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The importance of gas safety
19 September 2018
On 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.
Chancellor Philip Hammond’s consumer protection announcements
14 March 2017
The Spring Budget is not usually an occasion for tackling the nitty-gritty of consumer protection, but last week the Chancellor promised a number of Government initiatives likely to impact upon consumer-facing businesses.
It’s obvious, patents are not child’s play!
28 March 2017
In a recent decision the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court had to consider whether a patent for a children’s toy consisting of water soluble, fusible, translucent beads was merely an aesthetic creation, and therefore excluded from patentability and if not, whether the patent claims lacked an inventive step and were obvious. If the patent was valid, the Court also had to determine whether it was infringed by the Defendant’s product.
Beware of handing matters over to the court’s discretion
16 June 2017
How often in negotiations do parties “duck” issues deemed “too difficult” and try to cope with them by adopting “reasonable” (or other) “endeavours” obligations?
The CMA’s fight with online gambling companies
10 July 2017
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is upping the ante against online gambling companies by increasing its enforcement action against those suspected of breaching consumer law. The CMA believes that often customers are not getting the deal they expected when signing up, due to misleading promotions and unfair terms within the promotion.
Japan’s #metoo movement
30 May 2018
The #metoo movement has been slow to gain traction in Japan. There have been few reported cases about sexual harassment involving public figures...until recently.
Director’s privacy – improvements to the Companies House regime for removal of residential addresses
26 June 2018
New regulations, which came into force on 26 April 2018, will make it easier for directors (and others) to remove their residential addresses from publicly available Companies House documents.
Ireland: Recent case law on an employer’s duty of care in PTSD/psychological injury cases
27 November 2018
Cases from the courts continue to emphasise the duty of care on employers to take reasonable steps to protect their employees from the reasonably foreseeable harm which may arise as a result of treatment by other employees, even where such behaviour might not amount to bullying in the workplace.
NEW ICO guidance on “Data protection if there’s no Brexit deal”
18 December 2018
With 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.
Enforcing a Russian Judgment in England
16 March 2017
It is important for winning parties to be able to enforce judgments made in their favour. Before issuing proceedings claimants will often need to consider where the assets of a potential defendant are located and whether any judgment obtained can be enforced in the country where the judgment debtor has assets. If a proposed defendant to Russian proceedings holds assets in England, it will be particularly important for a claimant to examine whether an English court will enforce a Russian judgment in their favour.
Will British Gas ECJ ruling fuel holiday pay hike?
28 May 2014
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) recently ruled that the EU law requires a worker’s statutory holiday pay to take commission payments into account: it should not be based solely on basic salary
Latest ruling on holiday pay and commission
24 February 2016
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) has confirmed that UK law can and should be interpreted to give effect to the decision of the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) that results-based commission must be taken into account when calculating workers’ holiday pay (British Gas Trading v Lock).
Changes to Immigration Rules
12 December 2017
In UK immigration law circles, we have grown used to a statement of changes, announcing significant alteration of the existing laws, at least three times a year. Usually, the end of year change occurs in November but this year the announcement is unsurprisingly later than usual and less eventful. Presumably because the Government have found themselves a little busy the last few months...
Roll on 06 July 2018...
03 July 2018
On 6 July 2018, transitional provisions will come into force, once again changing the way in which the Home Office calculates continuous residence in the UK for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) applications.
Online content: risks and rewards
05 June 2015
With digital content becoming ever more popular and users becoming more sophisticated, all those involved in the online publishing industry need to be aware of the risks that come with the rewards of digital content.
Rio Olympic Act: a last minute hurdle for ambush marketers
22 July 2016
With the Rio Olympic Games just around the corner, there have been concerns about the country’s readiness to play host to the competition, its athletes and scores of fans. Issues around stadium safety and anti-doping policies have been at the forefront of the debate, but there has also been, until very recently, a distinct lack of clarity for brands and sponsors planning marketing activities in Brazil in the lead up to the Games.
A New Era for Consumer Rights
19 September 2013
It has long been recognised that UK consumer law is not clear enough. Even the Department for Business Innovation & Skills (BIS) website says it is out of date, confusing and incomplete.
Brexit and immigration rights and documentation of EEA nationals
30 March 2017
This article summarises the rights of European Economic Area (EEA) nationals and their family members and the documentation they can obtain to evidence these rights. It looks at residence requirements and points to consider when applying for citizenship.
Brexit: EU position paper on IP rights (Brands & IP Newsnotes - issue 6)
12 October 2017
On 6 September 2017 the European Commission published its wish list for how it hoped IP rights would be treated by the EU and the UK after Brexit. Five general recommendations were made, as follows:
Privacy on parade – the circumscribed right to a private life
01 June 2016
A new ruling of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) raises important questions about when employees can have a reasonable expectation of privacy in respect of material on their personal devices.