This week’s edition of Employment weekly highlights includes: (1) Code of Practice (Requests for Flexible Working) Order 2024 bringing into effect the revised Acas Code of Practice, (2) final versions of the Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) (Amendment) Regulations 2024, and the Social Security (Contributions) (Amendment No 3) Regulations 2024 following the HMRC technical consultation on proposed amendments to employer obligations to report the advance and regular payment of salary to HMRC separately, (3) National Insurance Contributions (Reduction in Rates) Act 2024, (4) the financial settlement obtained by an Uber Eats worker following allegations that facial recognition checks were racially discriminatory, (5) an EAT decision addressing whether unconnected acts of discrimination linked by their factual setting should be treated as ‘conduct extending over a period’ to bring them all within the ordinary time limit for discrimination claims, (6) a report from the government Equality Hub’s Inclusion at Work Panel on improving workplace diversity and inclusion, (7) the updated March 2024 version of the Women in Finance Charter, (8) Strikes (Minimum Service Levels: Fire and Rescue Services) (England) Regulations 2024, (9) an EAT decision confirming that a dismissal was fair despite no written warning or appeal, (10) the new Vento bands for claims presented on or after 6 April 2024, (11) an EAT decision upholding strike out of a remedy claim after a successful liability judgment, (12) the latest ICIBI inspection report on the immigration system as it relates to the social care sector, (13) Social Security (2023 Benefits Up-rating) Order (Northern Ireland) 2024, (14) Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order (Northern Ireland) 2024, (15) Coronavirus Act 2020 (Extension of Provisions Relating to Live Links for Courts and Tribunals) Order (Northern Ireland) 2024, (16) analysis of the key changes to the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, (17) dates for your diary, (18) updates to our case, consultation and legislation trackers and to our horizon scanner, and (19) a new Q&A.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published the results of its final Financial Resilience Survey issued in October 2023. Over the last three years, the FCA has collected financial resilience data from approximately 23,000 regulated firms. This has helped develop the FCA’s understanding of financial resilience, which is measured by assessing whether a firm holds enough resources to meet their ongoing obligations.  This includes insight into the impact of recent crises, ranging from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to cost-of-living pressures. The FCA says that using the data from the survey has helped it respond to risks faster and that it has identified and addressed concerns in hundreds of firms.

The UK government has launched its second five-year national action plan on antimicrobial resistance to protect against the risk of drug-resistant infections by 2040. The action plan will ensure the UK is decreasing its use of antimicrobials such as antibiotics, antifungals and antivirals in humans and animals and enhance the surveillance of drug-resistant infections before they emerge and incentivise industry to develop the next generation of treatments. The plan builds on the progress made in the previous five-year national action plan and lessons learned from coronavirus (COVID-19) and lays ambitious goals to drive down inappropriate use of antibiotics and promote further development of new drugs and vaccines.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, has released a message on the return of in-person court hearings after the lockdown measures imposed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic necessitated the use of online video platforms for remote hearings. Lord Burnett stated that there will be a continuing role for those involved in the courts’ operation, including the enforcement of and adherence to social distancing guidelines, hygiene practices and the use of face coverings. It is expected that remote hearings will still be used to manage footfall, but Lord Burnett described the return to in-person hearings as ‘desirable’.

Taking control of a judgment debtor’s goods pursuant to a writ or warrant of control is a standard procedure where the judgment is unsatisfied. However, in light of the significant social restrictions being imposed as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19) practitioners should note that, as set out below, either procedure can involve personal contact through an enforcement agent (EA) or bailiff entering the debtors’ premises, as well as the sale of the goods. This may be difficult if the EAs or bailiffs are unwilling or unable, for reasons of social distancing or isolation, to attend properties in person. Practitioners may want to consider other enforcement methods that are much less likely to require personal attendance on the judgment debtor’s property, and do not involve public auction, which are considered towards the end of this answer. Attending the debtor’s premises under the taking control of

