Tughans Solicitors

How do I Handle it? – Managing employee grievances during the disciplinary process

Tughans employment team provide practical answers to unusual, sensitive or complex work-related queries. This article is aimed at HR professionals and other managers who may need to deal, from time to time, with the less commonplace disputes at work; issues that may, if handled incorrectly, lead to claims for discrimination, constructive dismissal or some other... Read More

Six candles for GDPR and six tips for Reviews

25 May 2024 saw the six-year anniversary of the coming into force of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). Billed as the strongest privacy and security law in the world, the regulation modernised data protection laws and has raised privacy standards throughout Europe and beyond.   Six years on from its introduction (and following... Read More

Mental Health issues in the Workplace – guidance for employers

During mental health awareness week, Tughans’ employment team reflect on the guidance available for employers on responding to mental health issues in the workplace.  Most employers increasingly appreciate the importance of creating a wellbeing culture and supporting their employees’ mental health, with the additional benefits for staff performance and retention. Many will showcase mental health... Read More

Decarbonisation reporting in public contracts – implications for SMEs

The Cabinet Office has published guidance on the Procurement Policy Note (PPN) published by the Cabinet Office in June 2021 (PPN 06/21). PPN 06/21 established the requirement for suppliers bidding for major government contracts (over £5million) to commit to achieving Net Zero by 2050 and publish a Carbon Reduction Plan. The guidance provides standard terms... Read More

Is change ahead for the UK’s most unpopular tax? Exploring changes to the “non-dom” rules for IHT and other options for reform.

The Spring Budget published on 6 March 2024 announced fundamental reform to the UK’s existing system of non-domicile and remittance based taxation.  From 6 April 2025, the UK is to move to a residency based regime intended to increase tax revenues and reduce complexity for those navigating it.  The finer details of the enacting legislation... Read More

How Do I Handle it? – practical answers to difficult workplace scenarios

Tughans employment team provide practical answers to unusual, sensitive or complex work-related queries. This article is aimed at HR professionals and other managers who may need to deal, from time to time, with the less commonplace disputes at work; issues that may, if handled incorrectly, lead to claims for discrimination, constructive dismissal or some other... Read More

Anti-greenwashing rules for Financial Services come into force on 31 May 2024

The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new anti-greenwashing rule (ESG 4.3.1 R) takes effect from 31 May 2024. Last week, (23 April) the FCA Issued its Finalised Guidance FG24.3 on the anti-greenwashing rule.  The rule will have far reaching implications for the Financial Services sector and we are likely to see an increase in strategic environmental... Read More

Energy Efficiency Capital Grant Open for Applications

From yesterday, Monday 29 April 2024, the Energy Efficiency Capital Grant (“EECG”) issued by Invest NI opened for applications. The EECG will aim to help Northern Ireland businesses reduce energy costs by offering support to buy and install energy efficient equipment that reduces energy and carbon emissions. In this article we’ve taken a (non-exhaustive) look... Read More

The ‘Hybrid’ Approach To Pay Less Notices – A Lidl Bit Risky

A common practice adopted by Employers in the construction industry is to skip the process of serving a Payment Notice on a payee, and instead wrap the valuation of the work conducted into its Pay Less Notice. This effectively means that the Pay Less Notice is a ‘hybrid’ document, containing both the payers valuation of... Read More

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism – the next Brexit standoff?

The UK Government has launched its Consultation on the introduction of a UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (“CBAM”) which closes on 13 June 2024. EU CBAM came into force in October 2023 with the introduction of reporting requirements, with full implementation in 2026. Both the EU and UK CBAMs will have serious implications for NI... Read More