Resources

Expertise, events, news and updates –
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Boris Johnson’s resignation and data protection reform:  a moment of challenge for UK data adequacy?

Our head of Data and Privacy, Eleonor Duhs, considers what Johnson’s resignation could mean for upcoming legislative changes. Following Boris Johnson’s resignation as leader of the Conservative Party, the principle which applies (and which Boris Johnson has reportedly accepted) is that no new major policies should be brought forward until a successor is appointed.  The …
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Bates Wells recognises challenges faced by transgender employees when seeking to evidence a right to work

Our immigration team are working to persuade UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to close a gap in their guidance for employers who wish to employ someone that recently changed gender. Introduction Transgender people often face challenges when documenting their gender identity. A specific barrier has been identified by our Immigration Team in that current UKVI …
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UK Electoral Commission head to join law firm Bates Wells as consultant

Bob Posner, until recently the chief executive of the Electoral Commission, is joining law firm Bates Wells’ top-ranked Politics, Elections and Campaigning team as a consultant. Bob has decades of experience in the political arena, working across the administration of elections and referendums, through to the regulation of political and campaigning finance rules. He is …
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Immigration Update: Only three more months to go…

Only three more months to go until the transitional arrangements for right to work checks end on 30 September 2022.  Below are a few important things to know as a UK employer: From 1 October 2022 employers can no longer rely on the transitional right to work check arrangements brought in due to the Pandemic …
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UK Covid-19 Inquiry Terms of Reference now finalised

Yesterday (28 June 2022), the Prime Minister finalised the Terms of Reference, which are now available in full on the Inquiry’s website. There are certain small changes from the text proposed by Baroness Hallett which were, according to the Prime Minister’s Written Ministerial Statement to the House of Commons yesterday, proposed by the devolved governments and agreed with …
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Bates Wells advises Ripple Energy on large UK co-operative share offer

Bates Wells has advised on the £13m co-operative share offer to fund Ripple Energy’s second wind farm – the largest ever UK co-operative share offer achieved in a single raise (now superseded by Ripple Energy in 2023) – and will enable construction of an 18.8MW wind farm in Scotland. Owning shares in a Ripple wind …
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Corporate foundation: health check

Has it been some time since your corporate foundation was set up, and since then the foundation has become more active and ambitious? Are you up to date with the latest guidance between charities and non-charities, and particularly how it applies to corporate foundations? Do you have a clear understanding of potential areas of risk …
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Data: a new direction?

Boris Johnson’s letter to the Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform (“TIGRR”) thanked them for “re-imagining” the UK’s approach to regulation and “making best use of our recently rediscovered freedoms”. That work would require clearing “a path through the thicket of burdensome and restrictive regulation that has grown up around our industries over the …
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Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) – delivering cash benefits to local not-for-profit sport

By Thea Longley and Richard Baldwin This year marks the 20th anniversary of the introduction of the CASC scheme, which provides a number of tax benefits to amateur sports clubs.  Clubs registered with HM Revenue & Customs as CASCs have received an estimated £350 million in cash benefits since 1st April 2002. The scheme’s annual …
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Faith-Based Organisations: 2022 Update

Welcome to our annual faith-based update. It’s been another hugely challenging year for church and faith communities. While lockdown restrictions may have eased, the repercussions of the pandemic are ongoing. Some faith communities are struggling to remain engaged with their members, and stretched as they are on the frontline of responding to various crises including …
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The Be a Better Business Handbook

It can be hard to know where to start when thinking about embedding purpose into your organisation. However – we’ve done it ourselves – and as the first UK law firm to be a B Corp, we are proof that finding the right mix of purpose and profitability is achievable. Our team of expert lawyers …
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Is the government’s legislative agenda creating risks for the UK economy?

The free flow of personal data across borders is essential to the modern economy. But reforms to our data protection and human rights frameworks, as well as sweeping changes to laws we retained from when we were members of the EU, could put EU-UK data flows at risk at a time when the UK economy …
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