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

Legal Briefing

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 …

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

Legal Briefing

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 …

A lawyer studies on her laptop late at night

The overnight experts

Feature

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 …

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

Legal Briefing

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 …

Termination for ‘change of situation’ or layoff – which to use for cutting employment? | AnJie Law Firm

Legal Briefing

The Covid-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented challenge to the global economy. A lot of businesses ran into severe difficulty and even went on the verge of bankruptcy. Many employers cut employment directly by terminating employment contracts with employees instead of reducing salaries or arranging for employees to await job assignments to reduce labour costs. …

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

Legal Briefing

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 …

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

Legal Briefing

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 …

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

Legal Briefing

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

Legal Briefing

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 …

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

Legal Briefing

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 …

The zone of insolvency: what directors and companies need to know | Campbells

Legal Briefing

With global vaccination rates lifting consumer sentiment there are reasons to be optimistic about economic recovery from the global pandemic. However, new virus mutations, uneven vaccination rates, and reducing levels of government economic support measures all mean that the economic outlook remains uncertain and many market sectors will continue to face challenges in the medium …