Osborne Clarke's best legal reads of the week: November 23 - 27
Published on 27th Nov 2015
What are the top reads of the week around the web written by Osborne Clarke people? Which posts have been shared the most via social?
Here’s the best legal reads of the week…
This week we’ve released our “Future Living – The UK Accommodation Market” research report written with FTI Consulting. The findings of the report focus on the current state of the UK accommodation market as it faces increased pressures. Download the report here.
The disruptive nature of sharing economy business models means many businesses in the sector operate in challenging regulatory environments. While it is an attractive area for venture capitalists, they will of course want to know that their investments are on a sound legal footing, and so sharing economy businesses need to be prepared to discuss business and regulatory challenges as part of the VC fundraising. Read more here.
It is estimated that UK consumers will spend over £1 billion on Friday 27 and Monday 30 November, as the phenomena of Black Friday and Cyber Monday once again sweeps over from the Atlantic. This unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season coincides with the days immediately after the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. Read the full blog post here.
As we explained in our recent article (here), the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA) imposes obligations on most large commercial organisations that operate in the UK to publish an annual “Transparency in Supply Chain” (TISC) statement. The government has now published guidance (here) on how it expects businesses to comply with these obligations. The government has made it clear that it expects the MSA to drive a ‘race to the top’, and for organisations to improve the quality of their disclosures each year.
Organisations are not required to guarantee that their supply chains are slavery free, but they do have to explain what steps they have taken to ensure that slavery is not taking place. Read the update here.
Disputes over unforeseen ground conditions are a familiar issue for contractors and employers alike. Standard forms of contract contain clauses which contractors often seek to rely on to claim extensions and additional payment. As two recent cases have demonstrated, however, the courts will expect contractors to have applied a considerable level of foresight before they can rely on such clauses. Read more here.
Following the results of our connected consumer research report, we’ve called on EU regulators to rethink the impact of the forthcoming European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on data generated by health trackers and other wearables, including the Apple Watch, Fitbit and Garmin fitness bands. Read the article here.
Autumn Statement 2015
Following George Osborne’s Autumn Statement this week, Osborne Clarke’s team published a number of updates on what the announcements mean for you. Visit our dedicated Autumn Statement hub here.
