Be Connected higher education - Summer 2023
Welcome to Be Connected, our quarterly update for higher education institutions.
We aim to provide content that offers you real value, together with relevant, useful information from our national team of legal and HR experts.
Be Connected is your space. Please help us to help you by providing your feedback and letting us know what you would like to see featured in a future edition.
Legislation
Freedom of Speech — how to prepare for the new statutory duties
The hotly-debated Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 places new duties on the sector, meaning that policies and procedures should be updated and staff trained on the new legal requirements.
Whilst the majority of new provisions have yet to be brought into force by way of secondary legislation, we recommend universities get everything in order ready for the start of the new academic year.
In this article, we set out the core duties introduced by the Act that are placed on governing bodies and students’ unions and provide advice on what you need to do in readiness.
New guidance on Subject Access Requests (SARs)
Dealing with requests by individuals to provide obtain a copy of the personal data held by your organisation is a common occurrence in modern life .This includes where you got their information from, what you are using it for, and with whom you are sharing it. With strict time limits is pays to ave a good understanding of your obligations up front. To help organisations navigate through the most common problem areas of responding to a SAR, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has recently issued some new guidance for employers. In this article, we run through the key points and share advice relevant to higher education institutions.
Higher-risk buildings — are you ready for 30 September 2023?
There are less than three months to go until the deadline for registration of higher-risk buildings with the Building Safety Regulator set up under the Building Safety Act 2022.
Expected to affect around 13,000 existing buildings in England, registration is a significant undertaking that will affect many landowners such as higher education institutions.
This article examines the key questions building owners and developers should be asking themselves and the consequences of failure to register.
As this will likely have implications for student halls of residence and other accommodation, we break down the changes this brings about, what it means for your campus estate, and how to comply.
The Charities Act comes into force
New provisions of the Charities Act 2022 came into force 14 June 2023, as announced by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
The changes include a couple of new regimes that will be of particular interest to many charities, relating to the disposition of land and permanent endowments.
However, universities registered with the Office for Students remain outside of these new regimes.
Case law
Student suicide and universities’ duty of care
Natasha Abrahart took her own life on 30 April 2018. She was in her second year of studies at the University of Bristol. Her bereaved family, understandably, sought answers.
They brought a claim for compensation against the university and the court found that the university had not made reasonable adjustments for Natasha’s known mental health illnesses, in breach of the Equality Act 2010.
However, the claim in negligence was not successful, on the basis that the university did not owe a duty of care to her.
In this article we explore universities’ duty of care, what you can do to support your students’ health and welfare, and consider the implications of the Abrahart judgment.
Subsidy Control — lessons to be learnt from Bulb
The Bulb judgment is one of only two subsidy control cases which have been brought before the UK courts since the UK left the European Union.
While the case related to alleged non-compliance with the subsidy control principles in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement implemented in domestic law, it highlights important principles that are likely to carry over to the Competition and Appeals Tribunal’s application of the Subsidy Control Act 2022.
Guidance
Addressing modern slavery in practice
Sadly, severe human exploitation is a very real and longstanding issue in many parts of modern society. Higher education institutions must be vigilant to the risks, in order to spot warning signs early, and manage cases compassionately and within the limitations of the law.
In this short video, we highlight some of the things to look out for and signpost to helpful resources. If you’d like to discuss your obligations under the Modern Slavery Act, please get in touch.
Harnessing the potential of knowledge exchange and innovation
We were delighted to sponsor this year’s PraxisAuril Annual Conference, which attracted a broad selection of members of the knowledge exchange, innovation and research communities across a wide spectrum of universities and higher education (HE) providers.
In this article we share insights from the conference, including an example of a recent knowledge exchange (KE) partnership with the University of Nottingham’s Sociolinguistics team to improve accessibility of policy documents, and share some useful resources for taking Intellectual Property (IP) to market.
You may also be interested in…
Key partner appointment
We are excited to announce the appointment of Nathalie Jacoby-Danesh, who brings extensive experience advising higher education institutions on a broad range of matters, including corporate law, governance, funding arrangements, mergers and acquisitions, and collaborative joint ventures.
Nathalie, a qualified lawyer in England and Wales and an "Avocat à la Cour" in Luxembourg, will also head up the firm’s charity and not-for-profit sector team. The team currently advises national, regional and local charities, not-for-profit organisations, social enterprises, membership organisations, community groups, schools and colleges, churches, welfare and professional associations on all areas of charity law.
#EdInfluence podcast — back by popular demand
We are excited to announce that our popular education podcast is to return for a new series.
Hosted by education lawyer and accredited executive coach Nick MacKenzie, the podcast features interviews with influential leaders from across the education sector and beyond to explore the human side of leadership. In his inimitable style, Nick has a knack of unearthing the secrets of good leadership from his guests.
Here is what he says we have to look forward to in the third series of #EdInfluence: “We want to hear stories from a diverse range of leaders from different sectors, at different stages of their leadership journey. The emphasis will be on sharing relatable, human stories that influence listeners’ thinking and, hopefully, their actions!”
New episodes of #EdInfluence will be published soon and available across all the usual podcast channels.
A magnificent seventh EducationInvestor Award!
Our education team has won the “Legal Advisor of the Year — to Education Institutions” category at the Education Investor Awards 2023 for a record-breaking seventh time, reaffirming our position as a true powerhouse in the sector.
