Resources

Expertise, events, news and updates –
what interests you?

Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 – extensions relating to corporate governance and insolvency law requirements

In June 2020 the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (“CIGA”) made some temporary changes to insolvency and corporate governance law. These were described in this Bates Wells update – and were originally designed to last until 30 September 2020.  New secondary legislation – now in force – means that many of these changes will …
Read more

Charity & Social Enterprise Update | Autumn 2020

Across the sector, charity and social enterprise boards and leadership teams are considering different ways to tackle the challenges presented by the pandemic. In the new design Autumn issue of our Charity & Social Enterprise Update, we’ve included a range of articles about some of the options, with a focus on collaboration or merger, including: If …
Read more

Modern slavery transparency statements – new obligations announced

The government has announced new measures to expand and clarify the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, with which large businesses, charities, social enterprises and now the public sector will need to comply once brought into force. The response to the transparency in supply chains consultation outlines the intended reforms including the mandatory content …
Read more

Changes in the use classes for property

As part of the Government’s policy to help the country recover and provide businesses with flexibility (the ‘Build Back Better’ initiative), the classification of the use classes for property in England have been amended significantly. To bring about these changes, the Government enacted the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2020, which …
Read more

Personnel Today: Chetal Patel on UK firm’s ability to attract ‘brightest and best’ in doubt

Chetal Patel, partner in our Immigration team has been featured in a recent Personnel Today article. The piece focuses on new figures recently published showing that the number of UK businesses applying for permission to employ skilled overseas workers has remained static since the start of the year and that only 2% of private sector …
Read more

Bates Wells signs up to Race at Work Charter

We’re showing our commitment to racial equality by signing up to the Race at Work Charter. We are pleased to announce we are now a signatory of the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter. The Charter is an initiative designed to improve outcomes for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) employees in the …
Read more

What’s going on with Capital Gains Tax?

Considering the sale of assets or currently involved in a sale process?  Here are our thoughts on possible changes to Capital Gains Tax (“CGT”). A review and the resulting speculation In July this year, the Chancellor asked the Office of Tax Simplification to review CGT. Rishi Sunak’s request came at a time when it was …
Read more

Victoria Hordern writes for Privacy Laws & Business: The breadth and complexities of health data

Victoria Hordern, Partner and Head of our Data Privacy team has recently written an article for Privacy Laws & Business. In this article, Victoria discusses the conditions most likely to be relevant for the processing of health data, and any additional safeguards needed.
Read more

Legacies: holding the line in 1975 Act cases and why charities shouldn’t feel pressurised into settling

Charities play a crucial role in our society. Yet they have never been under so much pressure, facing both reduced income and increased public scrutiny all at a time when their services and support are more needed than ever. We act for many charities, which come to us for help when they find themselves involved …
Read more

Alex Jameson writes on the EDPB’s updated guidance on consent under GDPR

Alex Jameson, Associate in our Data Privacy team has written an article for September 2020’s Privacy & Data Protection Journal . In the article, Alex takes a look at the latest guidance from the European Data Protection Board, and in particular the regulators’ approach to ‘cookie walls’ and ‘scrolling and swiping’ as methods of obtaining …
Read more

5 top tips for navigating the UK’s new ‘quarantine’ rules

As of yesterday, 8 June, most travellers arriving in the UK are required to provide contact information before travelling and self-isolate for 14 days on arrival. Below are our top tips for navigating these new rules, for those travelling to the UK and those supporting employees or others to come to the UK. Work out …
Read more

Philanthropy Impact: Oliver Scutt and Phillippa Holland on COVID-19 – a catalyst for investing in stakeholder capitalism?

Oliver Scutt and Phillippa Holland have recently written for Philanthropy Impact on how the impact of COVID-19 has led to an unprecedented global shutdown as governments raced to halt the spread of the virus, save lives and keep their economies afloat. As the pandemic shockwaves will have a myriad of consequences for years to come, …
Read more