Boux Avenue, Ryanair, J.P. Morgan and Macquarie are among the companies with the widest gender pay gaps April 5, 2018 The deadline for UK companies with more than 250 employees to publish their gender pay gap data closed yesterday, with 10,035 companies having published their reports by the deadline. The government announced in January last year that from this April all employers with more than 250 staff would have to publish annual figures relating to [...]
Why the younger generation can’t afford to buy their own homes in London March 16, 2018 In my 35 years as a property lawyer, I have seen a sea-change in the balance between ownership and renting. When I first cut my legal teeth, the Rent Act 1977 provided security for tenants and controlled rents below true market rate. As a result, there was little incentive for a prospective landlord to add [...]
It’s time to take back control of migration – and auction visas March 15, 2018 Crunch time is approaching. As the UK edges closer to leaving the European Union with a commitment to end freedom of movement, home secretary Amber Rudd must set out Britain’s post-Brexit immigration policy. We need a grown-up debate on immigration but too often, instinct instead of evidence has guided the discussion. Read more: More Cabinet [...]
Dealmakers, investment bankers and lawyers expect to see M&A continuing to rise this year, as global activity starts 2018 with a bang March 14, 2018 Most investment bankers and lawyers expect to see mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and equity capital markets continue to boom in 2018. A huge 77 per cent of respondents to a Thomson Reuters survey said they expected to see M&A activity increase over this year, while 21 per cent predicted it would escalate by more than [...]
Robot bookworms? Artificial intelligence (AI) can now read as well as humans after Microsoft and Alibaba made research breakthroughs January 16, 2018 The march of artificial intelligence continues… Researchers at Microsoft have hailed a “major milestone” for the technology after they managed to create a system using the technology that can read just about as well as a human. They used what’s known as the Stanford Questions Answering Dataset (SQuAD), a tool commonly employed in scientific research [...]
Former UBS trader says bank ordered him to discuss Libor rate as he contests FCA ban January 2, 2018 A former UBS trader barred from financial markets for his part in the Libor fixing scandal has today started an appeal against the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) ban, saying the Swiss investment bank bears the responsibility. Arif Hussein will argue the fixing of Libor (the London Interbank Offered Rate) by other colleagues was the responsibility [...]
Avoiding the financial perils of divorce November 29, 2017 If your marriage has broken down, the emotional strain can take its toll. But splitting your finances can make the divorce process a lot tougher. Last year, the number of divorces among opposite sex couples increased by 5.8 per cent compared to 2015, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics. But worryingly, [...]
Uber has lost its appeal on the employments rights of its drivers November 10, 2017 Uber has lost its appeal on the employments rights of its drivers, the GMB union has said. The company was appealing an employment tribunal ruling that Uber drivers are entitled to basic workers’ rights. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) rejected Uber’s argument that it is merely an agent that connects drivers and passengers, and confirmed [...]
Uber’s gig economy fight could head to UK Supreme Court as employment tribunal appeal ruling coming Friday November 7, 2017 Uber’s gig economy fight could be about to head to Britain’s highest court with a decision due in a landmark case over workers rights coming on Friday. It’s another crucial test that has the potential to upend its business in the UK following a row with regulators which had put its London operations at risk. [...]
Legal services: It’s time to be transparent about pricing October 23, 2017 For too long, pricing has been the thorn in the side for many businesses employing legal services firms. Last year, the Competition and Markets Authority published a damning report on legal services in the UK, highlighting the impenetrable nature of pricing for clients. Around £11-12bn a year is spent by consumers on legal services in [...]