When it comes to personal data processing, political parties are no exception, being subject to the same requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that apply to any other data controller. It’s noteworthy the National Data Office has recently issued new guidelines on personal data processing in the run-up to the general election. Could this mean the regulator will be scrutinising the political parties for GDPR compliance? This article explores what measures a political party should take to ensure its data processing complies with GDPR.
The Latvian Labour Code is amended on a regular basis and sometimes even more than once a year, but recent years have not seen so sweeping amendments as those coming into force on 1 August 2022. This article will help you navigate the new provisions of labour law.
Effective from 4 February 2022, the Whistle Blowing Act introduces new requirements compared to the earlier enactment with the same title, and takes over the provisions of Directive EU 2019/1937. This article explores what a whistle-blowing system (WBS) really means in the light of the new Act and what options companies have for setting up such a system efficiently.
Some time ago the Latvian personal identification number was available mainly to persons holding a residence permit or an EU national’s registration certificate. Yet we are aware of cases where a foreigner without any special status had legal ties with Latvia but it was still difficult to prove their identity in person or electronically. This article explores the new tool for electronic identification: a foreigner’s eID.
As Russia continues the war in Ukraine, the US and the European Union (EU) together with other countries keep increasing the size of sanctions imposed on Russia.
At the EU summit held on 30–31 May 2022, the European Council agreed on the sixth package of sanctions against Russia that will mainly apply to crude oil and petroleum products supplied to EU member states. Yet the Council of Europe has agreed a temporary exception for crude oil supplied through pipelines. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has said that the restrictions included in the package will in fact stop around 90% of EU oil imports from Russia by the end of this year.
As the size of the sanctions grows, confused companies are having more and more questions about how to cope with the increasing sanctions burden, whether a company is supervised by particular regulatory bodies, and whether the current sanctions rules and guidelines provide for setting up an internal control system to manage sanctions risk.
Employers commonly use GPS geolocation devices to monitor their vehicles or equipment and to analyse fuel consumption, mileage, driving time, idle time, parking time, usage statistics etc. European case law has introduced tighter rules and requirements for personal data processing associated with GPS tracking. There are certain restrictions that companies using these devices for business purposes should be aware of.
The Covid-19 pandemic has thrown the global economy into recession. However, the warning issued by the industry experts and backed by the authors of a World Bank study that the economy will experience a rapid increase in the number of insolvency proceedings and legal protection proceedings (LPP) at the end of Covid-19, has not come true as yet. This is because the financial difficulties brought on by the pandemic were countered with an unprecedented government intervention in the market and a huge package of financial aid, including working capital grants and idleness benefits. The economic downturn is now being aggravated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as the consequences of the war are pushing up energy prices and fuelling price rises in general, inevitably leading to debt crises. Latvia seems likely to face an inevitable wave of insolvencies and LPP, so this article aims to introduce companies to Latvian LPP and out-of-court workouts in simple terms in order to highlight the characteristics of these debt restructuring tools, as well as the role of the debtor, the creditors and the supervisor within these proceedings.
The Labour Act does not prohibit employers from hiring part-time workers under the cumulative scheme. This issue has been settled by case law, yet we can still see some part-timers employed on a cumulative basis. This article explores the potential consequences of such action.
On 15 March 2022 proposals for amending the Employment Act were endorsed by the Cabinet of Ministers and submitted to Parliament for approval. The amendments are being made in order to transpose two EU directives that Latvia must pass by August 2022 and to implement the Constitutional Court’s ruling No. 2019-33-01 of 12 November 2020, which recognises that section 155(1) of the Employment Act, giving a childbirth leave entitlement to the father, is not consistent with the first sentence of the Constitution’s section 110 insofar as it offers no protection or support for a female partner of the child’s mother due to the birth of the child. This article explores key changes and how they affect workers and employers.
The State Revenue Service (SRS) is increasingly exercising its statutory power to have a company’s board member pay an overdue tax liability if that debt cannot be collected from the company. For the board member this often means thousands of euros to pay, private accounts blocked, and properties seized. This article explores the legal grounds for such actions and outlines substantial errors in decisions made by the SRS.
After the Russian Federation decided on 23 February 2022 to recognise the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic as independent states, followed by the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, the EU, the UK, the US and Canada as well as other countries have launched wide-ranging sanctions aimed at changing Russia’s behaviour and eliminating the current threats in Ukraine and CEE.
The beginning of this year saw personal data experts discussing the news that the Austrian Data Protection Authority made a decision in December 2021 finding that the use of Google Analytics is contrary to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The French Data Protection Authority followed suit in February 2022. In this article we are modelling the effects of those decisions on people using the Google Analytics service across the EU, including Latvia.
Companies sometimes buy and sell property, plant and equipment, transfer liabilities, restructure their assets, and conduct other transactions necessary to improve their business. It is important to assess whether this gives rise to a transfer of business as a going concern (TOGC), which has specific implications for both the transferor and the acquirer.
