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Recent insights
Keeping workers safe: COVID-19 health and safety FAQs
07 Apr 2020
We previously outlined some of the key questions that we had been asked by businesses in relation to managing the risks of COVID-19 from a health and safety perspective. This note provides an update of the position (as at 3 April 2020) to reflect recent developments which remain under constant review.
FAQs - Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
04 Apr 2020
On 20 March 2020 the government announced the launch of its Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which is intended to pay employees who would otherwise be redundant or subject to a requirement to remain away from work without pay and are instead designated as "furloughed". Some brief details have been included in the Government's COVID-19 advice for employers, employees and businesses.
COVID-19: update for charities
03 Apr 2020
This week has seen further measures announced by the Government to support business and individuals as the effects of the restrictions imposed start to be truly felt. In the charities sector, both individual charities and industry bodies are beginning to fully estimate the cost of the pandemic.
COVID-19: the response of consumer protection regulators and the impact on non-COVID-19 regulatory enforcement
03 Apr 2020
Following the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak's announcement on 17 March, when he challenged Ministers and business to identify opportunities to support the most affected industries, including possible ‘regulatory forbearance’, consumer protection and other regulators have been steadily adjusting their responses to more routine, BAU, regulatory enforcement issues. This reflects the need to ensure that their now even more stretched resources have the most impact and tackle the most serious pandemic-related consumer protection issues arising at this time. This article looks at the most recent stated approaches of some of the regulators, the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA), Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and Trading Standards.
Unified Patent Court ratification declared unconstitutional by German court
03 Apr 2020
The German Federal Constitutional Court has recently made a finding that Germany's ratification of the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court is unconstitutional.
PRA and HMT issue statement on the delay of the implementation of the Basel 3.1 standards
03 Apr 2020
Yesterday (2 April 2020), the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and HM Treasury (HMT) issued a joint statement, welcoming the delay of the implementation of the Basel 3.1 standards by one year. The statement comes on the back of the announcement on Friday 27 March 2020 by the Basel Committee's oversight body, the Group of Central Bank Governors and Heads of Supervision (GHOS) that, in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the implementation of the Basel 3.1 standards is to be deferred by one year to 1 January 2023.
Supreme Court decides that Barclays is not liable for assaults by independent contractor
02 Apr 2020
In a second judgment on vicarious liability handed down on 1 April, the Supreme Court held that a bank was not vicariously liable for the acts of a self-employed doctor who carried out medical examinations on its behalf.
COVID-19: recent employment law developments
02 Apr 2020
It seems hard to believe that the Coronavirus job retention scheme was launched less than two weeks ago. Since then, there have been a number of developments. We summarise the main employment and immigration law changes in this article.
COVID-19: wrongful trading - practical considerations
02 Apr 2020
As businesses seek to adapt to deal with the financial impact of COVID-19, boards of directors have been faced with the difficult decision of having to file for insolvency or take steps to preserve business continuity and live to fight another day. Understandably directors' duties is a topic that has come keenly into focus with directors wishing to ensure that, whatever steps they take, they do not incur personal liability.
