Contribution notice meaning

Preparatory steps Secure the employee’s most recent employment contract, together with any variations, related correspondence forming part of the contract, and any company handbook considered contractual Verify the employee’s continuous service particulars, including the employment start date and the dates of any contract amendments during employment Gather pension details: whether the scheme is defined benefit or defined contribution, and whether all employer contributions are fully up to date Identify the basis for the settlement-e.g., in respect of a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) claim, a redundancy payment, a personal injury claim, or another legal claim Where multiple claims are being resolved, ensure agreement with the employer on how the overall settlement is apportioned to each claim, and that both parties clearly understand the tax treatment of each amount Ascertain any shares or share option schemes held by the employee, paying close attention to any definitions relating to leaver status that apply...

In this issue: EU fundamentals Competition and state aid Corporate Data protection and cybersecurity Free movement, immigration and employment Financial services Environment Insurance and reinsurance IP Life sciences International trade Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Trackers EU fundamentals European Commission releases January 2026 infringement package The European Commission has unveiled the January 2026 infringement package, identifying the Member States it is proceeding against for shortcomings in meeting obligations under EU law. This round features letters of formal notice to several Member States for not notifying complete transposition measures for multiple directives, including on financial services contracts concluded at a distance—Directive (EU) 2023/2673, on credit agreements for consumers—Directive (EU) 2023/2225, and on crypto‑asset tax transparency—Directive (EU) 2023/2226. It also covers failures to communicate national implementing measures for Directive (EU) 2023/2123, which aligns exchanges of information on terrorist offences with data protection rules, among other concerns. The...

Original news Taylor v Taylor [2017] EWHC 1080 (Ch) In June 2012, a father, Mark, and his son, Boyd, acquired a transfer of a modest hotel with a campsite, together by way of conveyance. It was undisputed between both sides that this made them joint tenants at law at the time. The conveyance concerned part only of a wider tract of land within a larger holding. In May 2013, Mark served a notice to sever the joint tenancy which, on its very face, converted the beneficial joint tenancy (assuming that was its nature) into a tenancy in common in equal proportions. Nonetheless, Mark asserted a four-fifths share of the beneficial interest, citing his larger contribution to the purchase price. By contrast, Boyd maintained he was due one-half of the beneficial interest, on the basis of a promise to that effect and his reliance: he entered the deal, permitted funds he was entitled to be applied, and worked (with his wife) at the hotel and campsite. What are the practical...

Nefelia Shipping SA v Mosaic Fertilizantes Do Brazil [2025] EWHC 2941 (Comm). What was the background? The claimants commenced proceedings against Brazilian cargo interests and their underwriters, seeking general average contributions under bonds and guarantees executed in March 2018. The dispute stemmed from the M/V 'KONA TRADER' running aground at Paranagua after a main engine breakdown in March 2018; the general average adjusters assessed the defendants’ share at US$892,381.46 plus interest. Both defendants had expressly chosen English law and the exclusive jurisdiction of the High Court of Justice in London. The claim form was issued on 11 September 2023, and the claimants sought a 15‑month period for service, anticipating difficulties in serving the Brazilian parties. That initial extension was granted on 22 September 2023, carrying validity through to 15 November 2024. Nonetheless, compliant papers reached the FPS only on 4 October 2024, so a further without‑notice extension to 15 November 2025 was pursued and granted on 14 November 2024, with liberty to the defendants to apply to set aside....

The Pensions Regulator (the Regulator) The Regulator is an arm’s-length public body set up under the Pensions Act 2004 (PeA 2004). Its authority to impose contribution notices and financial support directions appears in PeA 2004, ss 38–50. Although the Act does not use the label, these provisions are widely known as the Regulator’s ‘moral hazard’ powers. Their purpose is to counter the ‘moral hazard’ arising from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF): the possibility that corporate groups might organise their structures so as to heighten exposure within their pension schemes, comfortable that the PPF would intervene if the employer entered insolvency. The principal moral hazard tools—and the only ones exercised so far—are the power to issue a contribution notice (CN) and the power to issue a financial support direction (FSD). A CN compels the recipient to pay a specified amount into a defined benefit occupational pension scheme. A CN can be issued where the criteria in PeA 2004, s 38 are satisfied. These mechanisms exist to deter behaviour that would...

THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES ONLY TO DEFINED BENEFIT OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES When performing its functions, the Determinations Panel of the Pensions Regulator follows two distinct procedural pathways that must be observed, and must be followed at all times. These two sequences are known as the Standard Procedure and the Special Procedure. the Standard Procedure the Special Procedure As a reserved regulatory function of the Pensions Regulator, issuing a contribution notice or a financial support direction may only be carried out by the Determinations Panel using the Standard Procedure. The Special Procedure is adopted where there is a need to invoke the Regulator’s powers without delay to safeguard members’ interests or scheme assets. This route does not extend to contribution notices or financial support directions. For more detail on the Special Procedure, see The Pensions Regulator’s Determinations Panel—The Regulator’s procedures for exercising its functions. For additional information about the Panel, see Practice Note: The Pensions Regulator’s Determinations Panel. Stages of...

Introduction What is groundwater? In brief, groundwater is water stored beneath the surface. Rainfall gathers and then infiltrates the soil, percolating through soils and rocks into aquifers—layers of porous rock or sediment. The British Geological Survey notes that groundwater supplies around one third of the public water in England and makes an important contribution in Wales and Scotland. What is groundwater activity Government guidance explains that a groundwater activity includes: discharging a pollutant that causes, or could cause, a direct or indirect input to groundwater any other discharge that may lead to a direct or indirect pollutant input to groundwater an activity subject to a Schedule 22 notice that has taken effect an activity, carried out as part of another class of regulated facility, that may cause such a discharge The guidance further states it is an offence to cause or knowingly permit a groundwater activity unless authorised by a permit or registered as exempt. Environmental...

[ insert full name of Trustee ], acting as trustee of the [ insert full name of the employee benefit trust ] [ insert full address of Trustee ] [ insert date of letter ] Dear trustee(s) [ insert name of the employee benefit trust ] ( the EBT ) We write to you in your role as trustee of the EBT ( Trustee )...

Drafting notes These model execution provisions are intended for a limited partnership entering into a simple contract, rather than a deed. Two alternative forms are provided for a contract executed: by an individual general partner, and on behalf of a corporate general partner Limited partnership The Limited Partnership Act 1907 (Ireland) (LPA 1907 (IRL)) creates a partnership structure in which certain partners have limited liability for the firm’s debts, restricted to the amount of their contribution. The General Scheme of the Registration of Limited Partnerships and Business Names Bill 2024 (Limited Partnerships Bill 2024), issued by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in 2024, would, if enacted, repeal and replace the LPA 1907 (IRL). Limited partnerships registered under the LPA 1907 (IRL) will be obliged to satisfy the new registration requirements within twelve months of receiving notice from the Registrar, to be given within thirty months of the new Act’s commencement. Under LPA 1907 (IRL), s 4, a limited partnership...

Without prejudice & subject to contract Strictly private & confidential [ Type on employer's letterhead ] [ Insert name and address of employee ] [ Insert date ] Dear [ insert name of employee ] Re: [ insert name of employer ] (the Company) Please find enclosed a draft settlement agreement that outlines the Company’s proposals, put forward on a without prejudice basis, to [ resolving its dispute with you OR terminating your employment ] [ and generally settling all or any claims [ arising in connection with your employment, or its termination, ] which you have or may in the future have against the Company [ and against any...

A Post-Employment Notice Pay (PENP) calculation It uses a set calculation that lets employers identify the taxable portion of a severance package on termination of employment when the basic salary actually paid falls short of what would have been earned had proper or full notice been worked. The method takes basic pay, multiplies it by the remaining notice days, then divides by the number of days in the relevant pay period, before deducting in full any amounts paid net of tax, except for holiday pay and termination bonuses. The requirement to perform a PENP calculation stems from reforms that took effect from 6 April 2018, making all such payments in lieu of notice chargeable to tax and national insurance...