UK: LAPFF survey of workforce engagement methods under the UK Corporate Governance Code

The new edition of the UK Corporate Governance Code, published last year, contains a new provision on board engagement with the company's workforce and states that at least one of the following methods should be adopted: (a) the appointment of a director from the workforce; (b) the creation of a formal workforce advisory panel; (c) designating a non-executive director with specific responsibility for engagement. Under the comply or explain principle, and also as this new provision explicitly reiterates, if the board decides not to adopt one of these methods, it is required to explain what alternative arrangements are in place and why these are seen as effective.

Earlier this week, LAPFF published a report - see here (pdf) - in which it explained the results of its research exploring whether and how companies propose to comply with this new provision on engagement. The headline finding is that two-thirds of companies in the survey have said that they will comply and, of these companies, the majority will appoint a designated non-executive director.

UK: Is a member of a limited liability partnership a 'worker'?

Today the Supreme Court will hear argument in Clyde & Co LLP v Winkelhof. The issue before the court, to quote directly from its summary of the case, is "[w]hether a member of a limited liability partnership is a worker within the meaning of section 230(3) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and is therefore within the category of persons protected by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and permitted to bring a whistleblowing claim".

The hearing will be broadcast live by Sky News as part of its Supreme Court Live service. When the Court of Appeal heard the case in 2012, it held that a partner of a limited liability partnership, who if it had not been registered as a LLP would have been a partner in a partnership under the Partnership Act 1890, was not a 'worker' under section 230(3): see [2012] EWCA Civ 1207.

UK: England and Wales: LLP member was not a worker

The Court of Appeal gave judgment yesterday in Clyde & Co LLP v Bates Van Winkelhof [2012] EWCA Civ 1207 and held, amongst other things, that a member of a limited liability partnership could not be regarded as an employee or worker of the LLP by virtue of their membership alone.