<p>Filter Knowledge</p>

Our regular round-up of recent developments and topics for your radar, news on training and networking events for in-house counsel, and an update on our legal tech initiatives.

It is now three years since the enactment of the Criminal Finances Act 2017 and the “failure to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion” offence (the FTP Offence).

It was a busy and unusual summer for a number of reasons and it may be that a series of developments relating to HMRC powers, investigations and tax disputes were not top of everybody's agenda. We have therefore brought some key ones together in this update.

We believe it is of paramount importance to protect and develop the alternatives asset management industry in the UK following our exit from the EU in order to maintain the UK's status as a world leader in the sector and to ensure that the wider economy continues to benefit from the deployment of global capital across alternatives asset classes by UK based managers.

New legislation in Finance Act 2020 legislates retrospectively for HMRC to use artificial intelligence to carry out its functions. The article below was written for Tax Journal's September issue by Hannah Manning, Sophie Lloyd and Laura Jackson, and considers in particular some areas of potential concern in relation to HMRC's increasing use of automation, such as the raising of discovery assessments, business risk reviews and the assessment of discretionary penalties.

As the world starts to navigate the ‘new normal’ and adapt to the widescale transformation in the way we live and work, we are seeing an uptick in M&A activity. In this note we look at what that new normal might mean for the future of M&A, including emerging themes and practical considerations for buyers, sellers and portfolio companies.

Brexit is now firmly back on the agenda for employers as we head into the final months before the Brexit Transition period ends on 31 December 2020.

On 22 September 2020, the Prime Minister announced a change in the Government's approach to working from home, in light of the recent spike in cases recorded across the UK. In this note, we consider what effects the most recent announcement has on employers with employees who normally work in offices.

The Supreme Court has ruled that a restrictive covenant in favour of an anchor tenant was not subject to the doctrine of restraint of trade. But does this mean that anchor tenants now have a free hand to negotiate whatever protection from competition they can get from a landlord?

A guide to future employment and immigration law. 

If you are a UK employer, with employees working in the EU, EEA or Switzerland, the country in which social security contributions are paid on their salary and benefits is currently set by EU Social Security Coordination rules.

On 22 September 2020, the UK Government published its response to the Transparency in Supply Chains Consultation.

The Chancellor has today announced a new Job Support Scheme (JSS) to start on 1 November (following the end of the furlough scheme on 31 October). The JSS is aimed at supporting viable jobs by topping up pay for employees working reduced hours due to decreased demand.

With the headlines dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, anyone could have been forgiven for putting Brexit to the back of their mind over the past few months. However, the UK is rapidly approaching the end of the transition period, at which point, amongst many other issues, it is highly likely that there will be disruption to goods supply chains.

With disruption to goods supply chains widely expected at the end of the Brexit transition period on 1 January 2021, businesses which rely on goods from the EU are increasingly re-focussing on contingency plans to stockpile goods. However, finding additional warehousing space is likely to be challenging.

The UK Government's decision to introduce legislation which would effectively override some aspects of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement has gone down badly with the EU. Does this mean that businesses need to prepare for no deal at the end of the transition?

This briefing note addresses the impact of Brexit on matters relevant to civil judicial co-operation between the English courts and the courts of EU member states.

Key employment and business immigration developments for employers.

"Reshoring" supply chains – the movement to replace international supply chains with (theoretically) simpler, domestic equivalents – is currently high on the political agenda, boosted by Brexit and the disruption caused by COVID-19. However, while there may be merits for some businesses in reshoring, it is far from risk-free – and, for many businesses, it may be neither practical nor desirable.

In the recent landmark decision of Sainsbury's v MasterCard,¹ the Supreme Court confirmed that MasterCard and Visa's multilateral interchange fees ("MIFs") infringed Article 101(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ("TFEU"). The judgment also establishes the legal test that MasterCard and Visa must satisfy to be exempt under Article 101(3) TFEU, as well as the legal test for establishing pass-on.