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The WRC’s Report on its 2020 Decisions and Recommendations
13 January 2022The Irish Workplace Relations Commission (the “WRC”) has issued a “first of its kind” report analysing the decisions and recommendations issued by the WRC in 2020. This report highlights some trends that will be of interest to employers. In this article we summarise the key points and discuss some takeaways for employers.
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Lewis Silkin has advised the shareholders of Cooper Projects Limited, the parent company of DVS Limited, on its acquisition by Midwich
12 January 2022Lewis Silkin has advised the shareholders of Cooper Projects Limited, the parent company of DVS Limited (“DVS”), a UK based distributor of video security products, on its acquisition by Midwich, the UK's leading trade-only distributor of technology solutions.
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Early details of new digital right to work check tool published
11 January 2022The Home Office has published preliminary information on the new technology employers will be able to use to make digital right-to-work checks for employees who are currently outside the scope of the existing online systems.
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Tech Predictions 2022
11 January 2022Welcome to this year’s technology predictions! Technology certainly continues to present a growling engine of change but there is no escaping the fact that it really does create opportunities to ‘do a job that customers want done’. And with that intro, we dive straight into our predictions!
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Ads & Brands Law Digest: January 2022
06 January 2022Welcome to the January 2022 edition of our Digest, covering legal and regulatory developments from the last few weeks relevant to advertising, marketing, and brand-owning businesses.
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What’s happening in employment law in 2022?
05 January 2022The Covid-19 pandemic continues to dominate the agenda, but employers can still expect both legislative and caselaw developments across all areas of employment law.
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8 future of work trends for Irish SMEs: Síobhra Rush comments for Think Business
05 January 2022Síobhra Rush outlines developments SME owners need to bear in mind for 2022 with new rules and laws on the way in the areas of whistleblowing, the right to work remotely, and paid leave in the event of a miscarriage.
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What’s happening in immigration law in 2022?
04 January 2022The coming year includes some welcome pro-immigration reforms which should give businesses and individuals more options and a better user experience than currently.
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Changes to right to work checks from 6 April 2022
20 December 2021The Home Office has announced that from 6 April 2022, the right to work of those who hold a biometric residence card (BRC), biometric residence permit (BRP) or frontier worker permit (FWP) can only be done online.
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Lewis Silkin advises Sideshow Group on its acquisitions of Access and Reddico
17 December 2021Lewis Silkin has advised Sideshow Group, the award-winning independent digital agency, on its acquisitions of two further digital agencies, Access and Reddico. Together with the acquisitions of TRGT, Catch and Widerfunnel, Sideshow have announced five acquisitions since Waterland Private Equity made a significant investment in February. These acquisitions demonstrate that the Sideshow Group is following through on its ambitions to become a global challenger in digital experience and marketing services, and we are delighted to support those ambitions.
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Hong Kong court finds that pilot’s “standby” time did not constitute as rest days for the purposes of the Employment Ordinance
17 December 2021In the case of Breton Jean v. 香港麗翔公務航空有限公司 (Hk Bellawings Jet Limited) [2021] HKDC 46, the Court found that the employer had failed to provide rest days to the employee as they had been expected to have a degree of flexibility during their standby period.
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Hong Kong court upholds summary dismissal in light of employee’s secret business
17 December 2021In the case of Cosme De Net Co Ltd v Lam Kin Ming [2021] HKDC 445, the Court of First Instance upheld an employer’s decision to summarily dismiss an employee who ran a competing business in secret.
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Hong Kong court confirms that a party cannot enforce a contract with a unilateral mistake which he/she knew or should have known did not reflect the other party’s intentions
17 December 2021Zhang Qiang v Cisco Systems (HK) Ltd [2021] HKCFI 694 is a case that reminds employers of the importance of putting the right figure in a settlement agreement – especially when dealing with an uncooperative employee. In this case, although ending in the employer’s victory, a typo in the settlement agreement had led to a decade-long lawsuit.
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New TUC proposals: trade unions to inform and inspire platform workers
17 December 2021The Trades Union Congress has called for trade unions to have a digital right of access to platform and gig economy workers and for the introduction of sectoral collective bargaining. These calls follow the Labour Party’s commitment that the next Labour government will give these rights and others to trade unions.
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Lewis Silkin’s Hong Kong team discuss topical issues in podcast series
16 December 2021Our Hong Kong employment team have collaborated with Conventus Law on their podcast series “Heart of the Matter – A Podcast on Legal Development from around the world”.
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Hong Kong court confirms that the implied duty of mutual trust and confidence cannot be relied upon to recover damages for loss arising from the manner of dismissal
16 December 2021In the case of Lam Siu Wai v Equal Opportunities Commission [2021] HKCFI 3092, the Court of First Instance held that the employer’s right to terminate in accordance with the terms of employment was not subject to the implied duty of mutual trust and confidence and so an employee could not rely on it to recover damages for loss arising from the manner of his or her dismissal.
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A shower of truth: government calls for evidence on use of umbrella companies
16 December 2021The use of umbrella companies is on the rise in the UK. Umbrella companies can support a more flexible and resilient labour market, but some may be misbehaving when it comes to employment and tax laws. This article explains the government’s call for evidence and what the positive outcomes might be.
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Hong Kong court confirms that suspension from partial performance of duties is not the same as suspension from employment
15 December 2021In the case of Lengler Werner v Hong Kong Express Airways Ltd [2021] HKCFI 1333, the Court of First Instance recently overturned a Labour Tribunal judgment and held that an employer’s statutory right to suspend an employee from employment under Section 11 of the Employment Ordinance only applied to a complete suspension from employment and not to a suspension from partial performance of duties.
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Sports Q&A - Transgender athletes: What do the IOC's new guidelines mean for sports organisations?
13 December 2021In November, the International Olympic Committee released new guidance which says there should be no assumption that a transgender athlete automatically has an unfair advantage in female events. In this Q&A, Anna Bond and James Garmston dive deep into the new guidelines to ensure you fully understand what they mean for your organisation.
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ICO Opinion: Data protection and privacy expectations for online advertising proposals
10 December 2021On 25 November 2021 the ICO issued an Opinion [1] on its expectations for online advertising, its latest update to its thematic review [2] of the adtech industry which commenced in 2019. The latest Opinion builds on concerns initially identified by the ICO [3] in 2019 and sets out the privacy standards that the ICO expects adtech vendors to meet when developing new products so that people’s online privacy is safeguarded.