Gowling WLG

This Practice Note provides a high level introduction to electricity and gas trading in Great Britain. It introduces some of the key standard form trading agreements, including Grid Trade Master Agreement (GTMA) Short Term Flat NBP Trading Terms and Conditions 2015 (NBP Terms) and the Standard Terms and Conditions for the Sale and Purchase of Natural Gas for UK Short Term Deliveries at the Beach 2015 (Beach Terms) as well as considering some of the alternatives to these standard forms.

This Practice Note provides an overview of the key legislation introduced to give effect to Brexit in UK domestic law. Focussing on the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 and the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020, this Practice Note examines the key objectives and functions of this Brexit legislation and also highlights a number of public law issues to which Brexit legislation gives rise.

This Practice Note deals with influencer marketing in Canada. It is aimed at social media talent as well as at brand owners engaging in advertising. This Practice Note focuses on applicable regulations, codes and guidelines, what constitutes ‘endorsement’ in Canada, labelling and disclosure requirements, sanctions and oversight for inadequate disclosure. Ownership rights to sponsored content and key provisions in relevant agreements are also covered.

This chart outlines a suggested timetable for the employment aspects of a business reorganisation process and is designed to be sent to a client. It sets out the steps to be taken by the employer on a day-by-day basis, from the preparatory phase to initial announcements, then the information and consultation (collective and individual) process, culminating in the conclusion of the process, eg a TUPE transfer.

This Practice Note deals with the requirements on UK insurers concerning governance, risk management, systems and controls and suggests that these topics are approached in a holistic manner in the framework of the applicable rules and regulations. The note considers the roles of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The applicable rules and regulations include, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000), the PRA Rulebook and in particular, the Conditions Governing Business section for Solvency II firms; the Governance section for Non-Solvency II firms; the PRA Fundamental Rules, the Senior Management and Certification Regime (SM&CR) and the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) Guidelines on System of Governance.

This Practice Note summarises the role of the Grid Trade Master Agreement (GTMA) standard form for bilateral trading of electricity. It sets out the primary users of the GTMA, the nature of the GTMA and its key provisions, the interface between the GTMA and the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) and the common alternative approaches to electricity sale and purchase seen in the Great Britain wholesale market.

This Practice Note examines the employment law and practical issues that may arise when an employer reorganises the structure of its business and how to manage the interaction between those issues. It explains the initial considerations, how to approach redundancy dismissals, dismissals for some other substantial reason (SOSR). It also considers how to defend the claims and the impact of collective redundancy consultation, as well as the impact of TUPE 2006 where a relevant transfer takes place as part of the reorganisation. It also explains how to deal with the overlap between redundancy and TUPE consultation obligations

This Practice Note provides an introduction to retained EU law, which is an entirely new legal concept introduced to UK domestic law in connection with Brexit. It provides an overview of the key definitions and concepts with reference to the relevant provisions of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended.

This Practice Note looks at how trusts can be used to protect lump sum death benefits and to moderate any charge to Inheritance Tax (IHT) and how this is affected by the type of pension scheme or arrangement in question and the current charges to income tax imposed by the pensions tax regime under the Finance Act 2004.

This Practice Note discusses the main areas of complication encountered by practitioners (including pensions practitioners) when advising on non-registered life policies, namely relevant life and excepted group life policies, including in relation to: the conditions to be met in respect of the death benefits that are payable and to whom they are to be paid; discretionary trusts and inheritance tax (IHT); terminal illness; the distribution of death benefits; exercising a discretionary power; key-man cover; and tax avoidance.

This Practice Note introduces the new Retail Energy Code (REC) introduced in early 2019 to govern the retail aspects of the gas and electricity markets in Great Britain (GB) and to implement the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets’ (Ofgem) Switching Programme. It covers the legal basis for the REC, the background to its development and implementation and the key provisions of the REC. It also gives some practical insight into how the REC may evolve over time.

This Practice Note provides an overview of the tax treatment of UK registered pension schemes (in particular regarding income tax and national insurance contributions). It summarises the main tax rules applicable to member and employer contributions, scheme assets (including investment returns on those assets) and scheme benefits paid out of the scheme. It also considers the tax treatment of UK private pension arrangements that are not registered pension schemes.

This Practice Note focuses on the considerations applicable to trustees and employers of a defined benefit (DB) scheme when considering transferring to a DB superfund.

This Precedent is suitable for use by the trustees (or trustee company) of an occupational pension scheme to record the arrangements put in place to manage their conflicts of interest, in accordance with the Pensions Regulator’s guidance on conflicts of interest.

This Precedent is co-operation agreement between a transferor and transferee providing for pre-transfer collective redundancy consultation to be carried out in relation to proposed redundancies of certain transferring employees, where those redundancies are to be effected post-transfer by the transferee. The agreement reflects the provisions of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/246 (TUPE 2006) and the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A 1992 as amended in January 2014