JULY 2014

Legal Focus

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UK Employment Law - The New Flexible Working Regime

Under the new regime, employees with at least 26 weeks continuous employment will be able to make a request for flexible working for any reason and the procedure to be followed is now far less prescriptive. The employee triggers the new procedure by making a written request and the employer then has a three-month period (which can be extended by agreement) within which to consider the request, discuss it with the employee (if appropriate) and notify the employee of the outcome. The employer must deal with the application in a reasonable manner. Requests cannot be made under the new regulations by agency workers, self- employed contractors or consultants. Only one request can be made in any 12 month period.

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International Trust Litigation – Fairness and Equality of Division

On 5 March 2008, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal handed down the landmark LKW v DD judgment which was upheld by Hong Kong’s highest court, the Court of Final Appeal (CFA), in 2010. The court threw out the ‘reasonable requirements’ principle and adopted the ‘new approach’ of equality of division following the English decisions of White and Miller and McFarlane. The adoption of ‘fairness’, equality of division, and the dismissal of discrimination against the “homemaker” has had an immediate and far-reaching impact in Hong Kong on the level of financial awards imposed by court order in so-called ‘big money cases’.

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In addition, this month’s Legal Focus takes a look at Commercial Services and Sweepstakes and Contests.

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