Articles and Briefings

The Fire Safety Bill – how will it impact fire safety management?

09 Apr 2020

The Fire Safety Bill (the Bill) has been introduced as part of the Government's commitment to improving building safety. The Bill was given its first reading on 19 March 2020.

Changing the face of witness statements

09 Apr 2020

Following recommendations made by the Commercial Court Witness Evidence Working Group (WEWG) in December 2019, some limited amendments to witness statements and the statement of truth took effect on 6 April 2020. While the reforms are far from radical (the majority of the WEWG did not favour radical reform), the courts are likely to take a tougher approach in circumstances where a witness statement has been clearly over worked by lawyers. We examine the issues and consider the implications for solicitors, parties to litigation and their insurers.

COVID-19: £750m funding for charity sector

09 Apr 2020

Like many areas, the charity sector is being highly impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. In some good news the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced there will be £750m funding available for the sector.

This is a much needed boost for parts of the charities sector and we will be providing insights into the finer detail of the announcement over the coming week and how this support can be accessed.

COVID-19: a summary of recent employment law developments

09 Apr 2020

It has been another busy week for employment lawyers and HR professionals, as we get to grips with a new way of working and the seemingly endless queries arising from the furlough scheme. There have been a number of developments in relation to employment law and practice, which we summarise here.

FCA Business Plan 2020/2021

07 Apr 2020

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its business plan for the coming year this morning, which didn't really contain any surprises. As we all know, the FCA had already planned to focus its resources more heavily on the areas of greatest potential harm identified in its Sector Views, as well as transforming its own ways of working in preventing harm. It believes this work needs to continue, but it has significantly reshaped its plan because of the impact of coronavirus on the UK and global financial markets.

COVID-19 impacts go-live date of EU medical device regulation

07 Apr 2020

Following the European Commission's March press release on the suggested postponement of the effective date of the Medical Device Regulation (the MDR), given the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, it's formal Proposal was published on Friday 3 April. This Preparatory Act, which amends the date of application of various provisions in the MDR from 26 May 2020 to 26 May 2021, has still to be approved by both the European Parliament and the Council.

FAQs - COVID-19 and employment law

07 Apr 2020

We are receiving a large number of queries from clients with regard to COVID-19 and employment law. We have already published a set of FAQs on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (or furloughing). This article covers some of the other areas that are coming up frequently.

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

07 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".

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.

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