Insights & News
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What a Conservative Government means for immigration law
13 December 2019Having fought his campaign on the promise to “get Brexit done” it is now certain that Mr Johnson will take the UK out of the EU. With a 78 seat majority Mr Johnson plans to bring his Withdrawal Agreement Bill back to the commons next Friday and pave the way for the UK to leave the EU on 31 January 2020. Given his clear majority, it now seems certain we will leave with the deal currently negotiated.
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Of feathers and tax
12 December 2019Around 350 years ago, LOUIS XIV’S FINANCE minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, famously declared that “the art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing.”
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Fashion & Copyright: Securing your design
12 December 2019The recent landmark decision of Cofemel v G-Star Raw, outlines that copyright protection exists for designers across the EU if their works are original. “Originality” is defined as: the own intellectual creation of the author. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) stated that no additional national legal requirements are needed to bring a claim for copyright infringement, except for originality. The decision should help to unify the approach to EU copyright laws.
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How damages are measured can make a stark difference in claims for breach of a tripartite collateral warranty
06 December 2019The High Court has given one defendant a stark lesson in how the measure of damages can make a significant – and costly – difference to the value of a successful claimant’s remedy.
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Privilege lost in otherwise protected documents due to inclusion in settlement agreement
04 December 2019In a recent case, the Court of Appeal (“CA”) upheld a ruling that documents which would otherwise have attracted “without prejudice” privilege had lost their privileged status because they had been incorporated into a settlement agreement. The documents were therefore disclosable.
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NDAs made simple - latest requirements and best practice
04 December 2019The Solicitors Regulatory Authority has reissued its warning notice on non-disclosure agreements (“NDAs”), shortly after publication of new guidance by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. We’ve created a table to clarify current legal and regulatory requirements, best practice and future proposals for using confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements and employment contracts.
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Champagne at Tiffany’s!
04 December 2019Apologies for the terrible pun, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” didn’t sound appropriate for the soon-to-be owner. It has been announced last week that LVMH has agreed a deal to acquire Tiffany & Co. at a valuation of $16.6bn. And just before the Christmas rush of “acquisitions” of perfectly wrapped turquoise boxes!
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Dismissal unfair where investigating manager was motivated by dislike of employee's union activities
03 December 2019An employee was unfairly dismissed because the disciplinary process was manipulated by a manager who was motivated by dislike of the employee’s trade union activities, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) has confirmed. This was despite the fact that neither the disciplinary nor appeal manager was influenced by prejudice against union activities.
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Sports Q&A - Athlete Unions: What do I need to know?
02 December 2019 -
Vegetarianism is not a belief for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010
30 November 2019Despite the increase in ‘plant-based’ eating across the UK, the Employment Tribunal in Norwich has held that a vegetarian employee can’t make a claim for discrimination, as vegetarianism does not count as a ‘belief’.
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The Esports Gold Rush – What Do ‘Traditional Sports’ Need to Consider?
29 November 2019Everybody wants a piece of the esports pie, and the International Cycling Union (ICU) is the latest to make its move. The world governing body of cycling has teamed up with Zwift - the innovative online platform which allows riders to compete against each other in a virtual world - to host the world’s very first ‘cycling esport world championships’ in 2020.
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Whistleblowing dismissal was unfair where decision-maker manipulated by another manager
28 November 2019In a decision with implications for unfair dismissal law generally, the Supreme Court (“SC”) has ruled that it is not always necessary for a dismissing manager to know about whistleblowing disclosures made by an employee in order for that dismissal to be automatically unfair.
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Impact of AI in retail
28 November 2019Chatbots, facial recognition, biometrics and a host of other Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) technologies are being utilised by the retail sector at an increasingly progressive rate and it is predicted by 2020, 85% of customer interactions will be managed by AI.
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Tribunal finds that 'workers' transfer under TUPE
28 November 2019In a surprise decision, with potentially wide-ranging ramifications, an Employment Tribunal (“ET”) has found that “workers”, as well as traditional “employees”, transfer under TUPE.
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Ask About... Retail, Fashion and Hospitality
27 November 2019Many of our clients in the retail, fashion and hospitality sector face similar HR issues. Each month one of the members of our team will identify an issue, consider how it should be dealt with and provide our advice. This month we asked Emma...
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Election manifestos – what are the main parties pledging on employment issues?
27 November 2019Despite the dominance of Brexit, employment issues are one of the main election battlegrounds for all of the major political parties. There is a particular focus on current hot topics, including insecure work and the gig economy, addressing gender (and other) pay gaps, and new mechanisms for enforcing employment rights.
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Advertising & Marketing 2020 seminar series
26 November 2019Following on from the success of our 2019 series, Lewis Silkin is pleased to announce our Advertising & Marketing 2020 seminar series covering topics for both marketing services agencies and brand owners.
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Without Prejudice and Without Prejudice Save as to Costs – Reasons to be Careful
21 November 2019The judgment in Sternberg Reed Solicitors v Andrew Paul Harrison [2019] EWHC 2065 (Ch) has put practitioners on notice that mislabelling without prejudice correspondence may have serious implications.
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Parties making false statements in pre-action witness statements to face proceedings for contempt of court
18 November 2019In a case relating to a package holiday which will serve as a warning to anyone considering fabricating facts to support a letter of claim, the Court of Appeal has ruled that parties making false statements in pre-action witness statements (potentially exposed as being untrue by the witnesses’ own social media posts) can face proceedings for contempt of court.