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Nicola Gooch

Consultation Response: Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill - reforms to national planning policy

After a great deal of internal discussion, conversations with clients and contacts and general chewing of (metaphorical) pens, our...

01/03/23
Joanne Moseley

School reference highlighting 'safeguarding concerns' defamed two teachers

Employers who provide references about their staff must take reasonable care to ensure the information disclosed is true, accurate and...

01/03/23
Charlotte Rees-John

CBI Director-General speech highlights the importance of ESG strategies

This is an important speech from Tony Danker at the CBI which highlights how the labour market has changed forever and also why ESG is so...

01/03/23
Bryan Bletso

Irwin Mitchell’s French Desk: providing a platform for international growth

It’s been a busy six months for our international team and boosted by the arrival in September of partner, Catherine Palmer, I’m...

01/03/23
Nicola Gooch

As one consultation closes, another two open: Performance reviews, price rises, case law and yet another set of changes to PD Rights...

Sometimes, dealing with government consultations on planning reform feels a bit like fighting a Hydra.  The ink is not yet dry on our...

01/03/23
Joanne Moseley

How likely are you to get the right candidate if your job advert requires someone prepared to 'live and breathe' the job?

Morale in schools and colleges is low. Many teachers and other staff have already gone on strike and, according to the National Education...

28/02/23
Mandeep Khroud

The Pret Foundation: Expert advice for the hospitality sector

Pret A Manger has employed 250 Ukrainian refugees as part of its initiative set up to support those fleeing the conflict. The Pret...

28/02/23
Elizabeth Mutter

An introduction to… planning enforcement

If development is carried out without required planning permission, this is a breach of planning control. Likewise, failure to comply...

28/02/23
Thomas Barnard

Tiger Woods: So-called 'banter' could put endorsement deals at risk

Tiger Woods is of course a sporting icon and never fails to attract the headlines – but it is not always for the right reasons. He was in...

21/02/23
Akhil Sharma

India: Hedging, repo and stock lending update

Recent Indian legislation provides a legal framework for the recognition of close-out netting. Previously, the legal position was...

20/02/23
Marcus Collins

Watchdog upholds two complaints against Huel ruling adverts were misleading

In these straitened times, there is a strong temptation for manufacturers to use money saving tips and claims to promote their products....

20/02/23
Jeremy Ladyman

Interest Rate Hedging - an introduction for borrowers and current market trends

The era of zero interest rate policies is over. We have grown accustomed to living in a low interest rate economy. Rates are still well...

16/02/23
Melody Li

Protection of trees: what developers and landowners need to know

Our Protection of Trees webinar was hosted by Jill Crawford and Tracy Lovejoy from our Planning and Environment team on 9 February. In...

16/02/23
Charlotte Rees-John

‘Skintellectuals’, ‘hybrid high streets’ and the ‘lipstick effect’

When Boots announces its predictions for the biggest trends in beauty retail for the coming year, I think it’s wise to sit up and take...

16/02/23
Pamela Chesterman

How ‘real’ is ‘reality TV’: Clarkson, ‘Diddly Squat’, farm diversification and planning

Spoiler Alert - if you’ve not yet watched the series but plan to, don’t read this – I give the whole game away. I enjoyed the last series...

15/02/23
Pamela Chesterman

NPPF Consultation 2022 – Housing

“Our house, in the middle of a self-build, key-worker neighbourhood community”  Might the changes to housing be the radical reform long...

15/02/23
Natalie Cane

LDC versus George Downing and European Sheeting Ltd

On 23 December 2022, the Technology and Construction Court released its most recent judgment in relation to cladding defects. It provided...

15/02/23
Joanne Moseley

New proposals will give casual workers the right to ask for a predictable work contract

At the beginning of the year, I speculated that the long-promised right for insecure workers to ask to change their contract to reflect...

15/02/23
Joanne Bone

Cookies, consent and banner compliance: What organisations need to know about the EDPB's new best practice guidance

All businesses, organisations and sole traders who own a website or app using cookies will want to revisit their cookies compliance...

14/02/23
Graham Thomson

Cyber Security: Staying secure in a digital age

The cost of cyber security in the UK was a staggering £3.1 billion in 2022 according to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau. On a...

14/02/23
Joanne Moseley

What other employers can learn from McDonald's legal commitment to eliminate sexual harassment from its restaurants

McDonald's has acknowledged that it has a serious problem with workplace sexual harassment. It has reached a legal agreement with the...

14/02/23
Charlotte Rees-John

Significant rise in pub and bar insolvencies

The latest statistics from UHY Hacker Young which reveal the financial difficulties faced by pubs and bars are disappointing and very...

14/02/23
Tracy Lovejoy

Planning changes and the problem of slow build-outs

Among the many changes proposed to the planning system are changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (the ‘NPPF’).  The changes...

14/02/23
Nicola Gooch

Mind the Funding Gap: The curious case of s.106 contributions funding NHS services

February seems to have been a month for fascinating planning cases.  First, we had Mr Armstrong's one man mission to clarify the scope of...

14/02/23
Joanne Moseley

Do you have to pay staff if you can't operate your business due to energy blackouts?

Last month, the government announced that it was going to scale back business energy subsidies for the next financial year by about 85%....

13/02/23
Melody Li

Green efforts: a look at latest environmental updates and policies from the UK government

The current UK government’s environmental plan - “Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution” was announced in November 2020 by...

13/02/23
Andrew Walker

UK economy narrowly avoided recession

Although technically we’re not in a recession, the reality is that the wheels of the economy haven't turned effectively for a while....

10/02/23
Bryan Bletso

Cross border M&A activity into the UK remains strong despite Q4 blip

The appetite amongst overseas’ buyers to complete mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the UK fell in the last quarter of 2022 but was...

08/02/23
Richard James

Polishing the old crystal ball…

It is difficult to know what 2023 is going to bring. Let’s be honest, the predictions of would-be Nostradamuses in January 2022 would...

07/02/23
Nicola Gooch

Pick & mix planning: Fees, s.73, Article 4 and LURB in the Lords

A lot has happened since my last post*, so much that I couldn't choose a single topic to write about. Instead, I have picked a selection...

03/02/23