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Preventing and resolving disputes legal updates


Employment Act 2008 passed
The much anticipated Employment Act 2008 (the Act) received Royal Assent on the 13 November.
Date: 2008-11-20

Turbulent times bring landlords' remedies to the fore
In these turbulent economic times the remedies available to a landlord against a defaulting tenant are once again in the spotlight.
Date: 2008-11-14

When the drink runs dry
In the current economic climate many businesses are battling for survival, and there are daily reports of pubs, hotels, restaurants and clubs becoming insolvent or being repossessed.
Date: 2008-11-14

Shopping centres' landmark trade mark decision
A landmark High Court judgement has ruled that names and brands of shopping centres can be registered as trade marks.
Date: 2008-11-14

Goodbye statutory procedures, hello ACAS code of practice
The new ACAS Code of Practice (the Code has been approved by the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, and will now go to Parliament for final approval.
Date: 2008-11-14

Prepare for more information access requests businesses told
Companies should be prepared for an increase in the use of subject access requests (SARs) by individuals affected by the economic downturn.
Date: 2008-11-11

Get ready for immigration system’s big shake-up
The biggest shake-up of the immigration system for 45-years happens at the end of November. Tiers 2 and 5 of the new Australian-style points-based system come into force on 27 November 2008.
Date: 2008-11-10

Redundancy rights and wrongs
With the UK economy continuing to be buffeted by the storm of the global financial crisis, the effects are now starting to be felt nearer to home in the real economy.
Date: 2008-11-10

Internet expansion: the new .brand gTLD
The anticipated new registration scheme allowing companies to apply to register their own gTLD’s will see a huge change in the way in which the internet is structured.
Date: 2008-11-04

Don't fall victim to corporate ID theft
Increasing numbers of businesses are falling victim to identity theft, Shoosmiths has warned.
Date: 2008-11-04

New serious crime offences for IP cheats
Trademark and copyright infringers face new punishments as a result of the Serious Crime Act 2007.
Date: 2008-11-03

Doh! Law degree requirement was not age discrimination
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) found that a 61-year-old employee was not discriminated against on the grounds of age when his employer introduced a new grading system.
Date: 2008-11-01

New Year heralds prison sentences for health and safety offences
A new Act which comes into force on 16 January 2009 imposes serious new penalties for directors, employers and employees who are convicted of a health and safety offence.
Date: 2008-10-28

Sales risks: how exposed is your business?
In the current climate stories are emerging daily of situations where suppliers can no longer obtain credit insurance in respect of particular customers.
Date: 2008-10-23

Stress in the workplace: reasons to be fearful
Employers owe a duty of care to staff, and must do all they can to protect employees’ health and safety at work. This extends to protecting employees’ mental health. Employers failing to do so can be liable for unlimited damages for psychiatric injury.
Date: 2008-10-20

Questions over ex gratia payments continue to tax employers
Tax treatment of termination payments is a perennial issue for employers and their lawyers. Employees often believe they are automatically entitled to the first £30,000 of such payments tax free, but this depends on the facts of the individual case.
Date: 2008-10-20

Law firm Shoosmiths to open in Manchester with lender services team
National law firm Shoosmiths has announced plans to open a new office in Manchester within the next three months, establishing the firm’s first base in the North West.
Date: 2008-10-13

Adjudicators must give both sides a fair hearing
Less than 1% of adjudication decisions are not enforced by the Court. Recently the Court was asked to consider a new argument based on breach of natural justice, associated with the strict timetable required in adjudications.
Date: 2008-10-08

Companies Act offers hope for defending company names
New legislation from 1 October 2008 will give the owners of goodwill in a mark a new weapon against those seeking to take advantage of the reputation of their brand.
Date: 2008-09-29

Review urged as regulators crackdown on non-compliant websites
With a crack-down on non-compliant online retailers under way, now is a good time for operators of e-commerce sites to give themselves a legal health-check.
Date: 2008-09-24

Guard against rising corporate identity theft
Increasing numbers of businesses are falling victim to identity theft. According to figures released by life assistance firm CPP, the number of cases has risen by 154% since June 2007.
Date: 2008-09-23

Bleak outlook demands updated contracts
Many contracts have been signed in better times. Now the economic outlook is not as bright. Whatever the nature of the agreement (IT, outsourcing, supply etc), there may be a feeling that a contract is no longer providing the value you expect.
Date: 2008-09-03

Think twice before ganging up on Google
Google prompted angry response when it allowed businesses to sponsor keyword search terms consisting of third-party trade marks via its online advertising facility AdWords.
Date: 2008-09-03

Jumping the gun on retirement was age discrimination
In a recent case an employer paid a heavy financial penalty for retiring an employee one day before his 65th birthday. The employment tribunal awarded the employee over £36,000 in compensation.
Date: 2008-08-20

Regulators handed greater, more flexible sanctions
As regulators are handed more weapons with which to battle non-compliant businesses, we urge those businesses not to take sanctions lying down, and to challenge them if necessary.
Date: 2008-08-15

Mediation - being unreasonable and maintaining privilege
Mediation has been triumphed as the way forward but what about when it fails? Do the costs consequences mean you should always take part even if you fail to actively participate and are the costs of mediation itself recoverable?
Date: 2008-08-08

