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Autonomous Vehicles and the Built Environment
25 September 2017
Self-driving cars are on their way. The trailblazers (Tesla, Google, Uber) are conducting increasingly sophisticated tests in real-world conditions. The traditional car makers (General Motors, BMW) are acquiring start-ups or partnering with established tech companies to boost their capabilities. Ford recently promoted the head of its smart mobility unit to chief executive and aims to have a mass market fully autonomous car by 2021.
Employee liability information is not limited to contractual matters
25 September 2017
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) has ruled that the employee liability information (“ELI”) that a transferor is required to provide under regulation 11 of TUPE is not limited to contractual entitlements. In addition, the EAT decided that there is no obligation on the transferor to set out whether any entitlement is contractual or not.
TUPE and collective agreements - static vs dynamic debate revisited
25 September 2017
A judgment of the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) in a German case has reconsidered the effect of a TUPE transfer on employment terms governed by a collective agreement. The issue to be determined was whether, once a business had transferred, the new employer was compelled to apply the terms and conditions arising from collective agreements adopted after that transfer.
Brands and IP newsnotes - issue 6
12 October 2017
Welcome to the 6th edition of our Brands & IP newsnotes put together to bring you the latest, and most interesting legal developments affecting intellectual property law. In this issue we cover; battlegrounds on Amazon listings, whether prestigious brands can prevent their resellers from selling online, the EU's position paper on IP rights, an quick guide on rights for designs, and trade mark infringements.
Irish Employment Law 2019
17 October 2017
This Inbrief provides a whistle-stop tour of the most important Irish employment law issues, from the beginning of the employment relationship through to its conclusion.
Progress on the Parental Bereavement Bill
23 October 2017
The purpose of the proposed Parental Bereavement (Pay and Leave) Bill (“the Bill”) is to provide a statutory right to paid leave for employed parents who suffer the loss of a child. Previous attempts to introduce paid leave in these circumstances over the past few years have been unsuccessful. However, this Bill - introduced into Parliament in July - has the support of the Government and is likely to become law.
Employment Tribunal fees - refunds begin
24 October 2017
After an unexpectedly lengthy wait, the Government has launched the first stage of its scheme for refunding Employment Tribunal (“ET”) fees following the Supreme Court’s decision that the fees system was unlawful.
New ACAS guidance on mental health in the workplace
25 October 2017
Mental illness costs employers in the UK a lot of money – up to £30 billion each year in lost production, absence and recruitment costs according to Acas, which has recently published a guide to “promoting positive mental health in the workplace”.
Feedback - positivity vs negativity
02 November 2017
Feedback is one of the most powerful tools for optimising workplace performance. Getting it right can help a business to constantly improve. Mistakes become learning opportunities; failures and bad behaviours are not repeated. Conversely, getting feedback wrong can destroy motivation, causing productivity to plummet.
New Welsh Land Transaction Tax
02 November 2017
From April 2018, Wales will have a new tax known as Land Transaction Tax (LTT), its own version of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT). LTT mirrors much of the SDLT regime and many of the SDLT rules have been incorporated into the Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Act 2017 (businesses and tax practitioners have emphasised the need for consistency between SDLT and LTT), but there are differences which the Welsh Government say make the tax simpler and fairer, and improve its efficiency and effectiveness.
Patent Claims to dosage regimes fail to stand up to scrutiny
06 November 2017
In Actavis Group PTC EHF & Anor v Teva UK Ltd & Ors [2017] EWCA Civ 1671 the Court of Appeal has found that various dosage regime claims were obvious and invalid, reversing the decision of the of the trial judge.
Applying game theory to HR
16 November 2017
The influence of game theory, developed in the 1950s by Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr, has been huge. It provides a formal modelling approach for decision-makers to explore a variety of interactions among agents, and their potential outcomes.
Full Employment Tribunal fees refunds scheme now open
16 November 2017
After a brief pilot scheme, the full scheme for refunding Employment Tribunal (“ET”) fees is now open for use by both claimants and respondents.
Trade Mark Management
21 November 2017
The IP, brand, trade mark and portfolio management team at Lewis Silkin comprises more than 50 lawyers and trade mark attorneys along with specialist support personnel.
Trade Mark and Design Services
21 November 2017
The IP, brand, trade mark and portfolio management team at Lewis Silkin comprises more than 50 lawyers and trade mark attorneys along with specialist support personnel.
Tax on termination - employer NICs charges delayed
23 November 2017
Some good news for employers was confirmed in the Chancellor’s autumn Budget.
Employment status review announced in response to Taylor report
23 November 2017
In the autumn Budget, the Government has indicated for the first time how it intends to respond to the recommendations made by Matthew Taylor in his review of modern working practices.
Workers denied paid holiday can carry over rights until termination
30 November 2017
The European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) has ruled that where workers are not granted paid annual leave to which they are entitled under the EU Working Time Directive (“WTD”), they must be able to carry over and accumulate those holiday rights from year to year and be compensated for them on termination of employment
Morrisons held vicariously liable for employee data leak
04 December 2017
The High Court has found Morrisons to be vicariously liable for the actions of a rogue employee who intentionally disclosed the personal details of over 100,000 staff at Morrisons. The judgment will be of interest to data controllers and to customers and employees whose personal data is compromised by data breaches. It is the first group litigation in respect of a data breach to be decided by the English courts.
Chaos at the Christmas party - how to avoid an HR headache
08 December 2017
The festive season is almost upon us, bringing with it the long-awaited office Christmas party - a chance for colleagues to let their hair down and enjoy themselves in a relaxed setting.