Updates

COVID-19: competition, procurement and state aid

Understandably it might not be at the forefront of your minds but we thought it important to highlight that there have been some public announcements regarding UK competition law, the EU public procurement and State Aid frameworks during the COVID crisis. The public announcements provide guidance and may go a little way to ease pressure …
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Citizenship applications – high fees for children found to be unlawful

The fee to register a child as a British citizen is £1,012. The high level of the fee, which even applies where a child has a legal entitlement to register as British, has prevented many children from applying for citizenship because their families simply cannot afford to pay. The administrative cost for processing these applications is …
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Charity Commission issues governance alert to large service-providing charities

On 25 June, the Charity Commission issued a regulatory alert to the leaders of large service-providing charities.  The Commission has sent the alert to charities which have the following profile: The alert follows a series of Charity Commission investigations into household name charities which found governance and safeguarding failings. If your charity meets this profile …
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Charity & Social Enterprise Update | Summer 2020

In the Summer issue of our Charity & Social Enterprise Update: If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised in this Update, please contact our Charity team.
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Raising Equity Finance – Ten SEIS and EIS pitfalls to avoid

The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (“SEIS”) and the Enterprise Investment Scheme (“EIS”) provide an array of attractive tax incentives to investors and have proved to be a useful tool for start-up trading companies and higher-risk trading companies looking to raise equity finance. The SEIS rules are designed to mirror the EIS rules (but there are …
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Charities and cybercrime

In recent weeks we have heard much about the threat to the public and private sectors from COVID-19-related cyber-attacks. Charities face the same threat. In this guest article, Alan Bryce, Head of Development, Counter Fraud and Cybercrime at the Charity Commission for England & Wales highlights the commission’s work in this area. In October 2019 …
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June Quarter Day – Help!

The June quarter day is in two days’ time. It has been an interesting three months since the March quarter day – the country is slowing coming out of lockdown, with restrictions easing, more freedom in our movements and the staggered re-opening of businesses, notably retail, in staggered phases. However, have there been any changes …
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Dispute Resolution Guides

We have prepared certain guides to assist clients in respect of certain aspects of dispute resolution/litigation, but please note that these guides are of a general nature and should not be relied upon in place of legal advice appropriate to specific circumstances. Guide to Adjudication Guide to Arbitration Guide to Disclosure Guide to Enforcement Guide …
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Right to Rent – Implications for landlords

The 2014 Immigration Act introduced the ‘Right to Rent’ in the private residential sector. The scheme itself places responsibility on landlords to check that any tenants, age 18 or over, have legal status to reside in the UK. The stakes are potentially high for those found to be non-compliant, who may face an unlimited fine …
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BatesCast: an employer’s guide to immigration today

Following on from the last episode, we’re staying on the theme of immigration, this time considering the main issues for employers in this period of global uncertainty. Chetal Patel, partner in our Immigration team, joins us today to shed some light on the new quarantine rules. We’ll also be talking through right to work checks, …
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Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme – Know How

Here we take a look at the new “Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme” (the “CJRS”), and provide you with some useful know how. This content is based on information and guidance issued by the government as at 12th May 2020, which includes the iteration of the guidance for employers “Check if you can claim for your …
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Immigration post-COVID and post-Brexit

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on immigration related matters has been extensive. Chetal Patel and Lara Blanco Olarte consider how the global pandemic has affected immigration for charities and how the third sector can prepare for the post-Brexit economy.
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