Insights & News
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Non-disclosure agreement injunction granted by Court of Appeal
25 October 2018The Court of Appeal (“CA”) has upheld a set of non-disclosure agreements (“NDAs”) and granted an interim injunction which prevents the Daily Telegraph newspaper from publishing details about allegations of “discreditable conduct” by a business executive towards five employees.
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Court of Appeal holds employer liable for wrongful disclosure of personal data by ‘rogue’ employee
24 October 2018The supermarket chain Morrisons had an internal auditor who went rogue. Aggrieved at an internal disciplinary process, he disclosed payroll data on the internet relating to about 100,000 of his colleagues. He was tracked down, charged and sentenced to eight years in prison. But was Morrisons liable to the employees whose information he had leaked?
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Company held liable for managing director’s violent conduct
18 October 2018The Court of Appeal (“CA”) has ruled that a company was vicariously liable for the violent conduct of its managing director in physically attacking one of his employees at a Christmas party, leaving him severely disabled.
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Ethnicity pay reporting: why it's not that simple
18 October 2018The Government says it is “time to move to mandatory ethnicity pay reporting”. Last week it launched a consultation on a possible new law.
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Two wrongs don’t make a right: Court of Appeal decides illegality is no defence to professional negligence claim
16 October 2018For public policy reasons, the Court of Appeal has held that the defence of illegality was not available to a firm of solicitors that failed to register a property transfer to a client involved in mortgage fraud. The court decided that there was no risk that enforcing the client’s negligence claim would undermine the integrity of the justice system and she was entitled to damages, in spite of the fraud.
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Refusal to provide cake supporting gay marriage was not direct sexual orientation discrimination
11 October 2018The Supreme Court (“SC”) has ruled that a bakery did not discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation when it refused to provide a cake for a customer bearing the words “support gay marriage”. The bakery’s refusal was based on the owner’s Christian beliefs that the only form of marriage acceptable to God was between one man and one woman.
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Promoting mental health awareness in the workplace
10 October 2018Today is World Mental Health Day, an appropriate time for employers to reflect on how this issue impacts the workplace and consider measures they can adopt to promote mental health and support their employees.
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SFO v ENRC landmark privilege case: no appeal but the story continues…
10 October 2018The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has confirmed that it will not appeal the Court of Appeal’s landmark ruling that documents created during an internal investigation by Eurasion Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC) were protected by litigation privilege and do not have to be disclosed to the SFO. However, the story does not end there because in a new twist, ENRC has applied for a judicial review of the SFO’s investigation into criminal allegations of corruption and financial wrongdoing by ENRC.
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Heathrow fined over data breach
09 October 2018The Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) has made a civil monetary penalty order for the sum of £120,000 against Heathrow Airport Ltd (“HAL”) after a lost data stick containing the sensitive personal information of a number of staff members was found by a member of the public.
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Launch event for Lewis Silkin's Ireland office shines light on Brexit opportunities for the country
04 October 2018In an article, Irish Legal News has covered the upcoming Lewis Silkin Ireland office opening and discussed the post-Brexit opportunities for Ireland.
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“Settled Status” and supporting employees through Brexit
04 October 2018Following the Government’s announcement of its plan for EU migrants following Brexit, many UK employers are struggling to understand the potential effects of its proposal on employees who are EEA nationals or family members of EEA nationals.
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Sports Q&A - Are clubs allowed to ban their players from using social media?
27 September 2018This month’s question was inspired by comments from Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola, about his first choice left back, Benjamin Mendy. During a press conference over the summer, Guardiola suggested that Mendy should, “forget a little bit the social media and improve a few things”. Mendy, who has a huge following on both Instagram and Twitter, vowed to “listen to the manager”...though he remains incredibly active online.
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Permission to issue a warrant for possession is no longer required in rent arrears cases
27 September 2018The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 3) Rules 2018 (SI 2018/975) come into force from 1 October 2018 so that a writ or warrant for possession may be issued without the court’s permission where there has been non-compliance with an order suspending possession on payment of money.
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The Hong Kong Government announced that from Wednesday, 19 September 2018, their Immigration Department will for the first time recognise the nature of same-sex civil partnerships
27 September 2018This new policy means that the other party to a same-sex partnership will be able to apply to join their same-sex partner, who has been admitted into Hong Kong, for residence in Hong Kong as a dependant.
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The importance of gas safety
19 September 2018On 6 April 2018, the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 were amended with the new regulations allowing ‘flexibility’ for landlords when carrying out annual gas safety inspections. It’s important to note that these amendments do not change or relax a landlord’s obligations to carry out an annual gas safety inspection. They simply allow for the annual inspection to be carried out within a two month period prior to the expiry of the existing certificate, whilst retaining the existing expiry date.
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The MAC report: EU nationals will need work permits if they want to get jobs in the UK post Brexit
18 September 2018The Migration Advisory Committee has released today its long awaited report into the impact of EEA migration in the UK. The report is a key indicator of what the Government may do when they reveal their plans for the new immigration system which will govern how EU nationals are able to live and work in the UK after the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December 2020.
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Bisexuality and the workplace – don’t forget the B in LGBT+
18 September 2018There have been major advances in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (“LGBT+”) rights over recent years with, for example, leaps forward in marriage equality and the decriminalisation of homosexuality in India. But more progress needs to be made. How can employers support their bisexual staff and create diverse and welcoming workplaces?
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MAC proposals will switch it up for Tier 4 students wanting to work in the UK
17 September 2018September marks the start of what is likely to be a busy few months in the world of immigration law, with the eagerly awaited Migration Advisory Committee’s report into the impact of EU workers on the UK economy likely to be released in the next few weeks and the long overdue immigration white paper following in October.
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Parental bereavement bill receives royal assent
14 September 2018The Parental Bereavement (Pay and Leave) Bill received royal assent yesterday to become the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Act 2018. It entitles employed parents who have lost a child to take statutory paid leave to allow them time to grieve. It is expected that the new rights will come into force in 2020.
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Blockchain and the UK Property Industry
12 September 2018Since 2015 there has been a growing body of commentary extolling the virtues of Blockchain and how it could, and in all likelihood will, revolutionise the property industry. The fact that I (a commercial real estate lawyer and not the most tech-savvy of individuals) am writing a piece about it demonstrates how Blockchain is becoming more mainstream but, I wonder, is all this talk of “revolution” a little excessive?