On 17 December 2007, the DWP published Andrew Young’s final report on the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) review of scheme assets which began back in April last year.

At the end of February 2008 new rules were introduced aimed at tightening the existing measures to combat illegal working, by making it more difficult for people to exceed any permission granted to stay in Great Britain or continue working in breach of the conditions imposed on them by the immigration authorities and to make it easier for employers to ascertain whether it is legal for them to engage any prospective employee.

Interested entrepreneurs have claimed that a greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme (ETS) imposes high cost on Community industries.

The House of Lords in the landmark case of Premium Nafta Limited & Others v Fili Shipping Company Limited & Others has unanimously upheld the earlier decision of the Court of Appeal in Fiona Trust Holding Corp Others v Privalov & Others, agreeing that arbitration clauses should be construed liberally and should be treated separately from the agreements in which they are found.

The European Commission’s recently published annual RAPEX report on dangerous consumer products has highlighted a 32% increase in reports on products presenting a serious risk to consumers.

Despite being only two months into 2008, the appeal courts in both the UK and Europe have handed down a number of decisions and opinions that may have a significant impact on employers.

An employee may be entitled to damages for future loss of earnings following her constructive dismissal even though she was off work on extended sick leave (and not being paid) prior to resigning.

HMRC has published Tax Simplification Newsletter 30 to coincide with the deadline for compulsory e-filing by pension scheme administrators which came into effect on October 16 2007. The newsletter provides details on the prescribed format for online filing, lists the forms that will become obsolete from 16 October 2007, contains guidance for schemes affected by the recent postal dispute, and explains who should notify HMRC of a scheme wind up in various different scenarios.

HMRC has published Tax Simplification Newsletter 30 to coincide with the deadline for compulsory e-filing by pension scheme administrators which came into effect on October 16 2007.