The use of video-conferencing technology has become essential for lawyers since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. If your client wishes you to attend rather than provide advice over the telephone when required, you will be better prepared if you have taken the advance steps set out in this Q&A. You should encourage existing clients to download video-conferencing facilities onto their smartphones now, before any issues arise. They should try and keep their phone battery well-charged, particularly overnight. Clients may need your advice urgently and you may need to see documents quickly in order to provide that advice. Offer your clients a ‘test call’ using this video-conferencing technology to ensure that, if they ever need to use it, they are familiar with the procedure for getting in contact with you. If you are required to advise a client during a search, the best advice is to use this technology to be ‘present’

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to unprecedented social distancing measures and lockdowns being introduced. This in turn has had a significant impact on the ability of the courts, and court users, to carry out their normal functions. In order to deal with specific challenges relevant to insolvency proceedings, a new Temporary Insolvency Practice Direction was introduced on 6 April 2020. It expired on 1 October 2020 and has been replaced several times (all in the same form), the most recent version of which, the Temporary Insolvency Practice Direction Supporting the Insolvency Practice Direction (TIPD), has effect from 30 June 2021 and expires on 30 September 2021. For further details on the Practice Direction on Insolvency Proceedings which the TIPD supports, see Practice Note: The Temporary

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note was originally written for Lexis Practice Advisor®, in the US. This Practice Note provides an overview of the copyright registration process, including the benefits of federal registration, how to draft and file a copyright application (either electronically or by paper), filing fees, the deposit requirement, responding to inquiries from the US Copyright Office, and the possibility of preregistration of certain types of works. Note that the Copyright Office issued several notices adjusting timing provisions for certain copyright applications and expanding electronic submission options in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. For an overview of copyright law, see Practice Note: US—copyright fundamentals [Archived]. Benefits of copyright registration The moment an author fixes an original work of expression in a fixed medium (such as on paper, in a computer file, or on a sound recording), a copyright automatically attaches to that work. There is no requirement under the Copyright

The EU external border control has been under constant changes, especially due to the unprecedented arrival of refugees, irregular immigration and digitalisation of the control systems. Additionally, an examination of the changes introduced in the Schengen Borders Code reveals that the experience of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has influenced its development. Key objectives of the EU in this area are to have a gradual establishment of an integrated management system for external borders, to enhance the support in the field of migration management, the fight against cross-border crime and to support national authorities for a better internal security. The ‘EU Migration and Asylum’ policy is an important part of the EU external border control. However, this policy is not discussed in this Practice Note which focuses on the general Schengen visa scheme, the main tools and systems that have been incorporated (the Visa Information System (VIS) and the Schengen Information System (SIS)) and those that are not yet operational (the

This month has seen the entry into force of lower notification thresholds in the UK for additional markets impacting national security, legislation passed in Aruba to introduce a new merger control regime and the publication of revised guidelines in France, which include an extension of the scope of the simplified procedure. UK—revised notification thresholds for additional national security sectors enter into force The lower notification thresholds in the UK for certain additional sectors impacting national security have entered into force. The lower thresholds cover transactions in sectors involving the developing, producing development, production or research into: • artificial intelligence, • cryptographic authentication, and • advanced materials. For these sectors: • the 25% share of supply threshold has been amended so that it can be met solely by the activities of the target, and • the target’s turnover threshold has been reduced to £1m (from £70m). This change follows a similar change in 2018 for other sectors impacting national security, namely (i) military or dual-use goods which are subject to export control, or (ii) quantum technology,

The Insolvency Service has published the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA 2020) interim report which summarises the reasons for the introduction of CIGA 2020, and considers the results of 'Stage One' which considered the data arising from a series of semi-structured interviews of various stakeholders. The Insolvency Service noted that 'Stage Two' will continue with some further interviews and involve an online survey of the insolvency practitioner profession. CIGA 2020 was introduced during the 2020 'lockdown' of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and contained two new and permanent, business rescue procedures forming the biggest change to corporate insolvency framework in nearly twenty years.

The Insolvency Service reports a 12-year directorship disqualification order against Joseph Harrison, former director of South East Commercials Ltd, for obtaining multiple coronavirus bounce back loans (BBL) in breach of scheme rules. Harrison has been ordered to repay £38,295 and the disqualification, effective from 6 May 2025, was made under sections 6 and 15A of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. The investigation found Harrison had obtained two £45,000 loans when the scheme permitted only one per company. South East Commercials Ltd was dissolved in January 2025.