EOT meaning

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: On 11 March 2024, HM Treasury opened a consultation examining the effectiveness of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (SI 2017/692), which impose duties on a range of businesses to identify and prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. The government published its response on 17 July 2025, followed on 2 September 2025 by a draft statutory instrument and an accompanying policy note. The draft SI proposes a de minimis exemption from the requirement to register with the Trust Registration Service where, among other conditions, a trust with no UK tax liability also satisfies all of the following: it holds no interest in UK land; it holds no assets of significant value exceeding £2,000; it has not, since creation, held property with a cumulative value above £10,000; and its income does not exceed £5,000 per annum. This exemption would not be retrospective and would apply solely to new trusts set...

In this issue: Budgets, Autumn Statements and Finance Bills Tax treatment Corporate governance Trackers Dates for your diary Weekly highlights from other practice areas Budgets, Autumn Statements and Finance Bills Treasury announces date of ‘Legislation Day’ Draft legislation for the Finance Bill 2026 will be issued on Monday 21 July 2025. In a written statement, James Murray, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, confirmed that the UK Government will publish draft clauses on that date, capturing policy changes already trailed. Alongside the draft text, there will be explanatory notes, tax information and impact notes, consultation responses and other supporting documents. The UK Government’s Tax Policy Making Principles paper also reaffirms consulting on draft Finance Bill measures over the summer, together with an intention, where appropriate, to release technical consultations at other points in the cycle far enough ahead of the Finance Bill’s introduction to ease demands on stakeholders. See: Written Statement made on 4 July 2025...

In this issue: Company law and regulatory matters Corporate governance Tax treatment Useful information Trackers Dates for your diary Weekly highlights from other practice areas Company law and regulatory matters Companies (Directors’ Remuneration and Audit) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 published The Companies (Directors’ Remuneration and Audit) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/439) have been issued and will take effect on 11 May 2025, having previously been laid for sifting last month (see News Analysis: Share Incentives weekly highlights—6 March 2025—Company law and regulatory matters). They remove most of the 2019 reporting obligations imposed on quoted companies in relation to directors’ remuneration, introduced to implement aspects of EU Directive 2017/828 (the revised Shareholder Rights Directive). This change reflects substantial overlap with pre‑2019 UK rules on directors’ pay reporting that remain in force and continue to apply. The instrument also updates the audit regulatory framework to address inconsistencies identified by the government and the Financial Reporting Council, which arose during...

In this issue: Employment taxes Companies and corporation tax Real estate tax Taxes management and litigation Individuals and income tax Energy and environment Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Employment taxes HMRC issues fresh and revised employer guidance on changes affecting non-domiciled individuals. It has released new materials for employers and refreshed various employment-related guidance pages to align with Finance Act 2025 (FA 2025) changes for non-domiciled individuals, effective from 6 April 2025...

This Practice Note sets out a comparison of headline aspects of the FIDIC 2017 and NEC4 suites, highlighting similarities and distinctions across their principal features. It specifically concentrates on the NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) and the FIDIC Red Book 2017 (Red Book), used primarily where the Contractor constructs to the Employer’s design in practice (although, where the scope includes any Contractor design, the Red Book accommodates this). For commentary on the 1999 edition of the FIDIC Red Book, see Practice Note: FIDIC 1999 and NEC4 contracts compared. Overall philosophy FIDIC FIDIC contracts are the leading international standard-form construction agreements. They are often described as ‘written by engineers, for engineers’. The suite is also recognised for balanced risk distribution, with liabilities generally allocated to the party best able to manage them (the EPC/Turnkey variant, widely referred to as the Silver Book, is something of an exception). As one would expect from documents devised by engineers, the Engineer has a central function in a number of the...

This Practice Note explores equivalent project relief (EPR) in PFI and PF2 schemes, outlining the purpose of these provisions, the composition of an EPR clause and key cases. EPR clauses usually provide that a sub-contractor may claim compensation, an extension of time (EOT) or relief from termination under the sub-contract only to the extent that Project Co has secured the equivalent remedy under the Project Agreement; in short, Project Co bears no greater liability to the sub-contractor than the Authority bears to Project Co. Note that in the 2018 Budget (delivered on 29 October 2018), the government announced it would stop using PFI or PF2 for new projects (see News Analysis: Budget 2018—what does it mean for infrastructure and housebuilding?). However, existing PFI and PF2 projects continue to run. What is equivalent project relief? To understand what equivalent project relief means, it is necessary to consider the background that prompted these clauses. As explained in Practice Note: Introduction to PFI and PF2, the structure of a...

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...

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

This Deed is made on [ insert date ] BY [ insert full name of Trustee ], incorporated and registered in [ insert country in which the trustee is incorporated ] under company number [ insert company registered number ], whose registered office is at [ insert address of registered office ], acting in its capacity as sole trustee of the [ insert name of the EBT ] Employee Benefit Trust (the Trustee). Background Under a trust deed dated [ insert date of EBT trust deed ] (the Trust Deed), [ insert full name of company ], incorporated and registered in England and Wales with company number [ insert registered number ], whose registered office is at [ insert registered office address ] (the Company), created the [ insert name of EBT ] Employee Benefit Trust (the EBT). The Company is discussing with [ insert name of potential buyer ] (the Buyer) the proposed disposal of all of the issued share capital (the Shares) of...

This DEED is entered into on [ insert date on which this deed is executed by all parties ] Parties [ Insert name of Company ] whose registered office is at [ insert address of registered office ] and whose registered number is [ insert registered number of Company ] (the Company); and [ Insert name of Trustee ] whose registered address is at [ insert address ] [ and whose registered company number is [ insert registered company number of Trustee ] ] (the Original Trustee). Background The Company intends to establish a trust to be known as the [ insert name of EBT ] with the objective of encouraging, motivating and retaining Employees within the Group Companies by providing benefits to such Employees and their dependants. The Company has transferred to the Original Trustee the sum of £[ insert initial settlement amount ] as the initial Trust Fund. It is anticipated that the Trustees will...