Judged by a panel of high-profile independent industry experts, the firm was shortlisted alongside an array of national and international firms.
Mark Blois, National Head of Education at Browne Jacobson, said: “To win this important award for the seventh time is recognition of the strength and depth of the expertise of our people and testimony to the significance, quality and consistency of the work that they do within the Education sector.”
#BeingBrowneJacobson — fostering a leading education practice
In this series, which explores the culture of the firm and what makes us unique, Mark Blois, our Head of Education and one of the firm’s longest-serving partners, has shared his experience of being a leader in the legal sector and the advice he has for young lawyers entering the profession.
Discover more
You may be interested in...
Legal Update - Be Connected (higher education)
Be Connected higher education - Summer 2023
Legal Update
Harnessing the potential of knowledge exchange, research and innovation
Legal Update
Student suicide and universities’ duty of care
Legal Update
Freedom of Speech – how to prepare for the new statutory duties
Press Release
Browne Jacobson announces key partner appointment to further grow higher education and charities practice
Legal Update
Back in the (Investment) Zone… sort of
Legal Update - Be Connected (higher education)
Be Connected higher education - Spring 2023
Legal Update
Knowledge exchange and intellectual property
Guide
Terminating student lettings: a quick guide for landlords
Legal Update
Higher education projects – the end is nigh?
Legal Update
Solar panel projects for higher education institutions
Legal Update
What role do HE employees have to play in public inquiries?
Opinion
The UK’s Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (No. 2): For universities
Legal Update
Regulating harassment and sexual misconduct in higher education
Legal Update
Government to expand network and information systems regulations
Legal Update
A pandemic legacy: flexibility
Legal Update
Regeneration: what role can universities play?
Press Release
Browne Jacobson collaborates with The GLAA and University of Nottingham to tackle modern slavery and human trafficking
On-Demand
The Subsidy Control Act 2022. Putting the new regime into practice
Opinion
Consultation on holiday entitlement – part-year and irregular workers
Guide
FAQs - becoming an academy sponsor
Legal Update - Be Connected (higher education)
Be Connected higher education - Winter 2023
Legal Update
The importance of understanding the transitional provisions under the Electronic Communications Code
Legal Update
Biodiversity Net Gain: positive for nature and an opportunity for landowners
Legal Update
Discrimination comes of age
Press Release
Law firm picks up record breaking sixth Education Investor Award
Browne Jacobson’s education team has been named as winner of the ‘Legal Advisors to Education Institutions’ category at the Education Investor Awards 2022 for a record sixth time.
Press Release
Education team maintains clean sweep of top rankings in latest legal directories
Browne Jacobson’s education team has again been confirmed as a national powerhouse after securing five Tier 1 rankings relating to Education in the latest edition of Legal 500 and maintaining a Band 1 UK-wide ranking for Education in Chambers & Partners UK 2023.
Legal Update - Be Connected (higher education)
Be Connected higher education - Autumn 2022
Press Release
Browne Jacobson and The University of Nottingham announce Knowledge Transfer Partnership to promote greater equality, diversity and inclusion in the legal sector and beyond
Legal Update
Authorship disputes and employment claims
In an academic environment, there can be pressures to publish, particularly where funding is dependent upon research and reputation. Whilst there can be competition between Higher Education establishments to be the first to publish, there can also be internal conflicts over authorship rights where several individuals have contributed to the work.
Legal Update
Subsidy Control Act 2022: economic queries
In July, the long-awaited statutory guidance on the Subsidy Control Act 2022 (Act) was published in draft form (Draft Guidance). A consultation on the draft guidance has recently ended and the results have not yet been published – it may therefore change before the final version is published.
Legal Update
Changes to holiday pay for part-year workers
In July 2022, the Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited Judgement in the case of Harpur Trust v Brazel relating to the correct calculation of statutory holiday pay for part year workers. This decision has implications for all part year workers on contracts which subsist all year round, whether their hours are normal or irregular.
Legal Update
Facing the threat of cyber security breaches
Universities and colleges are not immune from deception by unscrupulous bad actors. The extent to which educational institutions can manage and control risk not only depends on financial management and internal controls, but also the robustness of security and processes which can be exploited from outside the organisation.
Opinion
Internal reports and privilege
In University of Dundee v Chakraborty, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) considered whether a first draft of a grievance report could retrospectively be deemed to be privileged.
Legal Update
Data reform in the UK
Since the UK left the EU and are now able to move away from the EU data protection regime, the UK government have implemented a national data strategy with the aim of reducing the burden on organisations but maintaining a high data protection standard.
Legal Update - Procurement Act
Pre procurement planning the importance of early market engagement
Legal Update
What opportunities do the REF 2021 results offer universities?
The long-awaited publication of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 provides universities with opportunities to generate additional income and build upon the quality of their research output.
Legal Update
be connected newsletter for higher education - May 2022
In this edition we provide you with the latest in legal updates, news and insight from the higher education sector.
Legal Update
Harassment and sexual misconduct in Higher Education
Cases involving the handling allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct by Universities continues to hit the news. They are clearly difficult issues for Universities given the competing duties owed to both the reporting individual and the alleged perpetrator and the inevitable sensitivities around the nature of these matters.
Legal Update
ICO consultation on research provisions guidance
The data protection legislation (namely, the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018) contain various provisions that deal with the processing of personal data for research purposes.