Gowling WLG

This Practice Note provides a high level introduction to electricity and gas trading in Great Britain. It introduces some of the key standard form trading agreements, including Grid Trade Master Agreement (GTMA) Short Term Flat NBP Trading Terms and Conditions 2015 (NBP Terms) and the Standard Terms and Conditions for the Sale and Purchase of Natural Gas for UK Short Term Deliveries at the Beach 2015 (Beach Terms) as well as considering some of the alternatives to these standard forms.

This Practice Note provides an overview of the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated between the UK and the EU, which sets out the legal terms of the UK's withdrawal from the political institutions of the European Union. It outlines the legal and political context of the Brexit deal, summarises the key provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement and associated Political Declaration, examines the transitional arrangements and the process for implementation. It also highlights several public law issues to which the Withdrawal Agreement gives rise.

This Practice Note provides an overview of the key legislation introduced to give effect to Brexit in UK domestic law. Focussing on the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020, the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020 and the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023, this Practice Note examines the key objectives and functions of this Brexit legislation and also highlights a number of public law issues to which Brexit legislation gives rise.

This Practice Note deals with influencer marketing in Canada. It is aimed at social media talent as well as at brand owners engaging in advertising. This Practice Note focuses on applicable regulations, codes and guidelines, what constitutes ‘endorsement’ in Canada, labelling and disclosure requirements, sanctions and oversight for inadequate disclosure. Ownership rights to sponsored content and key provisions in relevant agreements are also covered.

This Practice Note summarises the provisions in the Environment Act 2021 which relate to environmental governance, including the provisions relating to environmental targets, environmental improvement plans, environmental monitoring, a policy statement on environmental principles and statements and reports relating to environmental protection. It also covers the Environment (Air Quality and Soundscapes) (Wales) Act 2024 insofar as it relates to air quality targets.

This Practice Note summarises the role of the Grid Trade Master Agreement (GTMA) standard form for bilateral trading of electricity. It sets out the primary users of the GTMA, the nature of the GTMA and its key provisions, the interface between the GTMA and the Balancing and Settlement Code (BSC) and the common alternative approaches to electricity sale and purchase seen in the Great Britain wholesale market.

This Practice Note examines the employment law and practical issues that may arise when an employer reorganises the structure of its business and how to manage the interaction between those issues. It explains the initial considerations, how to approach redundancy dismissals, dismissals for some other substantial reason (SOSR). It also considers how to defend the claims and the impact of collective redundancy consultation, as well as the impact of TUPE 2006 where a relevant transfer takes place as part of the reorganisation. It also explains how to deal with the overlap between redundancy and TUPE consultation obligations

This Practice Note provides an overview of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (REUL(RR)A 2023), which amended the regime established by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, changing the domestic status and treatment of retained EU law (REUL) and relabelled it ‘assimilated law’. It explains the effect of REUL(RR)A 2023, the changes it has made, how it is interpreted, and the role of the courts in relation to assimilated law. It also examines how REUL(RR)A 2023 interacts with the Withdrawal Agreement and the Trade and Co-operation Agreement between the UK and the EU.

This Practice Note discusses the Retail Energy Code (REC) introduced in early 2019 to govern the retail aspects of the gas and electricity markets in Great Britain (GB) and to implement the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets’ (Ofgem) Switching Programme. It covers the legal basis for the REC, the background to its development and implementation and the key provisions of the REC.

This Practice Note provides an introduction to retained EU law. Retained EU law was a new category of UK domestic law introduced in connection with Brexit, and applied from the end of the implementation period until the end of 2023. This Practice Note provides an overview of the key definitions and concepts relating to retained EU law as it applied from 2021–23, with reference to the relevant provisions of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, and summarises subsequent reform of retained EU law and its re-labelling as assimilated law.

This Practice Note provides an overview of the tax treatment of UK registered pension schemes (in particular regarding income tax and national insurance contributions). It summarises the main tax rules applicable to member and employer contributions, scheme assets (including investment returns on those assets) and scheme benefits paid out of the scheme. It also considers the tax treatment of UK private pension arrangements that are not registered pension schemes.

This Practice Note focuses on the considerations applicable to trustees and employers of a defined benefit (DB) scheme when considering transferring to a DB superfund.

This Practice Note considers how the application of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/246 (TUPE 2006) is relaxed in insolvency situations. It examines relevant insolvency situations, how insolvency proceedings are categorised for TUPE 2006 purposes, Government guidance on the application of TUPE 2006, UK proceedings which are not treated as insolvency proceedings, insolvency instituted with a view to liquidation of the transferor’s assets and not with a view to liquidation of the transferor’s assets, when certain debts do not transfer and when, and how, payments will be made from the National Insurance Fund. It also considers the flexibility to vary terms and conditions when there are relevant insolvency proceedings. It considers the different types of insolvency including bankruptcy, administration, receivership, administrative receivership, company voluntary arrangement (CVA), compulsory liquidation (winding up), members’ voluntary liquidation, creditors' voluntary liquidation, pre-packs.

This Practice Note details the effect of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/246 (TUPE 2006) on the ability to vary or change terms and conditions of employment, including whether the change amounts to a change in terms and conditions, where changes will be void, even with employee consent, where they may be valid, with employee consent, whether the sole or principal reason for the variation is the transfer and what is meant by an economic, technical or organisational reason entailing changes in the workforce (ETO reason). It also covers collective agreements, harmonisation of terms and conditions, the timing of changes, whether there is a time limit after which a variation can be made, changes which are beneficial to the employee and possible solutions when seeking to implement consensual variations.

This Precedent is suitable for use by the trustees (or trustee company) of an occupational pension scheme to record the arrangements put in place to manage their conflicts of interest, in accordance with the Pensions Regulator’s guidance on conflicts of interest.

This Precedent is co-operation agreement between a transferor and transferee providing for pre-transfer collective redundancy consultation to be carried out in relation to proposed redundancies of certain transferring employees, where those redundancies are to be effected post-transfer by the transferee. The agreement reflects the provisions of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/246 (TUPE 2006) and the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A 1992 as amended in January 2014