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The Alpha and Omega of Regulation (via Omicron)?

Having said goodbye to another year of headlines dominated by COVID-19, with a Christmas and New Year overshadowed by a mixture of good and bad news about Omicron, it's not yet clear what degree of optimism about the year ahead is justified. At the very least, it is to be hoped that the World Health Organisation will not find it has to exhaust the Greek alphabet in naming any future new variants of concern.

Derivatives & Structured Products Partner, Jonathan Gilmour, and Pensions Partner, Andy Lewis, have jointly contributed to the recently published International Comparative Legal Guide on Environmental, Social & Governance Law 2022. Their chapter outlines the key aspects of ESG law for occupational pension schemes and argue for a wider governance perspective, as well as a pure investment perspective, when approaching ESG.

Discrimination by association occurs where an employee is discriminated against, not because of a protected characteristic they have, but because of a characteristic of someone they associate with, for example a disabled spouse or child. This case shows how far the protection can potentially extend.

This briefing was first published in July 2021 and updated in November 2021. 

"Significant progress has been made for working mothers in terms of provision for maternity leave and flexible working (although there is still work to be done). However, genuine career parity can only be achieved if taking time out to care for children becomes the norm for fathers too."

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has hinted that new sustainability reporting requirements are on the horizon for pension schemes, financial services firms and their investment products.

The European Commission has recently published (on 17 March 2021) a consultation on its sustainable products initiative ("SPI"). The SPI is one of a number of initiatives designed to help the EU reach the Green Deal objectives (find further information on the Green Deal in our earlier TS Briefing Note) of lower resource consumption and reduced environmental impact, and responds directly to the EU Circular Economy Action Plan. Feedback on the SPI closes on 9 June 2021.

In this Thomson Reuters article our Senior Consultant Simon Witney and Pensions Partner Andy Lewis comment on the new EU ESG reporting rules and their impact on the asset management and pensions industries.

New climate change regulations are coming to pensions. This consultation (running until 10 March 2021) sets out details of the Government's ambitious proposals for new pension scheme governance requirements around climate risks and opportunities. In our view, the regulations are far-reaching and will require a potentially significant commitment from many pension schemes, in some cases starting very soon (1 October 2021).

In the years leading up to Brexit, both the UK and the EU had been busy developing sustainability policy and legislation. Now the UK has left the EU, it remains committed to being at the forefront of the sustainable finance agenda.

Our annual briefing highlighting the key 2020 legal developments which impact the funds' industry and previews what can be expected in 2021.

"You don't need to have 20/20 vision to see that the year ahead will be challenging…"

Derivatives & Structured Products Partner, Jonathan Gilmour, and Pensions Partner, Andy Lewis, have jointly contributed to the recently published International Comparative Legal Guide on Environmental, Social & Governance Law 2021, with a chapter on the economic rationale behind ESG investment and the key challenges and opportunities which flow from ESG-related pensions law and regulation

Writing for Practical Law, Senior Counsel John Buttanshaw and Partner and Head of Risk & Operational Regulatory Doug Bryden, take a look at how environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues may arise and be addressed in transactions, with a particular focus on private equity mergers and acquisitions. 

The Government has introduced a cap on public sector exit payments which took effect from 4 November 2020. Under the cap, payments by a public sector body in respect of an employee's termination of employment must not exceed £95,000 in total for that employee.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) recently consulted on the introduction of new duties that will require pension scheme trustees to have in place effective governance, strategy, risk management and accompanying metrics and targets to assess and manage climate risks and opportunities in their schemes.