As an international financial centre, Hong Kong has one of the most transient and mobile workforces and one of the highest concentrations of information technology (IT) use in the workplace.

What lessons can we learn from the US experience of this legislation to date, and to what extent should directors and their insurers fear or welcome recent UK and European attempts to address these issues?

The key employment legislation to be introduced this year is summarised below. Default retirement age (DRA) – to be abolished on 1 October 2011, with transitional arrangements from 6 April 2011.

The impact of maternity leave on an employer’s obligation to pay bonuses has been a grey area for several years. In particular, it has been unclear whether an employer can pro-rate a bonus so that it is payable only in respect of the period when an employee is at work prior to taking maternity leave or whether bonuses must be paid in full in any event.

The new Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 (the "Regulations") came into force on 1 October 2006 and prohibit discrimination, harassment and victimisation on the grounds of age.

Whilst they still have some distance to go, claimants in an Erin Brockovich-style multi party toxic tort action based on remediation activities in Corby have overcome an important hurdle in their fight for compensation.

The Government published last month its latest consultation paper on the proposed reforms to the UK’s financial regulatory landscape, entitled "A new approach to financial regulation: building a stronger system" (the Paper).

There are a host of tactical considerations to weigh up when a defendant wants to do more than merely defend a claim and decides to add counterclaims to his defence. One of the biggest considerations may be the risk of a successful security for costs application by the claimant.

Are class actions on their way? Growing consumer pressure in various countries has led to procedural reforms intended to facilitate litigation by groups of claimants with similar claims. This inevitably draws comparisons and contrasts with the US class action model.

The Court of Appeal has recently reformulated the "rule in Hastings Bass" which allows the acts of trustees to be set aside in certain circumstances.

At Budget 2009, the Government announced that capital expenditure on cushion gas that functions as plant, in gas storage facilities, qualifies for plant and machinery allowances, but said it would discuss with industry certain technical revenue protection issues arising from such treatment.

This article considers some of the accounting and financial issues that arise out of ART transactions and claims.

In the current economic climate, the threat of company insolvency is in the forefront of many executives' thoughts. For many, however, it is uncharted territory, complete with its own jargon and procedures.

A summary of recent key decisions on employees’ holiday entitlement.

Regulatory and criminal investigations and prosecutions under D&O policies raise important issues.

The English and Scottish Law Commissions published their third Issues Paper on 21 March 2007. It focuses on the position where a mistake or fraud by an insurance intermediary leads to non-disclosure/misrepresentation of information to an insurer.

The recent recall of Cadbury chocolate bars after a salmonella scare illustrates the difficulties in dealing with a potential safety problem with a product. A product recall can be expensive and a manufacturer may well look to pass that cost on to third parties and their recall or liability insurers if they can. This article examines the general duty on a manufacturer to undertake a recall and discusses whether insurers might have to pick up the tab.

The current economic climate has led to a substantial rise in claims against solicitors, including circumstances where solicitors are dragged into proceedings between commercial parties when one fails to honour an agreement.