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COVID-19: Your workforce – furloughing - act to mitigate the risk of exposure to tax evasion offences as scheme could be open to abuse

Published on 09 Apr 2020.

Jim Harra, Chief Executive at HMRC, has informed a Treasury Committee meeting that he expects the government's multi-billion pound employee furlough scheme to be targeted by criminals seeking to exploit the £60 billion pledged in Chancellor Rishi Sunak's unprecedented Coronavirus protection package.

Hot off the Press: COVID-19 - Your workforce: a Q&A on claiming for wage costs through the Job Retention Scheme

Published on 27 Mar 2020. By Patrick Brodie, Partner and Kelly Thomson, Partner, ESG Strategy Lead

On 26th March, HMRC issued guidance on claiming for wage costs through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. We explore some answers to key questions and add some questions of our own.

COVID-19 Your workforce: a caution against putting equality on the backburner

Published on 27 Mar 2020. By Kelly Thomson, Partner, ESG Strategy Lead and Rachel Pears, Head of Responsible Business

UK business, like much of the rest of the world, is and will, for some time, remain firmly in the grip of COVID-19's tentacles.

COVID 19 Your workforce: What on earth is "furlough"?

Published on 24 Mar 2020. By Kelly Thomson, Partner, ESG Strategy Lead and Patrick Brodie, Partner

Meaning of furlough, especially in the context of companies dealing with the impact of COVID-19.

COVID-19 Your workforce: pay and costs - practical ideas our clients are exploring

Published on 24 Mar 2020. By Patrick Brodie, Partner and Kelly Thomson, Partner, ESG Strategy Lead

COVID-19 Your workforce: pay and costs - practical ideas our clients are exploring. These are extraordinary times that place extraordinary pressures on all of us, including dealing with your workforce. We set out below some ideas that we are hearing about from our clients and some areas you may wish to think about in terms of your employee costs.

COVID-19 Your workforce: supporting mental health when home working

Published on 24 Mar 2020. By Kelly Thomson, Partner, ESG Strategy Lead and Patrick Brodie, Partner

COVID-19 Your workforce: supporting mental health when home working. Many of us are working from home during this crisis and while this can be an effective way of working for some, it is less happy for others; loneliness, caring for vulnerable dependants and challenging home environments are all being experienced. There may be members of your teams who fall into these categories.

Sharpen your blue pencil: the doctrine of severance in employment cases

Published on 15 Aug 2019. By Kelly Thomson, Partner, ESG Strategy Lead and Patrick Brodie, Partner

In Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd [2019] UKSC 32, one such business asked the Supreme Court to reconsider the law and to change it to be fit for modern day purposes. In its landmark judgment handed down in July, the Supreme Court has done so. The core facts of the case are not unusual. Egon Zehnder (EZ) is a global specialist executive search and recruitment business. EZ recruited Mary-Caroline Tillman in 2004. As the High Court judge observed, the company regarded Ms Tillman as “a bit special”. She was recruited into a senior role on a salary of £120,000 and first year bonus of £100,000 and then rose steadily through the ranks of the organisation. By 2012, Ms Tillman was joint global head of the company’s financial services practice and a shareholder in the Swiss holding company.

Put your little stone in the great mosaic

Published on 07 Mar 2018. By Kelly Thomson, Partner, ESG Strategy Lead

IWD is a day designed to galvanize such desire for change into real, sustainable action by people, by business and by government. And on Thursday 8th March many of us will pause for thought. In our reflections, one question will come up time and time again: what can I actually do to improve gender equality?

Gender Pay Gap Reporting – are you ready?

Published on 27 Apr 2016.

Hear Patrick Brodie and Kelly Thomson discuss the requirements on businesses to comply with Gender Pay Gap Reporting legislation.

Some holiday pay reading

Published on 26 Feb 2016.

A new decision on holiday pay and commission.

Employment update, December 2015

Published on 09 Feb 2016.

Implied terms: when can a term be implied into a contract?

Employment update, November 2015

Published on 17 Dec 2015.

Penalty clauses: what is the test where a clause is claimed to be unenforceable?

Employment update, October 2015

Published on 23 Nov 2015.

Whistleblowing: A dispute about terms of employment can be a matter of “public interest”

Employment update, September 2015

Published on 07 Oct 2015.

HR assistance in disciplinary procedures: how much is too much?

Restrictive Covenant Clause Enforced Despite it Containing a Drafting Error

Published on 17 Apr 2014.

The High Court has just handed down its judgment in the case of Prophet Plc v Huggett.

Different Emails, Read Together, Can be a Qualifying Whistleblowing Disclosure

Published on 21 Mar 2014.

In the case of Norbrook Laboratories (2B) Limited v Shaw the EAT considered whether emails sent to different recipients could be taken as a whole to amount to a qualifying disclosure for the purposes of a whistleblowing claim.

British National Working Overseas Has No Right to Bring a Claim in the Employment Tribunals

Published on 07 Feb 2014.

For employers who engage staff to work overseas, determining whether the can bring a claim in the Employment Tribunals is becoming increasing difficult.

