Benefit in kind meaning

Introduction to freezing injunctions and scope of this checklist A freezing injunction (also known as a freezing order) is a temporary court order that prevents a respondent from disposing of or transferring its assets out of the relevant jurisdiction—namely England and Wales—or, in the case of a worldwide freezing order (WFO), from moving them anywhere in the world. The court’s principal aim in granting such relief is to preserve the respondent’s assets so that, if the applicant later obtains judgment against the respondent, there will be assets available for recovery by the applicant and, if necessary, enforcement action. This Checklist explains how to make an application for a freezing injunction where claims are contemplated or already underway in a corporate or personal insolvency context. As the precise circumstances of each matter must be assessed, this Checklist does not claim to be exhaustive; rather, it provides an overview of the key considerations at each stage when seeking an order of this kind. The focus throughout is asset preservation pending determination...

Patrick Coyne, TPR’s interim policy director, admitted during a speech that 'things were not always perfect' in its regime for assessing superfunds. Superfunds are a new kind of consolidation vehicle, allowing multiple defined benefit (DB) plans to be pooled so they can be run at a lower cost. To date, TPR has approved only one DB superfund—Clara-Pensions—under interim regulations introduced in 2020. Another company seeking approval to launch a superfund was ultimately forced to mothball the project, complaining of opaque expectations and asserting that TPR had moved the goalposts...

In this issue: Education Public procurement Governance Children’s social care Planning Healthcare Licensing Local government finance Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content New Q&A Education ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ vs ‘Special Educational Provision’. Upper Tribunal considers their overlap (KTS v GB of a School) This appeal to the Upper Tribunal (UT) challenged a First-tier Tribunal (FTT) decision on a claim of ‘reasonable adjustments’ under the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010). The UT allowed the appeal, holding that the FTT had not properly determined the claim advanced and had taken a flawed approach to assessing reasonable adjustments under EqA 2010, ss 20, 21 and 85. The UT explored how the special educational needs framework in the Children and Families Act 2014 (CFA 2014) intersects with the EqA 2010 duty to make reasonable adjustments. The Judge set out clear guidance on the principles Tribunals should apply when deciding cases of this kind. Written by...

This Practice Note explores whether music compilations can attract copyright as databases. At its core, the enquiry is whether the compilation’s contents reflect the author’s own intellectual creation (explained in more detail below). Copyright subsistence in a database (often termed database copyright) is separate from the sui generis database right, which is also addressed in this Practice Note. The sui generis database right concerns legal protection for databases of any kind and stems from the Copyright and Rights in Databases Regulations 1997 (CRD 1997), SI 1997/3032. Whether a sui generis database right exists does not settle if copyright also subsists in the same database, and vice versa. A database may benefit from one, both, or neither right. Court of Justice judgments This Practice Note cites rulings of the Court of Justice. For guidance on whether decisions of the Court of Justice bind UK courts, see Practice Note: Assimilated law—Assimilated case law. Categorisation of copyright works Copyright is the exclusive right to do, and to authorise others...

STOP PRESS: Abolition of non-dom regime and introduction of residence-based IHT regime Finance Act 2025 (FA 2025), which obtained Royal Assent on 20 March 2025, enacts measures scrapping the remittance basis and introducing a residence-based system, effective from 6 April 2025. FA 2025 also substitutes domicile as the principal criterion for determining exposure to inheritance tax. Additional reforms cover revisions to the rules for excluded property status, the removal of protected settlements status for offshore trusts, and adjustments to overseas workday relief. For details on these updates, refer to: Practice Notes: The abolition of the remittance basis of taxation from 2025–26, A new residence-based regime for IHT from 2025–26. See also: Finance Bill Tracking Service: Key dates (Finance Bill 2025) and Finance Act 2025. This Practice Note examines shadow directors of offshore companies and the degree to which such individuals might incur benefit in kind charges under the benefits code in the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA 2003). Note that the notion of a shadow director...

What is an employee ownership trust? An employee ownership trust (EOT) is a specific kind of employee benefit trust (EBT) that must meet statutory criteria. The concept was introduced by the Finance Act 2014 (FA 2014), together with tax advantages for companies owned by an EOT and for individuals who dispose of shares to an EOT. If the statutory criteria are not met in relation to the EOT, these reliefs will not be available. The reliefs were enacted by FA 2014, Sch 37, following a Budget 2013 announcement and a subsequent consultation. For guidance on pitfalls and common errors when creating or running an EOT, see Practice Note: Pitfalls of setting up and operating an employee-ownership trust. For general information on EBTs, see Practice Note: What is an employee benefit trust? What tax reliefs can an EOT provide? Three tax reliefs were legislated, in line with a policy of encouraging the development of employee-owned companies as an alternative to a trade sale or other loss of independence...

Termination payments qualifying for £30,000 exemption As set out in Practice Note: Termination payments qualifying for £30,000 exemption, where a compensation payment for loss of office or employment is made in circumstances where it does not fall to be taxed as: earnings within section 62 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA 2003) (see Practice Note: Termination payments taxed as earnings) benefits-in-kind (see Practice Note: How employment income is taxed—non-cash earnings or benefits) benefits from an employer-financed retirement benefits scheme employment-related securities (see: Employment-related securities—overview) disguised remuneration, where termination payments or benefits are provided by a third party (such as an employee benefit trust) rather than the employer (see: Disguised remuneration and EBTs—overview) restrictive undertakings (see Practice Note: Taxation of payments for restrictive covenants or undertakings) and for terminations for loss of office since 6 April 2018...