Breach of statutory duty meaning

In this issue: Horizon scanning Worker status and categories Immigration Pay Remuneration Taxation Diversity and the gender pay gap Maternity, parents and carers Whistleblowing Data protection and staff information Confidentiality, obligations and restrictions: enforcement Financial services and banking: employment matters Bribery, modern slavery, tax evasion and fraud Issues arising on termination Employment Tribunals Civil courts and alternative dispute resolution Dates for your diary Trackers Employment resources on Lexis+® LexTalk® Employment: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Horizon scanning Updated Employment Rights Bill to be considered by the House of Lords The updated Employment Rights Bill (ERB), transmitted from the House of Commons to the House of Lords, was issued on 14 March 2025. Its second reading in the House of Lords is scheduled for 27 March 2025...

In this issue: Social housing Education Planning Local government finance Public procurement Governance Healthcare Social care Licensing Environmental law and climate change LexTalk®Local Government: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Social housing Local authority successful in Court of Appeal on suitability of accommodation offered in performance of prevention duty (Fatolahzadeh v LB of Barnet) Fatolahzadeh v LB of Barnet saw Genevieve Screeche-Powell represent the council, which prevailed in resisting a Housing Act 1996 (HA 1996), section 204 appeal pursued by a homeless applicant. Two central issues of principle arose: (i) whether Parliament intended that an alleged non-compliance with the ‘new’ HA 1996, s 189A duties should automatically vitiate any later decision taken to meet the duty to secure suitable accommodation; and (ii) the extent to which the section 202 review procedure can rectify asserted shortcomings. This marks the first occasion on which the Court...

In this issue: Key PI and Clinical negligence developments Road traffic accidents Clinical negligence Proving negligence or breach of statutory duty Costs and funding Part 36 offers Starting and managing online claims Service in England and Wales Other PI and Clinical negligence developments LexisNexis® PI & Clinical Negligence Quantum Database LexisNexis® Quantum Portal LexTalk®PI & Clinical Negligence: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts LexisNexis® Webinars Useful information Key PI and Clinical negligence developments ONS releases 2025 annual survey for hours and earnings figures The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has issued provisional 2025 findings and metrics on workers’ pay and hours, based on the annual survey of hours and earnings. These outputs set out yearly estimates of paid hours and remuneration for employees across the UK, broken down by sex and employment status, covering full-time and part-time roles. See: LNB News 23/10/2025 34...

There are statutory rules governing a company’s auditor liability and the extent to which it can be curtailed. Before 6 April 2008, a company was prohibited from excusing or indemnifying its auditors for any negligence, default, breach of duty, or breach of trust connected with the company that arose in carrying out the audit of the accounts. That prohibition has since changed, and such protection is now allowed, so long as it is either an indemnity covering the costs of successfully defending proceedings or a liability limitation agreement. Furthermore, additional requirements concerning an auditor’s liability and its caps may apply to a listed company, an AIM company, or a company whose securities are listed on the AQSE Main Market, AQSE Growth Market, or AQSE Trading (previously the NEX Exchange Main Board, NEX Exchange Growth Market, and NEX Exchange Secondary Market), though those matters fall outside the ambit of this Practice Note. Some or all of the statutory measures addressing auditors and liability limitation agreements may equally extend to other companies...

Actions against regulators/authorities Beyond judicial review of decisions, claimants may pursue civil proceedings where loss or damage is caused by breaches of duty and negligence by public bodies; the Corby litigation is a case in point, ending with an out-of-court settlement in April 2010. Corby dispute arose from remediation of a former steelworks, a site used for steel production for six decades and for disposal of steelmaking wastes long predating waste regulation. The local authority, Corby DC, holding enterprise zone status and benefiting from derelict land grant and EU regional development funding, acquired the 270ha site from British Steel in stages, reclaiming it in several phases over fifteen years...

