Fit out meaning

What is the background to the review? In October 2023, the Home Office asked Jonathan Fisher KC to carry out an independent review of Disclosure and Fraud offences (the ‘Review’). Announced under the Conservative government’s 2023 Fraud Strategy, the Review was commissioned to examine how effectively the disclosure regime operates and whether the existing legislative framework is fit to tackle the demands of modern fraud. The catalyst was the exponential growth in material generated in criminal investigations and the resulting pressure on the criminal disclosure system. As society becomes ever more digitised, the quantity of case material has surged, most starkly in ‘sophisticated’ offences such as fraud, which are document-heavy and increasingly reliant on digital evidence. The framework set by the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (the ‘CPIA 1996’) has struggled to keep pace, and, as highlighted in the preliminary findings, failures to disclose pertinent material have caused miscarriages of justice that have marked the criminal justice system (see Independent report—Preliminary findings and direction of travel)...

In this issue Key developments and horizon scanning Transferring property Property development Environment, energy and buildings Property taxes Property in Scotland Additional property updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Trackers New Q&As Key developments and horizon scanning MHCLG announces leasehold reforms for 2025—implementation of LFRA 2024 and modernisation of commonhold The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has outlined a far‑reaching package of proposed leasehold changes planned for 2025. On 21 November 2024, Matthew Pennycook, Minister of State for Housing and Planning, issued a written statement on leasehold and commonhold reform, addressing the commencement of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 (LFRA 2024) and setting out further intentions to reform both leasehold and commonhold. LFRA 2024 Pennycook confirmed the government’s aim is to bring LFRA 2024 into effect as rapidly as practicable, whilst accepting that sufficient time is needed to ensure the measures are fully ‘fit...

Notaries Notaries (qualified lawyers empowered to verify documents so they are fit for use) do not infringe prohibitions on giving legal advice to companies based in Russia, as they operate wholly independently and impartially towards clients, the European Court of Justice ruled. The preliminary decision stated: ‘A notary does not render a service but simply fulfils an official role’. A notary must ‘keep an equal distance from all parties and their respective interests, acting solely in the interests of the law and legal certainty’. The court added that notaries represent neither side when carrying out a public function to properly authenticate legal instruments...

This table summarises all completed investigations by Singapore’s competition authority (the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore—the CCCS) into alleged cartels, anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominant positions since 2018. Note—only investigations that have been made public are included in this table. 2025 Investigations under section 34 of the Competition Act Remittance services — ZGR Global; Hanshan Issues: Restrictive agreement—information exchange Developments: Decision finding infringement—31/07/2025; penalties totalling $5.36m imposed Contracting — Trust-Build Engineering & Construction Pte. Ltd; Hunan Fengtian Construction Group Co. Ltd Issues: Restrictive agreement—bid rigging Developments: Decision finding infringement—23/05/2025; penalties totalling $4.6m imposed Investigations under section 47 of the Competition Act The CCCS has not yet issued any decisions under section 47 in 2025 2024 Investigations under section 34 of the Competition Act Remittance services — ZGR Global Pte Ltd; Hanshan...

Who insures? Joint insurance From a tenant’s standpoint, the preferred arrangement is for the premises to be insured in the joint names of the landlord and the tenant. For the tenant, the key advantages are: both parties are alerted before the policy comes up for renewal or lapses any insurance proceeds are payable jointly to landlord and tenant, giving the tenant influence over how the funds are applied (and therefore over the reinstatement of the premises) there are no detrimental effects if the landlord enters liquidation before reinstatement is carried out the insurers cannot rely on their right of ‘subrogation’ (see Subrogation below) against the tenant for damage the tenant caused or contributed to Nevertheless, in many cases arranging insurance in joint names will not be practical...

Negotiation Guide This Negotiation Guide sits within the Practical lease negotiation collection. See also Practice Note: New starter guide—entering into new commercial leases. An alterations clause sets out how far (if at all) a tenant may undertake alterations to the demised premises. Contemporary commercial leases usually separate alterations into: prohibited alterations alterations allowed with the landlord’s consent alterations allowed without the landlord’s consent If, unusually, the lease contains no alteration restrictions, the tenant may carry out any alterations to the demised premises. More often, commercial leases impose a general ban on alterations, with carve-outs for defined categories of works (eg internal non-structural changes) that may proceed either with, or without, the landlord’s prior consent. Drafting by exception in this manner helps to minimise confusion and reduce the risk of future disputes. The scope of permitted alterations—and any conditions attached to them—is shaped by the nature of the premises, the duration of the lease and the landlord’s plans for...

Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ], [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) ], whose registered office is at [ address ] [ together with an address for service in England and Wales at [ address ] ] (the Landlord); [ name of Tenant ], [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) ], with its registered office at [ address ] [ and an address for service in England and Wales at [ address ] ] (the Tenant); [ [ name of Guarantor ], [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) ], having its registered office at [ address ] [ and an address for service in England and Wales at [ address ] ] (the Guarantor) ]...

Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Licensor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at OR [ address ] (Licensor) ] [ name of Licensee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at OR [ address ] (Licensee) ] Definitions In this Licence, the terms below are to be interpreted as follows: [ Building — the Licensor’s property called [ description ] [ as recorded at HM Land Registry under title number [ number ] ]; ] [ Centre — the Licensor’s shopping centre known as [ name ] [ as recorded at HM Land Registry under title number [ number ] ]; ] Completion Date — the date on which the Lease is granted; Lease — the lease of the Property to be granted by the Licensor...

This Precedent is a long-form sickness and attendance policy and procedure designed for inclusion within a staff handbook by an employer or to operate as a stand-alone policy, addressing sickness absence, absence arising from illness or injury, and attendance at work. It applies to all employees and sets out the guiding principles, responsibilities and processes for reporting and certifying absence, including: notification of absence; self-certification; or a doctor’s or healthcare professional’s certificate, statement of fitness for work, or fit note. It covers statutory sick pay (SSP) and company sick pay, permanent health insurance (PHI), holidays, attendance monitoring, medical examinations, medical reports, return to work and absence meetings, reasonable adjustments for disabled employees, alternative employment, termination for long‑term sickness absence, absences for specific reasons, and the right to be accompanied at meetings. 1 Policy 1.1 The Company is dedicated to ensuring employees attend work whenever they are fit for work. Nonetheless, the Company recognises that individuals may become unwell and will sometimes need time away from work...

You may wish to consider separately: the implied term the fairness of a dismissal which prejudices Permanent Health Insurance (PHI) rights, under the statutory law on unfair dismissal Where PHI benefits depend on employment continuing, the High Court has implied a term preventing dismissal during incapacity, save for summary dismissal (gross misconduct) or another compelling ground (eg redundancy). In Briscoe v Lubrizol, the Court of Appeal signalled a broader carve-out, permitting dismissal for ‘reasonable and proper cause’. Even so, such a term is not always to be implied. In Lloyd v BCQ (EAT) no implication was made where: a later written contract omitted any reference to the PHI scheme and contained an entire agreement clause there was, overall, no contractual entitlement to scheme benefits the contract expressly permitted dismissal for prolonged illness For more detail, including reconciling Briscoe and Lloyd, see Practice Notes: Dealing with long-term or chronic sickness—Consider any Permanent Health Insurance (PHI)...

Q&A For this Q&A, we take 'email journaling' to mean a method whereby messages entering or leaving a server are duplicated and sent to a single designated mailbox, creating a record of every message in and out, arranged in a user-selected order (typically by date/time). We have limited this response to circumstances that fit those assumptions, and to cases where the journal mailbox cannot be changed or interfered with by any server user holding normal privileges...