Updates

Innovate for Impact: How technology can empower charities to drive positive change

At our recent Innovate for Impact: Empowering Charities Through Technology event, panellists discussed how charities are using technology in practice to improve services, better understand the needs of their communities and support their wider objectives. The discussion explored both the opportunities and challenges presented by new technologies, with speakers drawing on their own experiences of …
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Innovate for Impact: Building cyber resilience: Lessons from the front line of a ransomware attack

At our recent Innovate for Impact: Empowering charities through technology event, one message stood out above all others: cyber resilience is not just a technology issue — it is an organisational one. As charities increasingly rely on digital tools to deliver services, engage supporters and manage sensitive information, the impact of a cyber incident can …
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People and Workplace round-up | 9 July

Welcome to our 5-minute round-up of people and workplace updates, hand-picked to help HR teams. Catch up on: Unlawful deductions from wages: bonus entitlement was fixed before an undisclosed cap was imposed by the employer The Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) confirmed that an employer cannot retrospectively limit a bonus by introducing a cap after the …
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The Employment Rights Act 2025 comes into force – what’s next for employers?

This article was first published on 15 January 2026. It has been updated following the Government’s announcement on 3 February 2026 regarding its revised implementation timeline, and again in July 2026 to reflect the annual increase in the statutory cap for compensation payments and provide updates on a number of consultations. On 18 December 2025, …
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Summer internships and UK immigration: practical tips for employers

Summer internships can help organisations access emerging talent, support busy teams and build future recruitment pipelines. But where the intern is an international student or overseas applicant, immigration status should be checked before any offer is made or work begins. Select the appropriate visa route There is no dedicated UK “internship visa”. The right route …
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Real Estate – Summer reflections and looking ahead

In May, over 16,000 real estate professionals attended this year’s UKREiiF conference. A driving conversation was what is on the horizon for the industry. Key themes included: Looking ahead, regulatory changes affecting the industry include: Attending conferences such as UKREiiF allows us to get a good handle on the issues affecting the industry and the …
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Data protection complaints: new obligations and what you need to know

One of the more significant changes made by the Data (Use and Access) Act (the “Act”), is the introduction of a specific right for individuals to make data protection complaints directly to an organisation. Although individuals have always been able to do this (and encouraged to do so by the ICO), there are a couple …
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People and Workplace round-up

Welcome to our round-up of 5 minute People and Workplace updates hand-picked to help HR teams. Catch up on: Unfair dismissal: clarification on contributory conduct relations The Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) has clarified how tribunals should approach reductions to compensation for contributory conduct in unfair dismissal cases and how requests for reinstatement should be dealt …
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Drawing the lines: mutuality, control, and the tax test for employment status

On 1 May 2026, the First Tier (Tax) Tribunal (“FTT”) found that, despite HMRC’s assertions to the contrary, certain referees engaged by Professional Game Match Officials Ltd (“PGMOL”) were self-employed, rather than employed, for tax purposes (see the case here). This decision is the latest (though possibly not the last) installment in a long running …
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House of Lords report on Settlement, Citizenship and Integration: key findings and policy implications

The House of Lords’ Justice and Home Affairs Committee (the ‘Committee’) released its report on Settlement, Citizenship and Integration on 23rd June. This critical report suggests that immigration policy has been too reactive and has been developed in the absence of adequate data, impact assessment, operational capacity or cross-governmental cooperation. Ultimately it opposes key proposals …
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Managing charity financial distress: key takeaways from our roundtable

Following on from our March webinar on Managing Financial Difficulties, Bates Wells and FRP Advisory hosted a Financial Management Roundtable on the 10th June which explored the challenges facing charities in the current funding environment. There was a particular focus on trustee duties in distress, early warning signs of financial difficulty, and practical approaches to …
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The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 – A refresher of the changes to UK data protection law and developments to date

What has happened so far? It has been a year since the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (“DUAA”) received Royal Assent on 19 June 2025. Now that all of the data protection provisions have come into force, with various new pieces of ICO Guidance to supplement them, we wanted to take the opportunity to give …
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