From 23 April 2000, comparative advertisements are only legal if they comply with new regulations which are given as new section 4A of the Control of Misleading Advertisements SI 1988 No 15. A comparative advertisements is one where a product or service is advertised by comparing it with a competitor. It is not necessary for...Read More

The 2000 annual report of the Law Commission provides a useful insight into likely future development of the law. Among developments of potential interest to business are: proposals to introduce a new criminal offence of corporate killing when a business has adopted policies leading to death; compensation for personal injury should be increased by up...Read More

Consumer credit law is amended to reflect changes brought about by Data Protection Act 1998. The Consumer Credit (Conduct of Business) (Credit References) (Amendment) Regs+ SI 2000 No 291 [2000]Read More

The ASB has issed an amendment to Financial Reporting Exposure Draft FRED 21 on accounting policies. The original requirement proposed by FRED 21 was that a business should adopt accounting policies which conform to an industry standard. Whether a practice is an industry standard is a matter of evidence, but that evidence will be persuasive...Read More

The muddy waters of Transfer of Undertakings Regulations have become a little clearer following a recent decision of Employment Appeal Tribunal. These regulations, first enacted in 1981, broadly apply to give employees continuous employment rights when their employer changes. While the principle is simple, applying it in different circumstances has proved immensely complicated with employment...Read More

Employees have limited protection against dismissal for taking part in industrial action which started after 23 April 2000. This broadly means that an employee cannot be fairly dismissed for a legally called official industrial action until it has lasted for eight weeks. The Employment Relations Act 1999 (Commencement No 5 and Transitional Provision) Order SI...Read More

An employee cannot claim damages for work-induced stress unless the employee can show that the stress has resulted in psychiatric illness, or is about to, and this matter has been brought to the attention of the employer. The case also established that an employer is not obliged to protect a worker from psychiatric injury unless...Read More

The average pay for a director of the top 30 companies in the UK was £850,000 in 1999, a 6% increase on the previous year. [2000]Read More

On 1 April 2000, the first anniversary of the national minimum wage, the DTI reported that: 1.5 million workers, 7% of the workforce, received pay rises as a result; 13% of young people have benefited; two-thirds of beneficiaries are women; the pay gap between men and women has reduced by one percentage point; two-thirds of...Read More

Nearly 30% of workers work more than 50 hours a week in 2000, according to a Labour Force Survey report. Incomes Data Services notes that there has been a significant increase in overtime working in recent years, much of which can be attributed to the growth of 24-hour society. [2000]Read More