Look away, legal eagles: Revenue and staff numbers slipped at the UK’s 100 largest law firms in 2016 September 2, 2016 This year has not been kind to those with a head for all things legal, as both revenue and staff numbers dropped at the UK's 100 largest law firms. The firms raked in a combined turnover of £20.2bn this year, a slip of two per cent compared with the £20.6bn reported last year. Meanwhile, the number [...]
GMB union goes to war with Addison Lee over driver dismissals August 25, 2016 The GMB union has launched legal action against London private car hire company Addison Lee over the dismissal of three drivers. The challenge – which relates to contracts that were terminated earlier this year – is understood to be a test case for the union which could lead to action against hundreds of former drivers. The drivers were dismissed following protests [...]
As an EY survey finds financial firms shrugging off Brexit fears, is the City being too sanguine about leaving the EU? August 22, 2016 Professor Richard Portes, academic director at AQR Asset Management Institute, London Business School, says Yes. Of course nobody predicted an immediate fall in output and employment. But those will come. Both vacancies and investment plans are already down. Sterling has fallen a lot, and short positions are up, with the exchange rate set to fall further. [...]
London job market flounders in July, but hope on the horizon for red tape workers August 10, 2016 London's job slowed to a snail's pace in July, new figures out today show, but one particular set of skills may find itself in hot demand in the not too distant future. Morgan McKinley's London Employment Monitor for July found available jobs had decreased by 12 per cent month on month, while the number of professionals seeking [...]
Don’t worry Manchester United fans, there is no legal case against Jose Mourinho over treatment of Bastian Schweinsteiger August 5, 2016 Jose Mourinho's freezing out of Bastian Schweinsteiger from the Manchester United first team has been described as criminal by a member of world player's union FifPro yet sports law experts in the UK believe there is no legal case against the manager. Slovenia FifPro member Dejan Stefanovic made headlines yesterday by telling the BBC that Schweinsteiger should "file [...]
Meetings in the mud: Can you work from a festival? August 5, 2016 Do you like to listen to music while you work? Listening to Spotify in the office is one thing, but what about answering emails at a festival? As more and more businesses embrace the agile, flexible working culture, more employees are free to work from their location of choice. But is it really acceptable to [...]
Beware the unintended consequences of Theresa May’s flawed executive pay proposals July 21, 2016 Theresa May is absolutely right to ensure that the UK does not work for just “the privileged few”. But her suggestions for reforming executive pay – while well-intentioned – are not backed up by evidence and may well backfire. Before addressing the specific suggestions, let’s first ask whether the government should be intervening in the first [...]
Uber’s heading to the UK courts over workers’ rights July 20, 2016 Uber and its drivers will head to court today to battle it out in a legal case over workers' rights. The hearing at an employment tribunal is due to begin in London and is expected to rule on the status of some Uber drivers in the first case of its kind in the UK. The action [...]
The strength of the UK’s legal eagles heightens need for favourable Brexit deal July 20, 2016 Five successive years of growth in the legal sector increases the need to secure the best business deal possible in Brexit negotiations, a study out today argues. The research by TheCityUK found gross fees for UK-based legal services firms had risen by 1.3 per cent to £30.9bn in 2014-15, while the sector contributed £25.7bn – or 1.6 per cent of GDP – [...]
Raising finance carefully is more vital than ever post-Brexit July 12, 2016 There's no getting away from it: Brexit has been a shock to the system. Most entrepreneurs – particularly founders of fast-growing firms – wanted the result to go the other way, but they’re optimistic by nature, brushed themselves down and are getting on with business. There’s still plenty of waiting to come, though, with government and [...]