Maintenance Every sewerage undertaker is under a duty to ensure its sewers and lateral drains are cleaned and kept in good order so that its area is, and continues to be, effectively drained. Section 79 of the Environment Act 2021, which will commence on a day appointed by regulations of the Secretary of State, places an obligation on undertakers to prepare, publish and maintain a drainage and sewerage management plan. Such a plan sets out how the undertaker will manage and develop its drainage and sewerage systems so that it is, and remains, able to meet its duties under Part IV of the Water Industry Act 1991 (WIA 1991). Pending commencement, the Secretary of State has required undertakers to produce non-statutory plans in early 2023 as a planning tool for Ofwat’s 2024 Price Review covering 2025–30. Companies have been asked to assess present capacity and the actions required over 5, 10 and 25-year horizons. Undertakers cannot excuse non-compliance with WIA 1991, s 94(1) by relying on outdated infrastructure...

PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL [ insert name and address of client ][ insert date ] Dear [ insert name ] The court has issued directions to both sides, outlining the actions required as your claim advances. The initial step is the exchange of relevant documents through disclosure. I am to prepare, using the prescribed format, a schedule of every document you hold, or have previously held, within your control that relates to any of the issues in your claim. This signed list must be lodged with the court and served on the defendant by [ insert date ]. By the same deadline, the defendant must likewise file with the court and serve upon us a list of all documents the defendant has, or once had, that are pertinent to any issue in your claim. This letter sets out what disclosure entails, the stages involved, and your continuing disclosure duties throughout the litigation. Disclosure—meaning and purpose Disclosure is the procedural stage in civil litigation, including personal injury...

[ In the High Court of Justice OR In the COUNTY COURT AT [ insert ] ] [ [ Specify division ] ] [ [ Specify Specialist court ] ] [ [ Insert location ] District Registry ] Claim No: Between [ A B ] Claimant and [ X Y ] Defendants ________________________________________________ Defence ________________________________________________ 1 Solely for the purposes of this claim, it is accepted that the Claimant’s fall whilst using a stile was due to the Defendant’s negligence and/or contravention of statutory duty under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957...

Claim No. [ insert claim number ] In the COUNTY COURT AT [ insert ] Between: Mrs a.b. Claimant -and- C.d. Limited Defendant PARTICULARS OF CLAIM At all times relevant to these proceedings: The Defendant owned a bus, registration number [ insert registration number ] (“the bus”); The bus was driven and/or operated by a servant or agent of the Defendant (whose identity is unknown to the Claimant) whilst acting within the scope of their employment or agency (“the driver”). Accordingly, the Defendant is vicariously liable for any negligent acts or omissions and/or breaches of statutory duty committed by that employee or agent; The bus and the driver were governed by the Public Service Vehicles (Conduct of Drivers, Inspectors, Conductors and Passengers) Regulations 1990 (as amended) (“the Regulations”); and The Claimant was a fare-paying passenger aboard the bus. At or about [ insert time ] on [ insert date ],...

Case study A one-year fixed term assured shorthold tenancy (AST) was initially granted, ending in February 2015. With the fixed term concluded, a statutory periodic tenancy has commenced. The landlord fears they might have failed to comply with duty to supply prescribed information; can they issue a section 21 notice to bring the statutory periodic tenancy to a close? Since the term expired, the tenancy continues on a statutory periodic footing. How to rent checklist The obligation to provide the publication ‘How to rent: the checklist for renting in England’, issued by the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government, arose under Deregulation Act 2015 (DA 2015). However, amendments introduced by that Act do not extend to fixed term ASTs granted before 1 October 2015, even where agreements roll into a statutory periodic tenancy after 1 October 2015. This remains the stated position throughout...

Under section 40B of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) Where a person is served with a notice under LTA 1954, s 40 and does not meet the obligation to supply the information requested and required, section 40B of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 allows them to be the subject of civil proceedings for breach of statutory duty; in those proceedings the court may require that individual to duly perform the duty and can also grant damages as well. See also: Duties of tenants and landlords to give information to each other; in general: Halsbury's Laws of England [1595]. A breach of statutory duty is a standalone tort recognised at common law, in respect of which the...