Federal Court ruling on changes to bonus plan Under Swiss law, an employer needs their employees’ consent to change the terms of a bonus plan, unless the changes are entirely to the employees’ benefit. In a recent case, the Swiss Federal...

Gender pay gap reporting The Government will introduce new regulations requiring larger employers, with at least 250 employees, in the private and voluntary sectors to publish details of their gender pay gap (the difference in pay between male and f...

Supreme Court restricts contact with employees’ private phone numbers and email addresses Spain’s Supreme Court has declared void a clause in a contract of employment which obliges employees to give their private mobile numbers or privat...

Recent legislation has amended the Labour Codes, most notably regarding fixed term employment, post-termination restrictions and parental leave.New rules on definite period (ie fixed term) employment contracts and other Labour Code amendments will c...

The assignment of employees’ duties under the recent Legislative Decree no. 81 of 2015 On 25 June 2015 the Legislative Decree no. 81 of 2015 (“the Decree“) came into force. The Decree completely revises the regulation of work relat...

Accidents at work under the influence of alcohol or drugs On 1 July 2015 changes were made to the compulsory health insurance system, under which individuals are eligible for certain payments if they are injured in an accident at work. Before 1 July...

Minimum wage: Further relaxation of the documentation obligations Since the statutory minimum wage of EUR 8.50 per hour was introduced, the administrative obligations in respect of the minimum wage continue to frustrate employers. Companies wit...

New provisions relating to staff representatives OverviewFrom 17 August 2015 new provision, referred to as the “Rebsamen Law” (the “Law”), was introduced. It is aimed at modernising and strengthening relationships with staff ...

Government plans significant changes to labour legislation For some time the government and labour market organisations have been trying, without success, to agree on reforms to employment rights in Finland. Now, in an attempt to break the deadlock,...

The Supreme Court judgment in the Alstom case In the ALSTOM case, the judgment of the Supreme Court (No 3-2-1-80-15) dated 21 September 2015 deals with how to make a claim for employment litigation costs. In addition, the judgment explains the damag...

Determining exempted employment categoriesAustrian employment law exempts certain  part-time employment from payment of health, pension and unemployment insurance contributions. In 2015 the maximum monthly salary is EUR 405.98 per month or EUR ...

Court expands discrimination lawThe CJEU has ruled that EU law covers indirect discrimination by association - a decision which expands the reach of discrimination law. It decided that an individual may claim indirect discrimination under the EU Rac...

Introduction to Abu Dhabi Global Market – Employment Regulations In 2013 the Abu Dhabi Global Market (“ADGM”) was established as a financial free zone in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Since then, the ADGM has implemented its own rules and regul...

Labour Brokers and Clients: The Assigned roles of Employers In recent years South Africa has experienced progressively stricter regulation on the use of labour brokers (also known as employment agencies in some other jurisdictions - placing workers ...

Working hours in Hong Kong Some employers are surprised to learn that (save for rules regarding children, young persons in industrial undertakings, statutory holidays and rest days) there is no regulatory framework restricting or monitoring standard...

EU consultation on changing collective consultation lawOver the summer, the EU Commission’s consultation on strengthening existing EU legislation on worker information and consultation closed and the outcome is currently awaited. Three Directi...

A digital age of evidence in employment disputes In China, when an employer wishes to terminate an employee’s employment, the burden of proof falls on the employer to show that the statutory grounds for justifying the termination have been met...

Supreme Court rulings on fixed term and overtime work In its recent rulings, the Supreme Court of Estonia has clarified appropriate compensation for the early termination of a fixed term employment contract and also how to determine overtime work wh...

Boris Johnson and his fiancee Carrie Symonds have named their newborn son Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas, partly as a tribute to two of the intensive care doctors who they said had saved the British leader’s

South Korean students will return to school starting next week, officials said yesterday, as the country seeks a return to normal life after a significant drop in new coronavirus cases in recent days.

IRAN’S parliament has passed a bill allowing the government to slash four zeros from the rial, Iranian state media reported yesterday, after a sharp fall in the value of the currency as a result of crippling

As governments around the world consider how to monitor novel coronavirus outbreaks while reopening their societies, many are starting to bet on smartphone apps to help stem the pandemic.

Italians strolled in the park, grabbed take-out cappuccinos and paid their respects to the astonishing number of dead as the European epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic gingerly woke up from the continent’s

The White House coronavirus task force will wind down as the country moves into a second phase that focuses on the aftermath of the pandemic.

