I have been asked by a GP Practice client to advise on the New to Partnership Payment which is a £20,000 payment to new Doctors (and others) who join a GP practice as a partner and is referred to in the Update issued 6th February 2020 (sections 2.14 – 2.16). NHS England Update to the GP contract agreement 2020/21 – 2023/24
Although the details are not yet fully decided by NHS England, and detailed guidance is yet to be provided, based on the Update, the payment is payable where:
The recent news that foreign exchange company Travelex is being held to ransom by hackers after a cyber attack is a reminder to organisations that cyber security is a business-critical issue. The gang claiming to be behind the hack has demanded £4.6m and explained that they hacked into the Travelex databases six months before the ransom demand was issued on 31 December 2019, spending that period downloading client data including names, dates of birth, credit card details and national insurance numbers.
The attack has led to Travelex taking down its website in 30 countries and turning off its computer systems. Could your business recover from such an attack asks our Commercial team?
In recent years, two popular topics of conversation have been the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the blockchain. The GDPR is legislation which provides new protection for individuals in relation to their personal data. The blockchain is a variant of distributed ledger technology, which some people believe will create new business models, cut costs, and provide new ways of verifying identity.
On Tuesday 3 September, Bermans sponsored the latest Blockchain Manchester Meetup, hosted by our friends at BlockRocket.
Our Head of Corporate, Jon Davage, was there to give the audience a brief introduction to the services Bermans offers to entrepreneurs in the tech sector. Also present was our Commercial and IP team, who has been a regular attendee at these blockchain meetups.
Rob is an Associate in the Commercial team, having joined Bermans in July 2019.
Rob advises on all types of commercial contracts, with particular expertise in agreements for the creative and tech sectors. He has assisted a range of clients, including software developers, platform providers, music publishers and online retailers, and can advise on various matters, such as the importance of robust terms and conditions, the protection and licensing of intellectual property rights, and data protection matters.
Before deciding to train in law, Rob gained an MA in Music Industry Studies from the University of Liverpool. This included a dissertation based on his own original research, studying levels of understanding of relevant intellectual property issues amongst musicians in Liverpool.
Since then, Rob has had a number of commercially-focused roles, including creative industries business adviser, project manager, and owner of a record label. Rob’s frequent dealings with commercial contracts inspired him to train as a commercial lawyer.
There are various ways in which a business can protect its business interests whether that is profit or cashflow. Many will look first at the internal workings of the business to make savings and some may never look at their other options with external parties. Having in place contractual provisions which assist you in that regard are often overlooked. The aim of this article is to provide some ideas on how a business can protect itself in these uncertain times.
Put simply, a partnership is the coming together of two or more parties with a view to making a profit. Partnership is used for various purposes. It is common amongst the professions such as law firms, accountancy and medical practices. It can however be as simple as two or more people holding a property for letting purposes, and sharing the proceeds of the income of the property.
You should all by now be into the final stages of implementing plans for the impending new legislation on GDPR which comes into effect on Friday 25th May 2018.
There has been much written in the media and we are sure you will have been bombarded with information from various providers seeking to offer solutions.
The first thing to remember in all of this is the fundamentals have not really changed. The regulations are a consolidation and update of existing laws. There are some rights which are now requirements but the main difference is that firms need to demonstrate that they are taking steps to protect personal client, employee and supplier data that will avoid the now punitive fines that The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) can levy.
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