Our January update covers the following: We look at the changes in immigration policies as Mainland China downgraded COVID-19 from a Class A to a Class B infection with effect from 8 January 2023. Click here for a summary of the changes. We also continue to receive queries arising out of the new COVID-19 rules … Read more

The EAT ruling in Garrod v Riverstone Management Ltd provides welcome reassurance that an employer can initiate ‘without prejudice’ discussions offering a possible consensual termination where an employee has raised a grievance clearly indicating potential legal claims. ‘Without prejudice’ protection can only apply to communications which are a genuine attempt to settle an ‘existing dispute’.  … Read more

Employees can claim automatic unfair dismissal (from day one of employment) where they are dismissed because they left or refused to return to work in circumstances of danger which they reasonably believed to be serious and imminent, and which they could not reasonably have been expected to avert.  In its first Covid-related dismissal case, Rodgers … Read more

Our December update covers the following: An update on the draft law to regulate remote working in Thailand. See here for an overview of the proposed changes. In Hong Kong, the Court of Appeal recently confirmed that standby days are not rest days; employees on standby must still be granted proper rest days even if … Read more

The holiday season is soon approaching and excitement is bubbling with many in Hong Kong planning to travel and celebrate with loved ones. Many employers are putting in place logistical arrangements and coordinating work cover over the holidays which involve putting employees on standby to work if needed – read on for our discussion about … Read more

Our Financial Services Regulatory team have prepared a series of webcasts examining the sweeping reforms to the UK financial services sector recently announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt – known as “the Edinburgh Reforms.” The webcasts explain: • what the key proposals are; • who they might impact; • next steps and … Read more

Before COVID-19 and the recent layoffs at Twitter Inc., the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, Act maintained a low profile; the act did not garner significant media attention, and cases alleging violations of the act were limited and largely routine. An explanation for this, at least in part, is that the WARN Act … Read more

Employers may need to consider adjustments for employees with mental impairments when using interviews to select for redundancy, but this will not necessarily require the employee simply to be slotted into an available alternative role without interview, where this would impact on other at-risk employees. In Hilaire v Luton Borough Council, the EAT ruled that … Read more