Employment, Pension and Benefits

Briefings in English - 2010

This briefing explains why pension deficits can be a critical issue in a corporate restructuring and how pension scheme trustees, the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund can be key players in the process and outcomes. (August 2010)

On 7 July 2010, the European Parliament approved various amendments to the Capital Requirements Directive in relation to bankers’ remuneration. The Council of the European Union is expected to rubber-stamp these amendments in the coming days. The European Parliament has described the amendments as ‘some of the strictest rules in the world on bankers’ bonuses’. This briefing examines the new remuneration provisions, their scope and their impact on UK national law. (July 2010)

Employers should consider asking their pension scheme trustees to pass a resolution to retain a power for the scheme to make payments to employers. Trustees would need to pass this resolution before 6 April 2011, but would need to give three months’ notice to members – so early action may be advisable. (July 2010)

Since 6 April 2010, employers have been able to use two new easements during corporate restructurings to manage pension scheme debts that can arise under section 75 of the Pensions Act 1995. This briefing analyses the changes, discusses whether they will be helpful to employers and considers how they compare to tried and tested strategies for managing section 75 debts and the role of trustees if employers choose to use these new tools. (July 2010)

On 18 June, Royal Decree Law 10/2010, dated 16 June, came into force, approving the labour law reform in Spain. It has been agreed that it will be processed as a law and it is very likely that there will further changes in the near future, which we will let you know about. The main aspects of the reform are the introduction of measures aiming to limit fixed-term employment and encouraging indefinite employment, changes related to the termination of employment agreements and changes to improve internal flexibility within companies. (June 2010)

The budget contained few surprises from an employment, pensions and benefits perspective. The increase in capital gains tax is less than had been feared and seems to have been influenced by a desire to maximise the amount of tax received while still encouraging capital investment. Some had been concerned that bank payroll tax would be re-introduced. This did not happen but the government has announced that it will consult on a remuneration disclosure scheme. This briefing gives a summary of the main points of interest.

The FIFA World Cup 2010 starts on Friday 11 June and employers are making contingency plans for staff who want to watch their favourite team play. The key consideration for employers is how to be fair when managing requests for time off but also having a strategy for minimising and dealing with ‘unexplained’ absenteeism.

Recent changes to Russian immigration law will introduce significant changes to the procedure for obtaining work permits for foreign employees. This briefing looks at some of these changes, including the introduction of the ‘highly-qualified professional’ category of foreign employees. (May 2010)

Recent studies confirm that the scramble for global talent is high on employers’ agendas. Global companies that were largely introspective, focusing on cost-cutting and downsizing during 2009, are now considering how best to adapt to dealing with those long-awaited ‘green shoots of recovery’. The steps taken during 2009 to reduce head count may not have left companies with the right blend of employee skill and experience to maximise the opportunities for recovery and therefore the search for global talent is now on. Employers are considering not just their own key staff, but, more important, are looking at the talent of their competitors.This guide gives a flavour of the types of protections available and associated issues that arise in some key jurisdictions. (April 2010)

This guide uses a question and answer format to present a number of the non-redundancy options being considered by businesses, and raises both practical and legal implications across a number of jurisdictions in Europe and Asia. (April 2010)

As businesses are positioning for recovery, global employers remain confronted with the co-ordination of international headcount reduction exercises, making it necessary for them to have a basic understanding of the legal framework in major jurisdictions around the globe. Our guide highlights some of the key legal features of implementing a mass redundancy in a number of European and Asian jurisdictions. We hope you will find it useful in giving you a sense of the differences between the jurisdictions and where the pitfalls in not understanding the obligations lie. (March 2010)

An employer may have good reasons to delay notifying the trustees of a defined-benefit scheme, the Pensions Regulator or scheme members about a proposed transaction – especially if the transaction is not yet finalised. But failure to notify may be a breach of the employer’s legal obligations and can have significant consequences. This briefing explains the legal obligations to notify these parties and when these may be triggered. (March 2010)

Judgment was handed down yesterday by the High Court in Tullett Prebon v BGC ([2010]EWHC 484), the much anticipated ‘team move’ case involving rival inter-dealer brokers. BGC, Mr Lynn (President and senior officer in Europe) and Mr Verrier (Executive MD and GM) were found to have entered into an unlawful conspiracy to poach ten brokers and to have induced them to breach their employment contracts. What are being referred to in the press as ‘astronomical’ damages and legal fees are to be determined at a later stage if the parties fail to agree amounts. With the judgment running into some 130 pages this briefing summarises the decision and distils some of the key points arising from it. (19 March 2010)