Seminar success as businesses seek new law reassurances
More than 40 companies have attended briefings hosted by Shoosmiths on new regulations to protect consumers from unfair and misleading trading practices.
Date: 2008-08-08

Debt recovery remedies on the way - but not until 2009
A raft of new remedies is being proposed as a result of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.
Date: 2008-08-08

Lenders urged to consider changes when planning debt recovery strategies
The Common Financial Statement (CFS) was relaunched on 16 June 2008. Sponsored by the British Bankers Association (BBA) and the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA), the CFS provides trigger figures agreed with the industry and advice sector.
Date: 2008-08-05

Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008: Impact on the Finance Industry
The new Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 have wide-reaching implications for all sorts of businesses. Here, partner and head of asset finance Joanne Davis looks at how they might affect the finance sector.
Date: 2008-08-05

Draft Construction Contracts Bill - how will the changes affect you?
The proposed amendments to the Act have now been issued by DBERR. They are due to progress through parliament this session, but the key question is are they as anticipated and do they cover the recommendations made for change?
Date: 2008-08-01

Data security breaches and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard
The national news has featured many cases of serious data security breaches. In June it was the retail company Cotton Traders Ltd who illustrated the far reaching consequences of inadequate security systems.
Date: 2008-08-01

Must you disclose internal investigations to regulators?
Following a serious accident or fatality in the workplace, an organisation will no doubt want to carry out an internal investigation to try and ascertain what the root causes of the incident were and prevent future accidents recurring.
Date: 2008-07-31

Knife sales: Undercover kids
The BBC reported that in the five years leading up to 2006 no-one was jailed for selling a knife to a child in England and Wales.
Date: 2008-07-24

European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling extends UK’s discrimination law
The ECJ has delivered a ruling which extends the ambit of the UK’s disability discrimination legislation to those who are discriminated against because of their association with a disabled person but who are not themselves disabled.
Date: 2008-07-22

House of Lords changes the law on disability-related discrimination
The House of Lords has delivered a major judgement which will change the way in which the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is interpreted and which is expected to make it harder for employees to succeed in claims of disability related discrimination.
Date: 2008-07-14

Resolving a dispute? New rules for asking an expert
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is considerably less ‘alternative’ than it was five years ago. The Academy of Experts, the professional body for expert witnesses around the world, has just published new rules for expert determination.
Date: 2008-07-03

Draft ACAS guidance on new disciplinary and grievance Code of Practice published
ACAS has published draft guidance to accompany the new Code of Practice that is expected to come into force in April 2009 which sets out good practice for dealing with discipline and grievances in the workplace.
Date: 2008-07-01

Three issues key to bank charges test case
On 24 April 2008, the now celebrated test case on charges made by banks and building societies for unauthorised overdrafts was taken to the High Court by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), seven UK banks and a building society.
Date: 2008-06-13

Brands' frosty reception for keyword search policy change
Search engine Google has made a significant policy change to its online advertising facility - AdWords - in the UK and Ireland, allowing open bidding on all keyword search terms, including those protected by trademarks.
Date: 2008-06-12

Landlords must have robust gas safety procedures
Over recent months there have been a number of high profile cases which have been reported about gas incidents in properties owned or managed by housing landlords.
Date: 2008-06-09

Jimmy Choo obtains favourable settlement against Office
Office, the High Street footwear retailer, has agreed to pay almost £7,500 and destroy over 1300 pairs of shoes after Jimmy Choo claimed that Office had copied its famous “Metallic Framed” heel.
Date: 2008-04-03

Minimising the risk of discrimination
According to the Equality and Human Rights Commission there are 10 million people in the UK who have rights under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
Date: 2008-03-25

Unfair and aggressive trading practices to be outlawed
A crackdown on aggressive selling will for the first time prohibit businesses from adopting ‘unfair trading practices’ and see more than 30 specific types of business methods blacklisted in a move to protect consumers.
Date: 2008-03-21

Employers could be liable for equipment in private homes
Thousands of companies and organisations could be sued by staff injured even when using equipment not provided or maintained by their employer.
Date: 2008-03-04

Shoosmiths launches new finance litigation and regulatory team in Birmingham
National firm Shoosmiths has launched a new finance litigation and regulatory service in Birmingham with the appointment of a team of four from BPE Solicitors.
Date: 2008-02-26

Residential landlords alert after scalded baby death inquest
Shoosmiths is urging residential landlords to heed warnings about the dangers of hot water systems after an inquest into the death of a severely scalded 10-month-old baby said the tragedy could have been avoided.
Date: 2008-02-06

Shoosmiths gives copycats the boot
A London-based retailer has agreed to remove more than 130 pairs of boots from sale and donate them to Oxfam after designer Georgina Goodman claimed it had copied one of her styles.
Date: 2008-01-31

Suppliers urged to safeguard goods in tough trading climate
Suppliers are being warned to protect their goods amid predictions of a tough trading climate in 2008.
Date: 2008-01-21

Fraudsters targeting IT wholesalers to rake in millions of pounds a day
IT companies are among the top targets for fraudsters stealing around £4 million a day from UK businesses.
Date: 2007-10-26

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Claire Rowe

Partner
T: 08700 86 8959
I: +44 (0)118 965 8959
E: claire.rowe@shoosmiths.co.uk