed if the variation is to be effective. This decision has far-reaching consequences, because many contracts are varied informally by the parties during their life without checking the requirements, which can be fatal to enforcement if a dispute arises. ...
Most people would assume that, if a contract gives one party a right to do something “in its absolute discretion”, that is the end of the matter. ...
Landlords and tenants will be familiar with the security of tenure provisions contained in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, which give tenants the right to renew their leases on expiry. Landlords can only object to a renewal on a limited number of grounds. One of those most frequently relied on by landlords is ground (f), which is that the landlord intends to demolish or reconstruct the premises subject to the tenancy, and cannot do so without obtaining possession from the tenant....
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) posits the following definition of the ‘gig economy’: “one that involves the exchange of labour for money between individuals or companies via digital platforms that actively facilitate matching between providers and customers, on a short-term payment by task basis”. We can argue about the appropriate use of ‘digital platforms’ as at first it may appear to be too restrictive a term, but it gives a good indication of the 21st-Century-nature of this type of ‘economy’ and the resulting creation of new employer-employee relationships....
A Dutchman who recently asked a court in the Netherlands to lower his age by 20 years has lost his case. The court found that there was no case law or scope in legislation that would allow such a ruling....