Summer 2021

The workforce of the future: key HR legal considerations | PwC

Over the last couple of years, organisations have been working through a significant transformation journey in the way they work and operate. Automation and technology are replacing or significantly impacting human tasks and jobs, changing the skills that organisations require in their workforce. At the same time, workforces are demanding a new ‘deal’, with organisations …

Continue reading “The workforce of the future: key HR legal considerations”

The overnight experts

After a few video calls, it takes only a cursory kick of the tyres to discern that employment lawyers have had a crazy year. ‘Crazy’ almost does not cover it – you would be hard pressed to identify an area of law that experienced more change in the last year, in both the rate of …

Continue reading “The overnight experts”

New UK government powers to block deals on national security grounds | Brodies

The National Security and Investment Act 2021 completely overhauls the UK’s approach to government screening of investments. It will create a free-standing regime with unprecedented new government powers to investigate and block acquisitions (of entities or assets) on security grounds. Expected to be in force by the end of the year, the Act could be …

Continue reading “New UK government powers to block deals on national security grounds”

Spotlight on Germany – the new Digitalization Act | Latham & Watkins

With its enactment of the new German Digitalization Act (GWB10) on 19 January 2021, Germany became one of the first countries to upgrade its statutory toolbox to tackle the (perceived) market power of digital giants. The most prominent tools aim to address behavioural and structural market deficiencies (paras 19(1a), 20(3a)) and ease data access (paras …

Continue reading “Spotlight on Germany – the new Digitalization Act”

Healthy competition

When discussing the current direction of antitrust regulation, Carles Esteva Mosso, a partner in the competition practice at Latham & Watkins’ Brussels office puts it succinctly: ‘In Europe, we are seeing an evolution towards more intense merger enforcement.’ At a national level, many jurisdictions appear to be keen to occupy a role at the forefront …

Continue reading “Healthy competition”

The Russian M&A market since the outbreak of the global pandemic | VK Partners

Economic environment overview The Russian economy was greatly affected by the global epidemic and the decline in business activity. Economic performance was influenced by the OPEC+ oil pact, the drop in oil prices and the volatility in the dollar exchange rate. However, those difficulties were overcome relatively well, since the government implemented support measures to …

Continue reading “The Russian M&A market since the outbreak of the global pandemic”

A Philippine employer’s guide to legal compliance in the procurement and administration of Covid-19 vaccines | ACCRALAW

More than a year has already passed since the Covid-19 pandemic began, yet the Philippines is still struggling to slow down the spread of the virus. New cases per day continue to reach four digit figures despite the mandate for the continued implementation of strict public health standards nationwide. The government’s quarantine measures in the …

Continue reading “A Philippine employer’s guide to legal compliance in the procurement and administration of Covid-19 vaccines”

It’s not funny anymore: a primer on workplace harassment in Puerto Rico | Adsuar Muñiz Goyco Seda & Pérez-Ochoa

In a notable development for employers doing business in Puerto Rico, on 7 August 2020, the local government enacted Law 90, titled the Law to Prohibit and Prevent Workplace Harassment in Puerto Rico (our translation, hereinafter the ‘Workplace Harassment Act’), to prohibit workplace harassment (commonly referred to as ‘mobbing’). Previously, workplace harassment had not been …

Continue reading “It’s not funny anymore: a primer on workplace harassment in Puerto Rico”

Mexico’s outsourcing ban: rethinking current employment structures | Ibarra, del Paso y Gallego

After a series of long-winded negotiations between the federal government, employees’ representatives and the entrepreneurial sector, the Mexican Congress approved, and the federal government enacted on 23 April 2021 the much prophesied labour reform to ban outsourcing through significant amendments to the Mexican Federal Labour Law (FLL), Federal Fiscal Code, Income Tax Law and Value …

Continue reading “Mexico’s outsourcing ban: rethinking current employment structures”

Employment law in Malaysia – an overview/recent developments | Shook Lin & Bok

In Malaysia, employment issues are governed primarily by statute and contract. In respect of enterprises with large scale workforces, which would include the financial, manufacturing, industrial and plantation sectors, collective agreements between employers and registered trade unions are important in regulating the employment relationship between the parties.

Focus on compliance with data protection in Italy | De Luca & Partners

On 25 May 2018, Regulation (EU) 2016/679, known as GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) – on the protection of natural persons (‘data subjects’) with respect to the processing and transfer of personal data – became completely applicable in all EU member states. As an EU regulation, the GDPR is a provision to be directly applied …

Continue reading “Focus on compliance with data protection in Italy”

Restructuring and insolvency in Austria: an update | fellner wratzfeld partner

Measures to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Austrian economy On 16 March 2020, the Austrian government imposed drastic measures to contain the SARSCoV2 virus, commonly known as Covid-19. The international Covid-19 crisis resulted in a seven week complete lockdown in Austria, with only ‘critical infrastructure’ such as banks, supermarkets, pharmacies and …

Continue reading “Restructuring and insolvency in Austria: an update”