We begin 2014 with a fresh reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on whether UK law correctly implements the European Collective Redundancies Directive. Is the duty triggered where the employer is proposing to dismiss as redundant 20 or more employees ‘at one establishment’ as provided in section 188 of the […]
Calculating the correct amount of holiday pay owed to a worker can prove to be a tricky task for an employer as it is dependent upon various factors. Does the worker have normal working hours or not? If they do, does their pay vary with the amount of work done? Do they work overtime and […]
Does the fact that a person is obese mean they are, or could be, ‘disabled’? The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has been asked by Denmark whether discrimination on the grounds of obesity is contrary to EU law, specifically whether obesity can be deemed to be a handicap covered by the relevant […]
All employees who have worked for their employer for 26 weeks or more will have the right to request flexible working, rather than just parents or carers. As a result, employers may see a rise in the number of requests. In addition, the current statutory procedure that governs the right to request flexible working will […]
The Equality Act 2010 sets out the questionnaire procedure that enables an individual who thinks he or she has been discriminated against to gather information from his or her employer. Employers are not legally obliged to respond to discrimination questionnaires, but a tribunal may draw adverse inferences from a failure to reply within eight weeks, […]
Public companies and large private companies that have been incorporated a number of years are likely to have accumulated a number of subsidiaries, some of which will be defunct. In other cases, the subsidiaries may not be actively trading but may have historic liabilities, actual or contingent. In both cases, it may make sense to get […]
Following extensive consultation, detailed impact assessments and further amendments throughout last year, the Consumer Rights Bill was introduced into the House of Commons on 23 January 2014. The bill contains some substantial changes compared with the draft bill published for pre-legislative scrutiny in June 2013. Successive governments have long expressed a belief in the need for reform […]
An emissions trading system (ETS) exists within the European Union, established by Directive 2003/87/EC. Originally it was the member states themselves that would decide on the total emission allowances they would allocate to certain installations, in accordance with national allocation plans. However, an annual EU-wide limit of allowances has now been introduced. As of 2013, […]
Recent developments should give rise to concern lawyers specialising in civil and criminal litigation. Such lawyers of course act for and advise clients embroiled in hostilities either initiated by them or in reaction to them. The parties may be at daggers drawn and the litigious process may only exacerbate their antagonism. Occasionally this poses a […]
Sports, Media and Entertainment Intelligence is the global monthly publication from DLA Piper’s sports, media and entertainment group. Contents Betting and gaming US: draft legislation aims to prohibit internet gambling Broadcasting France: clarifying the regulatory regime applicable to radio broadcasters in cases of change of direct or indirect control US: Supreme Court to hear broadcasters’ […]
Thomas Boyd, co-chair of DLA Piper’s regulatory and government affairs practice, submitted a statement to the US senate judiciary committee on behalf of the National Business Coalition on E-Commerce and Privacy, to which he is counsel. Several US retail executives, including John Mulligan, executive vice-president and chief financial officer for Target, and Michael Kingston, senior […]
Jonas Bratt and Patrik Nyqvist of Eversheds have assisted Poolia in its acquisition by US-based staffing company Staffing 360 Solutions through its subsidiary Staffing 360 Solutions (UK). The deal will be completed on 28 February based on the accounts on the completion date. The purchase price for the business is £500,000, plus an amount equal […]