Insight Hub

Employment Law challenges for the construction sector in 2022

In the past, the construction sector hasn’t had to tackle the concept of flexible working. On the face of it, the two do not marry up well, with location-based work, long shifts with hourly pay for site workers, and commercial requirements to get projects done on time and on budget. Legislative change is expected to be announced in Spring 2022 that will make flexible working a right from day one via the new UK Employment Bill.

• 4 March 2022

A trend with the potential to revolutionise UK’s high streets

The covid-19 pandemic, the rise of online shopping and changing consumer habits have forced many retailers to reorganise their portfolio, with several opting to reduce their physical footprint on the high street. As they do so, landlords are left not only with empty units, they are also facing irrecoverable business rates and service charges. As well as the problems being faced by landlords, empty units on the high street have an adverse effect o

• 2 March 2022
• | Rory Knox

Top tips for managing a coronavirus outbreak in the workplace

Most of the coronavirus restrictions imposed towards the end of December 2021 to stem the spread of the Omicron variant were eased in January, although baseline Covid restrictions remain in Scotland. As we continue to make our way towards restriction-free living for the first time in two years, the return to office working has accelerated and with it the risk of future coronavirus outbreaks. So what should employers do now to be prepared for

• 25 February 2022
• | Sarah Phillips

Taxing Scotland’s land – our most valuable asset

The Scottish Government’s commitment to land reform and its desire to create a more diverse pattern of land ownership in Scotland has been a key policy objective during its time in Government. Its current priorities for land reform were published in September 2021 and emphasised the Government’s desire to create a more diverse pattern of land ownership and tenure with a significantly higher proportion of land owned by the communities in Scotland

• 17 February 2022
• | Alison Pryde

Vacant and derelict land in Scotland

It is estimated that there is almost 11,000 hectares of vacant and derelict land within urban communities in Scotland. These sites comprise unused land, as well as land and buildings that have fallen into disrepair and require remediation before any further development or regeneration can take place.

• 17 February 2022
• | Catherine Macdonald

Environmental considerations when dealing with rural properties

The environment and tackling environmental issues are at the forefront of climate change discourse, which has gained significant traction in recent years across all sectors. The rural and agricultural sector is no exception to this, with landowners and businesses alike increasingly thinking about how they can diversify, optimise operations, and develop new technologies to reduce their impact on the environment. 

• 17 February 2022
• | Alexandru Iliescu

Access rights… nothing is ever straightforward!

Very often rural property is not directly accessed from a publicly adopted road. Access may need to be taken over roads, or tracks are owned by a third party. If you are buying rural land, ideally a seller will have a clear servitude right of pedestrian and vehicular access to that land over the road or track owned by the third party specified in their title to the land.

• 16 February 2022
• | Jennifer Thom
• | Kirsty Nicoll

Protecting IP for Growth: conversation on the practical and legal opportunities of securing your business’ valuable IP and trade secrets

Douglas McLachlan and Musab Hemsi of Anderson Strathern together with Basil Manoussos of Edinburgh Napier University’s Cyber Academy explored the important steps businesses must take to secure and protect their valuable IP and trade secrets against internal and external threats. 

Immigration Law Update

‘Casablanca’ is often said to be the ‘greatest movie of all time’: certainly, its lines remain highly quotable and can be used to illustrate virtually any situation imaginable – even recent developments in immigration law…

• 8 February 2022
• | Steven Dunn

Have you opted to tax – What does that mean?

In our pre-sale due diligence, where appropriate, we ask clients whether the land being sold has been “opted to tax”. Very often clients are puzzled by this query and so in this short article I hope to clarify what we mean when we ask this question and what opting to tax is.

• 2 February 2022
• | Linsey Barclay-Smith

Constructing good contractor relationships – using IR35 to harness growth

IR35 – or off-payroll working – almost felt like a dirty phrase when it expanded from public into the private sector in April 2021. On balance, the administrative and organisational headaches pale in comparison to non-compliance, or outright contractor bans.

• 27 January 2022
• | Musab Hemsi

Scottish Referrals CPD – Discover everything you need to know about share buybacks

Join to hear our tax specialist, Alison Pryde, and corporate law expert, Nick Howie, talk you through the main company law and tax issues to be aware of when you advise a company on a purchase of its own shares.