A loan from a sponsoring employer to a defined-benefit pension scheme can sometimes be an attractive way to provide short-term funding for the scheme. This briefing discusses the UK pension and tax law implications of funding the scheme in this way. (March 2010)

This briefing provides an overview of the issues raised by the limitation on employerrelated investment imposed by section 40 of the Pensions Act 1995. These provisions can be technically difficult, but potentially severe civil and criminal penalties apply for trustees and managers who breach them. There may also be secondary criminal liability for employers who persuade trustees to invest in employer-related investments. (February 2010)

In the Cemex case, the High Court interpreted the meaning of ‘employment-cessation event’ in the Employer Debt Regulations 2005. The impact of this case is that an employer may still be liable to pay a debt under section 75 of the Pensions Act 1995 in the future even if they (purportedly) triggered the debt before 6 April 2008 and discharged it. This briefing explains. (February 2010)

In Independent Trustee Services v Hope the UK High Court rejected a cunning plan to partially buy out benefits before the Ilford defined-benefit pension scheme entered the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF’s) compensatory regime. Although the facts of this case are unusual, the effect of the High Court’s decision is that trustees may not be allowed to consider the existence of the PPF when making some decisions. This briefing explains. (February 2010)

The UK High Court’s decision in HR Trustees v Peter German has made it more difficult to change past defined benefits under the scheme’s amendment power or by direct agreement with employees. This briefing outlines the decision and its implications for other pension schemes. (February 2010)

This briefing looks at the consequences of employers not paying contributions to pension schemes or paying them late. In particular it looks at the notification obligations that may arise and the sanctions that could be imposed on employers. (January 2010)

Briefings in German - 2010

Das Bundesarbeitsgericht hat angekündigt, seine Rechtsprechung zum Grundsatz der Tarifeinheit aufzugeben. Die Bundesregierung prüft zurzeit, ob eine gesetzliche Festschreibung des Grundsatzes der Tarifeinheit im Tarifvertragsgesetz möglich ist. Bis dahin stellt sich die Frage, welche Auswirkungen die Rechtsprechungsänderung auf die Praxis hat und welche Reaktionsmöglichkeiten bestehen. (August 2010)

Die Debatte um die Begrenzung der Kosten für die Insolvenzsicherung betrieblicher Versorgungseinrichtungen wird auch im Jahr 2010 das beherrschende Thema in der betrieblichen Altersversorgung sein. Neben der Frage der Verfassungskonformität der derzeitigen Verbeitragung und dem Modell für eine völlig neue Beitragsstruktur des PSVaG steht insbesondere die Umstellung von Direktzusagen auf Pensionsfondszusagen im Fokus der Diskussion. Mittelfristig ist ferner zu erwarten, dass auch der europäische Gesetzgeber nicht untätig bleibt und gegebenenfalls eine völlig neue Form der Insolvenzsicherung oktroyiert. (Mai 2010)

Ist die Unterrichtung des Arbeitnehmers über einen bevorstehenden Betriebsübergang fehlerhaft, besteht das Widerspruchsrecht aus § 613a BGB nach dem Übergang fort. Der Arbeitnehmer verwirkt das Widerspruchsrecht jedoch, wenn er mehrere Monate nach Erhalt des Unterrichtungsschreibens über sein Arbeitsverhältnis disponiert, beispielsweise indem er einen Aufhebungsvertrag mit dem Betriebserwerber schließt. Dieses Briefing erläutert die Grundsätze der Verwirkung. (Januar 2010)

Briefings in Spanish - 2010

El pasado 18 de junio entró en vigor el Real Decreto Ley 10/2010, de 16 de junio (RDL) por el que se aprueba la reforma del mercado laboral. Habiéndose acordado su tramitación como proyecto de ley, es de esperar que tengan lugar algunas otras modificaciones, de las que se informará en el momento oportuno. Los aspectos más significativos de la reforma son la introducción de medidas tendentes al endurecimiento de la contratación temporal y al fomento de la contratación indefinida, así como modificaciones relativas a la extinción del contrato de trabajo por causas objetivas y modificaciones cuyo objetivo es aumentar la flexibilidad interna en las empresas. (Junio 2010)

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