Reed Smith LLP (LexBlog United Kingdom)

Recently, climate-related disputes in the UK focused on challenges to government decision-making and policy through the judicial review mechanism. However, the English courts have, to date, made it clear that their role is not to make policy decisions or to decide on government strategy, continuing instead to reaffirm that Parliament has a wide discretion to...

At a time when, globally, insured businesses are under severe financial strain, the availability and extent of their insurance assets take on a new significance. It is significant not just for troubled businesses and their insurers, but also for third parties with potential or actual claims against those businesses.  An insured may, for example, notify...

Why is it important to monitor and preserve business communications conducted through instant messaging platforms on employees’ personal devices? In our recent alert, we look at what is behind the SEC and CFTC’s nearly $2 billion fines on companies failing to monitor and retain business communications on messaging platforms, consider enforcement activity in the UK...

The UK Financial Services and Markets Bill (“FSMB”) and the accompanying explanatory notes were published on 20 July. The FSMB signals upcoming reforms to the regulatory landscape in the UK financial services sector, including issues and challenges brought about by the adoption of technologies and digital assets. Regulating Critical third parties  As certain third party...

On 18 July 2022, the United Kingdom (UK) government set out its new proposals for regulating the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies while promoting innovation, boosting public trust, and protecting data. The proposals reflect a less centralised and more risk-based approach than in the EU’s draft AI Act. The proposals coincide with the introduction...

On 14 July 2022, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) has launched a public consultation on its draft strategic three year plan, titled “ICO25”. The plan sets out a commitment to safeguard the information rights of the most vulnerable individuals with the aim of empowering people to confidently share their information to use today’s market...

Brad Trerise has written a client alert on the recent appeal case made by several large cinema chains over the the payment of outstanding rent for periods of the Coronavirus pandemic, during which they were forced to close. Key Take-aways: Cine UK, Cineworld and various other cinema firms appealed on the basis of a novel argument...

The UK HM Treasury recently published its proposal for regulating critical third parties (“CTP”) to the finance sector, which was followed by the UK financial regulators’ joint Discussion Paper. Why regulating CTPs is necessaryRegulating CTPs to the financial sector is by no means a new concept. The EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (“DORA”), which looks...

Continuing on from our previous commentary on the  Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act (the ‘Act’), the new Register of Overseas Entities introduced by the Act (the ‘Register’) is now expected to be brought into effect on 1 August 2022. We must all be prepared for this new regime. From the 1st August, overseas entities...

As we start the summer holidays, the Supreme Court’s judgment on holiday pay is a timely reminder of the complexities of calculating holiday pay for certain workers. Holiday pay has been a hot topic in UK employment law over recent years, with the latest Supreme Court decision in Harpur Trust v Brazel addressing the calculation...

On 17 June 2022, in response to its consultation in 2021 on the same topic (which we wrote about here), the UK government published more detailed proposals to reform data protection laws in the UK. The response to the consultation can be found here. The intention of the reforms is to achieve greater personal data...

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (‘CAA’) announced last week that it will use the certification standards informing the ‘Special Condition for small-category VTOL aircraft’ (the ‘Special Condition’ or ‘SC-VTOL’), developed by the European Aviation Safety Agency (‘EASA)’, as the basis for the certification of new models of electric vertical take-off and landing (‘eVTOL’) aircraft in...

With train strikes scheduled for next week, and flight cancellations now a regular occurrence, UK workers seem set for a summer of travel disruption. This blog explores the implication for employers, particularly where workers may be stuck abroad, or otherwise unable to get to their place of work. Flight cancellations After two years of restricted...

In Q1 2022, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued 26 enforcement actions. There were 15 monetary penalties issued, ranging between £2k – £200k, and 11 enforcement notices. The majority of the fines and enforcement notices related to unsolicited marketing activities, two related to data subject rights infringements, and one related to a failure to...

On 28 April 2022, the UK Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum (DRCF) published two discussion papers on the benefits and harms of algorithms and on the landscape of algorithmic auditing and the role of regulators, respectively. About DRCF The DRCF consists of four UK regulators: the Competition and Markets Authority, Ofcom, the Information Commissioner’s Office and...

