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The new Off-Payroll Working Rules (the 'New Rules') will come into effect from 6 April 2021. Organisations engaging the services of workers through intermediaries both directly as well as through agencies, will have greater administrative and financial burdens under the New Rules.
The European Green Deal, announced by the European Commission in December 2019, commits the EU to becoming climate-neutral by 2050 whilst promising to help companies to become world leaders in clean products and green technologies. The ambitious and wide-ranging measures set out in the plan are aimed at achieving significant reductions in carbon emissions and a net zero target will be given legislative force in a new Climate Law.
On 9 July 2020, the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets ("Ofgem") published their consultation on the draft determinations on the RIIO-2 Framework for the setting of price controls for the gas and electricity networks in Great Britain.
Key employment and business immigration developments for employers.
This briefing was updated on 3 March 2021.
On 8th July the Chancellor delivered a "Plan for Jobs" aimed at stimulating the British economy, in particular the flagging hospitality sector and lacklustre housing market.
On 6 July 2020, the UK Government enacted the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020 ("Sanction Regulations"), which is secondary legislation made under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 ("SAMLA"). This marks the first time that the UK has independently sanctioned people or organisations for human rights violations and abuses under a UK-only regime. Although limited in scope at this stage, there are already calls to increase the number of individuals and organisations who are targeted by the new 'Magnitsky' style sanctions regime.
Respect for the human rights of workers in businesses across all jurisdictions and supply chains is now recognised as a core part of corporate compliance and accountability. Yet despite advances in this area, including the introduction of ground-breaking legislation such as the UK's Modern Slavery Act, recent allegations of poor working conditions in Leicester's clothing factories highlight that modern slavery remains a real risk to both UK and overseas workers.
This briefing was updated on 2 December 2020.
In this judgment, the court clarified the process that a professional services provider should follow when faced with a regulatory request for client documents, in circumstances where a party contends that all or a portion of those documents are privileged.
On 25 June, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) presented its annual report to Parliament, reflecting on progress over the last year and recommending action for the next. Not surprisingly given the extraordinary circumstances, the tone and content of the 2020 report is quite different from previous reports, with a strong focus on a green recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and a message that short-term measures have the potential to significantly impact long-term climate goals.
On 22 June 2020, the UK government announced its intention to expand the scope of the UK merger control regime, in particular to give itself the ability to intervene in corporate transactions on a wider range of public interest and national security grounds.
International businesses like English law and feel comfortable using London as a venue to resolve their disputes, particularly those with significant monetary, reputation or precedent value. Brexit will not affect the benefits of using English law or, in the round, the attraction of an English forum, be that the English courts or a London-seated arbitral tribunal.
Bribery and corruption risks are often elevated in times of crisis and affect all aspects of the compliance world. This is particularly true in respect of the COVID-19 pandemic due to a number of factors, including a financially volatile climate, increased cyber-security threats and diverted corporate focus towards other COVID-19 risks.
HMRC frequently contact taxpayers to ask questions about their tax returns on an informal basis rather than under a statutory enquiry process. As the questions are informal, taxpayers can choose whether to engage with HMRC and it is perhaps this voluntary aspect that sometimes leads them to take a more relaxed approach than they would in a formal enquiry.
Welcome to the inaugural edition of our new newsletter, which is intended to capture the key developments in the English disputes arena over the past three months. We hope that you will find it an interesting read, whether you are a litigator, either in private practice or in-house, or a generalist wanting to keep abreast of the goings on in this space.
In response to the COVID-19 lockdown, certain limited forms of cooperation which would normally infringe competition law have been permitted for businesses such as supermarkets. But these are typically very narrow exceptions and as we come out of lockdown, businesses should not assume that they are now free to cooperate on a much wider scale than before the onset of the pandemic – or that antitrust regulators will turn a blind eye.
It is a well-known part of English litigation that an issue will only be determined by the courts once: there are no second chances to launch new arguments or seek different remedies. This is guarded by the doctrine of res judicata, which, together with its related rule of abuse of process, frequently bar a party from relitigating an issue.
Most businesses today have a mobile workforce and either operate from offices in multiple jurisdictions or are looking to expand globally.