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Some good news (at last) for business rate payers in England
21 January 2019On 1 November 2018 the Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Act 2018 (Act) received Royal Assent. The Act will apply to England only. It was introduced in response to the controversial decision of the Supreme Court in Woolway v Mazars in 2015. The title of the Act doesn’t sound exciting but it may save some businesses money by reversing potential increases in their liability to business rates. Before we look at what the Act does, let’s remind ourselves as to why the Government felt compelled to step in and legislate
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Hong Kong increases statutory paternity leave with effect from today
18 January 2019Hong Kong male employees will be entitled to five days’ paid paternity leave for each child born on or after today, 18 January 2019, increasing from the current entitlement to three days’ leave.
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Dispute Resolution Update - January 2019
16 January 2019Welcome to our January 2019 Dispute Resolution Update which brings you news and our views on law and practice for dispute resolution. We’ve included articles on domestic disputes and international disputes, including summaries of recent cases. We have also included client guides on key aspects of dispute resolution.
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Tech Predictions for 2019
11 January 2019Following on from our 2018 Tech Predictions, here are our top ten favourite tech predictions for 2019. Just imagine a world where new technology not only makes us more efficient but improves our lives in other ways - let’s see what 2019 might hold in store!
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Twi-bel: High Court Holds Defendant Liable for Agent’s Defamatory Tweet
11 January 2019Just before Christmas, Mr Justice Nicklin gave us a present – his judgment in the case of Monir v Wood. The High Court found Mr Wood, the former Chairman of the UKIP Bristol branch, liable for the publication of a defamatory tweet posted by someone else on the branch’s twitter account.
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The year in employment law
09 January 2019Brexit continued to dominate the headlines in 2018, leaving employment law reform (along with many other areas) far down the Government’s agenda.
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Court of Appeal finds no litigation privilege in internal emails discussing commercial settlement of dispute
09 January 2019The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal by West Ham football club in its application to inspect certain emails sent internally amongst board members of E20 Stadium LLP (“E20”) and between E20’s board members and stakeholders, in respect of which E20 asserted litigation privilege. The emails were created with the dominant purpose of discussing the commercial settlement of E20’s dispute with West Ham over the club’s rights to use the London Olympic Stadium when litigation was in contemplation. The Court held that litigation privilege does not extend to documents concerned with the settlement or avoidance of litigation where the documents neither: (a) seek advice or information for the purpose of conducting litigation; nor (b) reveal the nature of such advice or information.
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Litigation privilege and the ‘dominant purpose’ test: ENRC decision applied
07 January 2019Did last year’s landmark Court of Appeal decision in Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) v Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Limited (“ENRC”) alter the application of the ‘dominant purpose’ test for litigation privilege where a document is brought into existence for multiple purposes, one of which is for use in litigation? The answer is ‘no’, according to a recent decision by the High Court. The Court confirmed the well-established principle that, for a claim to litigation privilege to succeed where a document is created for more than one purpose, litigation must be shown to be the dominant purpose on the facts.
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Renewed focus on modern slavery statements
20 December 2018The Home Office has recently sent out letters reminding organisations of their obligations to publish statements under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (“MSA”). The letter suggests various actions organisations need to take in response and indicates that organisations that fail to comply with their legal obligations risk being included in a published list of non-compliant organisations. So what should organisations be doing in response and what are their legal obligations?
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Court of Appeal rejects Uber's worker status appeal
20 December 2018The Court of Appeal (“CA”) has upheld, by a 2:1 majority, the ruling of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) that drivers engaged by Uber are “workers” rather than independent contractors. The majority also upheld the finding of the Employment Tribunal (“ET”) that drivers are working when they are signed into the Uber app and ready to work.
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UK government publishes long awaited immigration white paper
19 December 2018The long-awaited immigration white paper on the UK immigration system due to be phased in from 1 January 2021 has been published today.
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Encouraging ADR: Civil Justice Council publishes final report
19 December 2018Back in 2016, the Civil Justice Council (“CJC”) set up an alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) working group to review the ways in which ADR currently is encouraged and positioned within the civil justice system in England and Wales. The terms of reference included the review of existing forms of encouragement for mediation (and other forms of ADR) in civil cases in the Civil Procedure Rules, case law and the powers of the court, to consider alternative forms of encouragement and assess proposals for reform. The Working Group has now published its final report.
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The Good Work Plan – any good?
19 December 2018A year and a half since Matthew Taylor completed an extensive review of modern employment practices and published his report and recommendations, the Government has published details of its “Good Work Plan” setting out proposals to reform employment law in various areas.
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NEW ICO guidance on “Data protection if there’s no Brexit deal”
18 December 2018With uncertainty about Brexit continuing to dominate the headlines, the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) has released some useful and practical guidance on key data protection issues if there is no Brexit deal.
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Sports Q&A – Privilege in internal investigations
18 December 2018We sometimes need to conduct internal investigations, which can often relate to quite sensitive matters (which we would prefer not to be made public). However, I’ve heard that the content of these investigations is not always privileged. How does privilege work in internal investigations and do you have any tips about how to preserve it?
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How should hospitality employers deal with third-party harassment at Christmas parties?
17 December 2018“Christmas time is here by golly; disapproval would be folly; Deck the halls with hunks of holly, fill the cup and don’t say when”, as the legendary American satirist Tom Lehrer once sang. But Christmas party season can be a mixed blessing. The day after the office party, you will find many HR managers bracing themselves to hear what happened the night before…
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Preventing illegal working: employers able to rely on online right to work checks from 28 January 2019
14 December 2018In some circumstances employers will be able to use the Home Office Right to Work Checking Service available on GOV.UK from 28 January 2019 to obtain a statutory excuse against payment of a civil penalty for employing an illegal worker, without having also to check the individual’s physical documents.
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Ask about… Retail, Fashion & Hospitality
13 December 2018Many 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, ask how you would deal with it and provide our advice. This month we asked Anna...
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The new visa route for recognised or emerging leaders in architecture: what does this mean for the architectural sector?
13 December 2018The Government has announced a new immigration category for overseas recognised or emerging leaders in architecture that has the potential to ease access to jobs in the UK. With Brexit looming on the horizon, this news will provide some much needed reassurance that the UK’s Architecture sector will still be able to attract the best global talent over the coming years. However the new measures are limited in their scope and are unlikely to plug the gap that will be left once freedom of movement for EU workers comes to an end.
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Can / should someone who is not a director be invited to join a committee of the board?
13 December 2018Even if a company’s articles of association permit a committee of the board of directors of a company to comprise or include persons who are not directors, is it sensible for such a committee to be appointed? Are there benefits? This article explores this question.