UK Knowledge Collection | Sustainability, building remedial work, and Disputes Week

Sustainability, building remedial work, and Disputes Week

The complexities of ESG regulation continue to pose conundrums for businesses. Our webinar next week looks at the risk for directors of ESG-related shareholder activism and our Insight explores the UK's sustainability disclosure requirements regime in relation to investment labels. Under the regime, fund managers can start to use the FCA's specified labels for their funds from 31 July. The question for them is whether the regulatory burden of meeting the requirements is proportionate to the marketing benefit.

The EU has now reached agreement on its Platform Workers Directive. Our Insight looks at the impact of this on platforms and staffing companies, and our webinar discusses HMRC's approach to enforcement in staffing supply chains in the UK.

HMRC has changed its stance on VAT recovery for voluntary cladding remedial work carried out by housebuilders and developers, which was previously not recoverable. Our Insight considers the implications, and we are hosting a webinar on remediation works and building safety disputes more broadly, as part of our Disputes Week of events.

Disputes Week will also offer webinars providing updates on recent civil procedure developments, the rise of collective actions, how to use arbitration to manage risk in supply chains, and tips on international enforcement, as well as in-person workshops in our London office on cyber security incident response and on the challenges for in-house counsel when carrying out investigations.

Recent Insights

UK Supreme Court finds sales of trade marked goods from US website targeted UK consumers for infringement purposes

The Supreme Court's decision provides further clarity on the issue of targeting, and strengthens the position of brand owners seeking to prevent infringing products being sold to UK consumers from non-UK platforms and websites.
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The UK's SDR: which sustainability labels can fund managers use?

The question fund managers of sustainable funds should now consider is whether they wish to opt in to using one of the FCA's new sustainability labels for their fund and, if so, which one.
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Spring Budget 2024: UK government confirms introduction of the Reserved Investor Fund – albeit in restricted form

As part of the Spring Budget, it was announced that a new investment fund would be introduced for professional and institutional investors. The government's expectation is that it will be particularly attractive for investment in commercial real estate.
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HMRC changes its view on VAT recovery of cladding remediation works

Whether VAT is chargeable on remedial costs, at what rate, and whether developers can recover are key questions for many businesses and, up until now, there has been some controversy over the costs of cladding remediation and its input tax recovery.
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EU agrees watered-down Platform Workers Directive – what will platforms and staffing companies need to prepare for?

While the measures are not as far-reaching as once expected, it may become easier for a wide range of gig workers and independent contractors to claim employment rights against platforms and other intermediaries.
Read more >

Upcoming Events

Disputes Week

18-22 March | Webinars and in-person events

Activism in the current climate: should directors and their advisors worry about ESG?
18 March | Webinar | 09:00-09:30

The rise of competition litigation and collective actions
18 March | Webinar | 15:00-15:30

Recent civil procedure developments for in-house lawyers
19 March | Webinar | 09:00-09:30

What next for building safety disputes?
20 March | Webinar | 09:00-09:30

Arbitration to manage risks in supply chains: why and how?
20 March | Webinar | 15:00-15:30

Cyber security: effective incident response
21 March | In-person workshop | 08:30-11:00

Investigations: challenges for in-house legal
21 March | In-person roundtable | 12:00-14:00

Find me the money: international enforcement tips and tricks
22 March | Webinar | 09:00-09:30

Find out more >

Eating Compliance for Breakfast | European Accessibility Act

19 March | 09:00-09:30

This session focuses on the obligations that platforms and other businesses will have to make their services more accessible to people with disabilities, under the European Accessibility Act (the first pan-European piece of antidiscrimination legislation that applies outside of employment) which comes into force mid-2025.
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Staffing supply chains | What HMRC enforcement are we seeing and what can you do to reduce the risk?

19 March | 12:30-13:30

An update on HMRC's recent ramping up of enforcement, including IR35, agency tax legislation, Criminal Finances Act compliance, expenses and managed service companies.
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Maximising your workforce's potential and considering age without limits

20 March | 09:30-10:15

Research shows that half of people aged over 50 in England experienced age discrimination in the last year. What can businesses do to tackle ageism? Our experts, with the Centre for Ageing Better, discuss the issues.
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Eating Compliance for Breakfast | Health and Safety incidents - RIDDOR reporting

21 March | 09:00-09:30

A discussion of the reporting requirements under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations and best practice for managing health and safety incidents in the workplace. 
Register now >