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Partner, David Samuels comments on BBC news article: New CBI boss starts job as crisis continues
27 April 2023David Samuels, an employment partner at law firm Lewis Silkin, said: "[New CBI boss, Rain Newton-Smith] has a big task on her hands because the CBI clearly has a lot of cultural change to be put in place and they need to regain the confidence of the public and their members."
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Data Protection Commission Annual Report – takeaways for employers
27 April 2023The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) recently published its annual report for 2022 detailing the activities it undertook in 2022 and setting out its regulatory strategy and priorities for the next five years. In this article we focus on the topics and guidance that we think are most relevant for employers, specifically in the areas of data breaches, subject access requests and data subject complaints. We also summarise some of the more notable case studies that might interest employers.
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AI in the workplace: mind the regulatory gap?
27 April 2023The world of work looks set to be revolutionised by AI technology, with recent research suggesting that up to 300 million full time jobs globally could become automated. Yet strong voices of caution are sounding about the pace of change. Are legislatures stepping up to fill the regulatory gap? And what are the considerations for employers looking to step in and codify employees’ use of new technology themselves?
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Toxic workplaces hit the headlines: a warning to employers to take steps to prevent and tackle workplace misconduct
27 April 2023Organisational culture continues to experience considerable scrutiny following the findings of bullying by Dominic Raab and the recent allegations of misconduct and sexual harassment at the CBI. Although Raab was critical of where the Tolley Report set the bar in making these adverse findings, his response is at odds with evolving standards of workplace behaviour. What are these standards, and what can employers do to avoid a toxic culture?
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Lewis Silkin has advised Next 15 Group Plc’s Palladium Group Limited on the acquisition of onefourzero
21 April 2023Lewis Silkin has advised its long-standing client, Next 15 Group plc, on the acquisition by Palladium Group of onefourzero, the international digital and commercial M&A consulting firm.
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Consultation launched on significant reforms to European Works Councils
20 April 2023The European Commission has published a first-stage consultation of the European social partners (BusinessEurope on the employer side and the European Trade Union Confederation on the employee side) on a proposed revision of the European Works Council Directive. Whilst the consultation process remains at an early stage, the reforms being contemplated would have profound implications for all businesses with a European Works Council as the aim is to strengthen social dialogue.
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Ethnicity pay gap reporting guidance published
20 April 2023As part of its Inclusive Britain strategy, the government has finally published guidance for employers who wish to report and address their ethnicity pay gaps.
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New ACAS guidance on mental health and reasonable adjustments
20 April 2023The duty to make reasonable adjustments is a concept familiar to most employers. But new ACAS guidance shines a light on reasonable adjustments for mental health specifically. This publication includes detailed resources to support both employers and employees when handling reasonable adjustments for mental health at work.
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New requirement to report hybrid or remote working patterns for sponsored employees
17 April 2023In new guidance, the Home Office has confirmed that hybrid and remote working locations must be reported for sponsored workers. Sponsors should review the work location information recorded for all sponsored workers and consider making updates on the Sponsor Management System as appropriate.
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Gender pay gap reporting 2022 – our analysis of the latest results
17 April 2023What do the latest set of gender pay gap reporting figures tell us? Employers had until 4 April 2023 to report their statistics for 2022. We’ve analysed the data to discover the trends.
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EHRC letter on sex and the Equality Act
14 April 2023The Equality and Human Rights Commission has written a letter to Kemi Badenoch (the Minister for Women and Equalities) on the definition of “sex” in the Equality Act 2010.
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CMA launches consultation on its draft environmental sustainability guidance
12 April 2023The CMA is consulting on its draft guidance on the application of the Chapter 1 prohibition in the Competition Act 1998 (which prohibits agreements between businesses that restrict competition in the UK) to environmental sustainability agreements.
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Key considerations for clawing back immigration fees from employees
12 April 2023Businesses increasingly look to protect their investment in sponsored workers with “clawback” agreements, seeking to recoup immigration fees from the employee if employment terminates. With sponsorship on the rise post-Brexit, businesses are asking questions about how to create an effective clawback agreement.
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Ali Vaziri comments on the concerns about the growing abilities of chatbots for The Guardian
09 April 2023Concerns are growing about the privacy risks of using AI chatbots, including OpenAI's GPT-4.
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Neurodiversity and discrimination examined in the Employment Appeal Tribunal
04 April 2023The EAT upheld an employment tribunal’s decision that a neurodivergent claimant had not been discriminated against because of something arising in consequence of his disability. But, whilst unsuccessful in his primary claim, the claimant still received an award of over £20,000 for victimisation. We explore the practical and legal issues that arose during his employment and how employers could better support neurodivergent employees.
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Immigration restrictions on employment in the UK and consequences of breach
04 April 2023The Home Office has capability to scrutinise whether individuals with limited immigration permission are complying with any immigration conditions that restrict or prohibit employment in the UK. In this article, we look at this issue with a focus on how employment is defined, methods of detection, consequences of breach and how to minimise risk.
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John Lewis and adam&eveDDB successfully defend copyright claim
03 April 2023A claim that John Lewis and adam&eveDDB (“adam&eve”) copied a children’s author in creating the 2019 John Lewis television commercial and an associated book has been rejected by a High Court judge in London. The court found John Lewis and adam&eve had created the ad and book independently. The court also made an order that the unsuccessful claimant publicise the failed claim on her website and social media accounts.
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Turnover is Vanity, Profit is Sanity, Cash is Reality
31 March 2023Hardly a day goes by when a residential landlord is not bombarded by a seemingly endless torrent of bad news about the future of owning Buy-to-Lets or investment portfolios. Residential landlords and investors are leaving the market in droves. Driven away by rising interest rates, ever-increasing costs and the perceived burden of legislative and regulatory reforms.
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Financial promotions: draft legislation updating the perimeter for qualifying cryptoassets now published
30 March 2023So, we finally have the long-awaited next step in the ever-evolving regulatory framework that applies to crypto. By way of recap, cryptoasset exchange providers and custodian wallet providers need to be registered with the FCA under money laundering legislation.
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When Less Means More
29 March 2023Change is afoot for those looking to benefit from Multiple Dwellings Relief (MDR). MDR has long been a help in keeping SDLT manageable for certain complex residential purchases.