Collective Redundancy Consultation: Expiry of Fixed Term Contract Does Not Count Towards 20+ Headcount

Published on 07 Feb 2014. By Patrick Brodie, Partner

University College v University of Stirling [2014] CSIH 5.

Report Card

Published on 28 Jan 2013.

We're casting our critical eye over the Government's employment law proposals and writing its school report.

Faith and Freedom

Published on 27 Jan 2013.

In a debate that has lasted several years, one of my colleagues and I have been at odds on the case of Lillian Ladele, the Islington registrar who refused to conduct civil partnership ceremonies.

FCA consults on new reporting obligations for (i) incidents and (ii) third party arrangements

Published on 16 Jan 2025. By Mark Crichard, Partner and Nigel Wilson, Of Counsel and Praveeta Thayalan, Knowledge Lawyer

On 13 December 2024, the FCA published consultation paper CP24/28 (the CP) on proposals for firms to report on operational incidents and, separately, on material third party arrangements. The CP mirrors similar proposals put forward by the PRA and Bank of England on the same day and is designed to align with current international standards (e.g. the EU Regulation on digital operational resilience (DORA)).

Money Covered: The Week That Was – 10 January 2025

Published on 10 Jan 2025. By Rachael Healey, Partner and Robert Morris, Partner and David Allinson, Partner and George Smith, Partner and Matthew Watson, Partner

Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.

FOS complaints on the rise – is enough being done?

Published on 07 Jan 2025. By David Allinson, Partner and Damien O'Malley, Associate

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has recently published its yearly complaint data, revealing that complaints regarding fraud, scams, current accounts and credit cards between July and September 2024 hit record levels, rising more than 50% compared to the same period in 2023. The data provides a breakdown of the areas where complaints appear to have increased the most.

Privacy developments – looking back and looking forward

Published on 19 Dec 2024. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and Jon Bartley, Partner and Joe Lippitt, Partner and Praveeta Thayalan, Knowledge Lawyer

In this article, we give you a high-level snapshot of the key data protection and privacy developments in the UK and EU in 2024 as well as developments we anticipate for 2025.

Money Covered: The Week That Was – 22 November 2024

Published on 22 Nov 2024. By Rachael Healey, Partner and Robert Morris, Partner and David Allinson, Partner and George Smith, Partner and Matthew Watson, Partner

Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.

Digital operational resilience: the UK regulatory landscape

Published on 15 Nov 2024. By Richard Breavington, Partner

Operational Resilience in the supply chain has become an undeniable priority for all financial service providers across the continent.

SIPP providers – What's next?

Published on 13 Nov 2024. By Thomas Spratley, Associate and Rachael Healey, Partner

Last week the FCA issued a Dear CEO letter to SIPP operators. The letter is one of many the FCA has sent as follow-ups on the consumer duty (including the most recent letters to lifetime mortgage providers) and is a must read for those in the SIPP sector. The letter highlights the FCA's focus areas of ensuring redress is paid (where the FCA does not consider sufficient progress has been made), "outlier firms" when it comes to holdings in non-standard assets, and implementation of the consumer duty, particularly around distribution strategies/identifying target markets.

Money Covered: The Week That Was - 1 November

Published on 01 Nov 2024. By Rachael Healey, Partner and Robert Morris, Partner and David Allinson, Partner and George Smith, Partner

Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.

ClientEarth challenges claims made by BlackRock in its sustainable funds

Published on 28 Oct 2024. By James Wickes, Partner and Catherine Zakarias-Welch, Knowledge Lawyer

Not only are regulators clamping down on greenwashing but, as previously highlighted, ClientEarth, a non-profit international environmental law organisation, also has this issue squarely in its sights.

Government consults on regulation of Buy-Now Pay-Later products

Published on 25 Oct 2024. By Whitney Simpson, Of Counsel and Lucy Hadrill, Associate

In 2021, HM Treasury announced its intention to regulate certain unregulated buy-now pay-later (BNPL) products in the UK. This followed recommendations made in the Woolard Review which raised concerns about the increased use of BNPL products during the pandemic and the significant risk that these unregulated credit products could cause consumer harm.

FCA consults on changes to the payments safeguarding regime

Published on 24 Oct 2024. By Whitney Simpson, Of Counsel and Lucy Hadrill, Associate

Under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 (PSRs) and the E-Money Regulations 2011 (EMRs) payment institutions (PIs), electronic money institutions (EMIs), small EMIs and credit unions are required to protect "relevant funds" which they receive when making a payment or in exchange for e-money that has been issued. Current safeguarding requirements are set out in the PSRs and EMRs, with guidance contained in the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) Approach Document.

The 'Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill': Momentum for legislative reform continues, but what does the proposed legislation mean for management liability?

Published on 09 Oct 2024. By Mike Newham, Partner and Victoria Lawman, Trainee Solicitor and Aimee Talbot, Knowledge Lawyer

We consider what we know about the proposed Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill.

Uncertainty around the mandatory reimbursement cap for APP frauds – a new headache for FI firms and their insurers?