Venezuela will try two Americans captured during a failed bid by mercenaries to invade the country, President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday, as the United States vowed to “use every tool available”

From 1 October 2008, all directors of UK companies have a duty under the Companies Act 2006 to avoid actual or potential conflicts of interest. The new law places a positive onus on the director to avoid these conflict situations; it is not sufficie...

Lehman Brothers, the fourth largest investment bank in the US, filed for bankruptcy this morning.   If you have funds which have entered into OTC derivatives contracts with Lehmans under an ISDA Master Agreement you may be considering your posi...

Changes to The Child Trust Fund Regulations and ISA Regulations have been proposed. Both sets of amended regulations, which are currently in draft form, are expected to be finalised later this month and come into force on 6 April 2015. The changes ...

Updated AIFMD Q&As The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published an updated version of its Q&A paper on the application of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). This publication was released on...

The SFC Moves to Regulate Depositaries of SFC-authorised Collective Investment Schemes In September 2019, the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (the “SFC”) issued a Consultation Paper (available here) setting out its proposa...

The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (“SFC”) issued two circulars on 7 January 2020 providing guidance on its approach to licensing private equity (“PE”) firms and family offices to carry out regulated activitie...

Bracken Hill Court at Ackworth Management Company Ltd v Dobson [2018] UKUT 333 (LC) The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has upheld an appeal from a management company and determined that contracts of less than 12 months are not Qualifying Long T...

Ashtead Plant Hire Company Limited v Granton Central Developments Limited [2019] CSOH 7 This case involves a landlord and tenant dispute over the proper construction of the rent review provisions in a lease of commercial premises.  The parties ...

Shirley Ann Thorpe v (1) Harald Nobert Frank (2) Lesley Frank [2019] EWCA Civ 150 The Court of Appeal has recently found that by paving an area an individual had done enough to establish that she had acquired the land by adverse possession. The Clai...

Alexander Kuznetsov v Camden London Borough Council [2019] EWHC 805 (Ch) In an application for relief from sanctions, the Claimant tenant, Kuznetsov, persuaded the High Court that it had a real prospect of establishing at trial that a letter between...

Windsor-Clive v Rees [2019] EWHC 1008 (Ch) In considering the scope of a landlord’s reserved right to enter premises let to their tenant “for all reasonable purposes”, the High Court has held that the right to do so must be...

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, James Brokenshire, has published the Government’s response to the consultation on leasehold reform. Described as delivering on the Government’s manifesto pledge to &ld...

Gateway Assets Limited v C.V Panels Limited [2018] CSOH 48 A tenant had a ten year lease with a break option after 5 years, which could be exercised by giving not less than 6 months’ written notice to the landlord. When the tenant served a bre...

Beaumont Business Centres Limited v Florala Properties Limited [2018] EWHC 2112 (Ch) The High Court was not persuaded that Beaumont, the Claimant, should be precluded from continuing with its claim for an injunction to restrict works which threatene...

Deepak Abbhi v Richard John Slade (trading as Richard Slade & Co) [2019] EWCA Civ 2175 The Court of Appeal recently unanimously held that an oral promise by a son-in-law to give money to his father-in-law to pay legal fees was an indemnity and n...

From Gourmet 2009. -- posted by Vicki Kaye

A nice comfort food. The Mexican seasoning gives it an unusual twist. -- posted by Andtototoo

This recipe from Arnold's Country Kitchen cafe in Nashville, Tenn was published in the Nov 2009 Southern Living magazine. It is definitely different and good. -- posted by Bren in LR

I Love Biscuits and I have been searching for a quick and easy recipe to make in my countertop convection oven. Living in a hot climate – I don’t want to heat up the house with the regular oven and besides, I only want a small batch. This is a quick and easy Drop-Biscuit recipe that makes six biscuits. Plus, you can make it Vegan if you like! -- posted by Billy R.

Whether it is caused by a medical condition, working hours, shift patterns or personal circumstances, fatigue is a health and safety risk that can often be overlooked, but must be controlled by employers.  Many well-known major accidents such a...

 Amy Sadro, Principal Associate in Eversheds Sutherland’s Environment, Health and Safety Team and Dr Chris Nelson, a Principal Consultant and specialist in noise and vibration at Finch Consulting give their views on recent HAVS prosecutio...

In September 2019, the UK government introduced new legislation which will change the way in which food businesses are required to provided allergen information. The new legislation, which comes into force on 1 October 2021, requires food businesses...