The Queen’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament sets out the UK government’s legislative agenda for the year ahead. This year’s speech took place on 10 May, and in addition to the Queen’s absence, there was notable absence of any employment law reform. In particular, the long-awaited Employment Bill, which was included in the...

Despite resolving to close an exploited loophole on ferry worker pay, the government has stopped short of an amendment to UK national minimum wage legislation. In October 2020, legislative changes extended the minimum wage to most seafarers working on ships in UK waters, regardless of where a ship was registered, but those working on ferries...

As you might know, the new EU SCCs were published last year. The UK has now issued new templates for data transfers that can be used from 21 March 2022. With the UK templates confirmed and available, many multinational organisations with presence in the EU and the UK are gearing up to transition their contracts...

Following the recent adoption of a new draft EU cybersecurity directive (we wrote about it here), the UK government has now also launched a consultation on its proposal to reform the existing UK cybersecurity legislation  (see consultation here). A recap of the current UK cybersecurity law: NIS Regulations One of the key pieces of cybersecurity...

On 7 February 2022, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced that it had launched a consultation on Chapter 3 of its draft guidance on anonymisation, pseudonymisation, and privacy enhancing technologies (PET). Chapter 3 ‘pseudonymisation’ explains what pseudonymisation is, the key differences between pseudonymisation and anonymization, and the benefits of pseudonymisation. The...

Next up in our Real Time Video Chat series, David Ashmore, Carl De Cicco and Alison Heaton explore the latest trends and issues regarding workplace vaccination policies in the UK. The group discusses the current statutory position on mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations, sick pay policies affecting the unvaccinated and what the term “fully vaccinated” means for...

In a judgment handed down by the UK Court of Appeal on 21 December 2021 ([2021] EWCA Civ 1952, available here), Walter Soriano, the claimant, was granted his cross-appeal, giving him permission to serve Forensic News LLC and four other defendants in the United States with proceedings under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The...

In one of the most highly anticipated judgments in recent years, the UK Supreme Court has unanimously rejected a class-action style compensation claim under the Data Protection Act 1998. The Supreme Court decision was handed down as a result of a claim raised against Google LLC (Google) by Richard Lloyd on behalf of four million...

Whether employers can require evidence of vaccination as a condition of employment or attendance in the workplace has been a hot topic in recent months, with many employers (having weighed up various legal obligations and risks) introducing a policy featuring vaccination status to some extent. Yet vaccination status is not stable and the dilemma now...

AI is a hot topic, particularly in the area of patent law and inventorship. On Tuesday 21 September 2021, the UK Court of Appeal ruled that artificial intelligence (AI) cannot be listed as an inventor on a patent application (Thaler v Comptroller General of Patents Trade Marks and Designs [2021] EWCA Civ 1374). Background The present...

On 10 September 2021, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) launched a public consultation on its proposed reforms to the UK’s data protection regime, with a view to assessing the case for legislative change. The consultation comes as the first step in the government’s plans to deliver on ‘Mission 2’ of its...

Controllers and processors can demonstrate their compliance with the GDPR by adhering to approved data protection certification mechanisms established by data protection authorities. The ICO has approved such certification mechanism  for three UK GDPR certification schemes, in the following areas: IT asset disposal – the Asset Disposal and Information Security Alliance (ADISA) have developed a...

The ICO has announced plans to replace its existing employment practices guidance with a more user-friendly online resource. The new resource will be divided into specific topics such as recruitment and selection, employment records, monitoring of workers, and information about workers’ health. In particular, the new guidance aims to: Address the changes in data protection...

The English High Court delivered an important judgement earlier this year in Sanso Rondon v LexisNexis Risk Solutions UK Ltd [2021] EWHC 1427 (QB). You can read the judgment here. Where an organisation based outside the EU is subject to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) either because they sell goods or services to,...

In our previous post here we discussed the ICO’s announcement that it is working on new Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) to facilitate transfers of personal data outside the UK. The new UK SCCs will be known as the UK’s International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA). The ICO has now launched the public consultation on its IDTA...