Published on 09 Sep 2024. By James Wickes, Partner and Aimee Talbot, Knowledge Lawyer

New regulations coming on 7 October 2024 will force payment firms to reimburse victims of authorised push payment (APP) fraud up to a set limit. On 4 September 2024, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) announced a consultation proposing to set this limit at £85,000, vastly reduced from the previously proposed £415,000 cap. This is a potential headache for insurers as the level of the cap will impact assessment of risk and apportionment of liability between sending and receiving payment firms – and the industry will only have 7 days to prepare.

Further welcome news from the FCA – this time on co-manufacturing

Published on 08 Aug 2024. By Jonathan Charwat, Partner and Lauren Murphy, Senior Associate

Following on from our earlier blog, our review of the FCA's 'Discussion Paper' (DP24/1) continues, this time considering the rules relating to co-manufacturers of insurance products.

Potential deregulation and a pragmatic approach to commercial insurance – welcome news from the FCA

Published on 01 Aug 2024. By Jonathan Charwat, Partner and James Houlihan, Associate

The FCA has published a 'Discussion Paper' (DP24/1) seeking feedback on its rules on commercial insurance including in respect of the types of commercial customers in-scope, co-manufacturing of products and bespoke insurance products.

New Labour government – what is in store for the UK?

Published on 09 Jul 2024. By Rachael Healey, Partner

We have a new Labour Party government for the first time in 14 years. The new government has already made various announcements, with more set to follow in the coming days, and then we have the King’s Speech on 17 July, when the Labour Party will set out its opening legislative agenda – but what can we expect from the new government impacting services regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, pensions and accountants?

What does a new Labour government mean for the management liability market?

Published on 05 Jul 2024. By Rachael Healey, Partner and Matthew Watson, Partner and Andrew Oberholzer, Senior Associate and Zoe Melegari, Senior Associate and Kim Wright, Senior Associate

We have a new government and the first Labour government for 14 years. What does it mean for the management liability market? We look at what Labour has promised and with that the areas those in the market will want to consider across directors and officers, employment liability and pensions.

All change: What will a Labour government mean for financial services?

Published on 05 Jul 2024. By Rachael Healey, Partner and David Allinson, Partner and George Smith, Partner and Matthew Watson, Partner and Andrew Oberholzer, Senior Associate and Heather Buttifant, Associate

Money Covered: The Week That Was – 10 May

Published on 10 May 2024. By Rachael Healey, Partner and Robert Morris, Partner and David Allinson, Partner and George Smith, Partner

Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.

Money Covered: The Week That Was – 3 May

Published on 03 May 2024. By Rachael Healey, Partner and Robert Morris, Partner and David Allinson, Partner and George Smith, Partner

Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.

Money Covered: The Week That Was – 26 April

Published on 26 Apr 2024. By Rachael Healey, Partner and Robert Morris, Partner and David Allinson, Partner and George Smith, Partner

Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.

Money Covered: The Week that Was - 19 April

Published on 19 Apr 2024. By Rachael Healey, Partner and Robert Morris, Partner and David Allinson, Partner and George Smith, Partner

Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.

Cracking Down on High-Risk Investments: FCA considers industry performance

Published on 11 Oct 2023. By Dorian Nunzek, Trainee Solicitor

After introducing stricter rules for the promotion of Restricted Mass Market Investments (RMMIs) in February 2023, the FCA continues to monitor the performance of firms, is conducting a multi-firm review and has outlined good and poor practices in the industry.

FCA rules could trigger 'marked drop' in finfluencers marketing crypto

Published on 09 Oct 2023. By Oliver Bray, Senior Partner and Hettie Homewood , Senior Associate

Regulator clamping down over concerns consumers are being 'influenced into high risk investments without understanding consequences'

The FCA sets expectations ahead of incoming cryptoasset marketing rules

Published on 28 Sep 2023. By Kerone Thomas, Associate and Faheem Pervez, Associate

The FCA has issued a "final warning" to firms promoting cryptoassets to UK consumers to prepare for the cryptoassets financial promotion regime. Effective from 8 October 2023, this regime aims to protect consumers from promotions that make exaggerated claims about the benefits in investing in cryptoassets.

Money Covered: The Week that Was - 25 August

Published on 25 Aug 2023. By Rachael Healey, Partner and Robert Morris, Partner and David Allinson, Partner and George Smith, Partner

Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.

Money Covered: The Week that Was - 04 August

Published on 04 Aug 2023. By Rachael Healey, Partner and Robert Morris, Partner and David Allinson, Partner and George Smith, Partner

Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.

Fix up, look sharp: FRC update

Published on 01 Aug 2023. By Will Sefton, Partner and Head of the Lawyers Liability and Regulatory Group and Aimee Talbot, Knowledge Lawyer

What's the latest on fixed recoverable costs in professional negligence claims?

Money Covered: The Week that Was - 28 July

Published on 28 Jul 2023. By Rachael Healey, Partner and Robert Morris, Partner and David Allinson, Partner and George Smith, Partner

Welcome to The Week That Was, a round-up of key events in the financial services sector over the last seven days.