UK should ban facial recognition technology until clear legal framework is set, new report says June 29, 2022 The UK should ban all use of facial recognition technology until a clear legal framework has been developed to regulate it, an independent report has said. A new report from the Ada Lovelace Institute has said there is an “urgent” need for a new framework governing “biometric” technologies – including facial recognition technologies – before [...]
Slater & Gordon shakes up boardroom after setting out plans to split June 29, 2022 Slater & Gordon has said company chief executive David Whitmore will step down from his position, after setting out plans to split its business in two, with a view to separating its “essential” and “specialist” legal services segments. The law firm said Whitmore – who took up his CEO role in January 2018 – will [...]
Government strengthens judges powers to grant access to online court hearings June 29, 2022 The government has given courts new powers to let journalists and members of the public watch court hearings online. The Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Act, which came into force yesterday, will give judges in courts and tribunals the power to let reporters and others tune into hearings remotely. The new powers come as a [...]
Employers could be sued if they cut remote and hybrid workers salaries, lawyers say June 28, 2022 Employers giving pay cuts to remote and hybrid workers could face discrimination lawsuits, employment lawyers have said. Companies that pay higher salaries to workers who come into the office risk being subject to sexual discrimination lawsuits, due to the fact women are more likely to work from home than men, lawyers told City A.M. Fiona [...]
EY agrees record $100m settlement with US regulator over ethics exam cheating scandal June 28, 2022 EY has reached $100m (£82m) settlement with the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) over claims the Big Four firm’s auditors cheated on accounting exams and later misled the watchdog’s investigators. The US financial watchdog said in a statement that EY had agreed to pay the highest penalty ever imposed on an audit firm by [...]
Russia defaults on international debts after being cut out of financial system by Western sanctions June 28, 2022 Russia yesterday defaulted on its international debts for the first time since the Bolshevik revolution after being unable to pay its creditors due to the impacts of Western sanctions. Ratings agency Moody’s yesterday said Russia’s failure to make payments on two Eurobonds worth $100m officially constitutes a default after its extended deadline to make the [...]
Credit Suisse becomes first Swiss bank to be convicted in Switzerland’s own courts June 27, 2022 Credit Suisse has become the first of Switzerland’s domestic banks to be convicted of a corporate crime in any of the country’s own courts, after a judge today found the Zurich financier guilty of failing to prevent laundering of Bulgarian drug money. A court in the southern Swiss city of Bellinzona fined the bank 2m [...]
UK’s audit watchdog says it ‘strongly supports’ global ESG reporting standards June 27, 2022 The UK’s audit watchdog has said it “strongly supports” the development of high-quality, global standards for reporting on climate and sustainability data. The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it backs plans put forward by the International Sustainability Standard Board’s (ISSB’s) for new worldwide ESG reporting rules. The comments come after the International Financial Reporting [...]
‘We are engulfed in a crisis of epic proportions,’ CBA chair Jo Sidhu tells Old Bailey picket June 27, 2022 Criminal barristers on Monday picketed outside of London’s Old Bailey court as part of a strike over legal aid fees. Hundreds of barristers, solicitors, and other supporters turned up at the picket line outside of the UK’s most famous court, in demanding a 25 per cent increase in legal aid fees. The strike comes as [...]
Graduates set to enter UK’s strongest job market in years as starting salaries soar June 27, 2022 Graduates are set to enter the strongest job market Britain has seen in years, on the back of surging graduate salaries and a major increase in the number of graduate jobs. Graduate salaries are up seven per cent compared to a year ago, while the number of graduate job vacancies is up 59 per cent [...]