incident meaning

This Checklist outlines pragmatic measures for senior managers falling under the FCA and PRA’s Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR), supporting them in meeting their individual regulatory duties and, in turn, mitigating the prospect of enforcement action. What do senior managers need to do initially when commencing their role? Upon starting a new position in a financial institution, senior managers ought to complete a recorded, early review of the risk management framework relevant to their business area, within the first two to three months. For the avoidance of doubt, regardless of the scale of the firm’s compliance or risk function, accountability for regulatory compliance—including the design and performance of the risk management framework—also rests with the senior manager accountable for that part of the business. That review should include setting up meetings with those in the business who best understand how the area was run before the senior manager arrived (ideally including the predecessor), as well as with Compliance, Risk Management, Internal Audit and HR. These steps support...

Claimant Claimant's history Has the claimant previously pursued personal injury claims? This can be verified via the Claims Underwriting Exchange (CUE) database, which records all claims that have been lodged with an insurer. Nature of the injuries Do the reported injuries align with, and are they proportionate to, the overall seriousness of the collision event? High occupancy A crowded vehicle (ie several passengers) does not, by itself, prove fraud, yet it may still be relevant where an accident is alleged to have been engineered or staged. No reason to stop Where the defendant maintains the claimant’s car braked without cause, this may potentially point to a set-up incident. Late reported claim Although claimants ordinarily have three full years to bring a claim, when a claim reaches an insurer more than six months after the accident date, without any credible reason at all (eg a prolonged hospital stay, or the claimant’s insurer struggled to identify the defendant’s insurer), there is a...

Business continuity plan—BCP checklist This Business continuity plan—BCP checklist is intended to help you assess whether you have the recommended arrangements in place to respond to a business continuity incident, and points you to relevant guidance and Precedents that you can use or tailor as appropriate for this purpose. It also includes a box to indicate completion of each requirement and a section to add comments or record action points. For additional guidance, see Practice Note: How to create a business continuity plan—BCP...

This flowchart shows how to handle a data protection incident (including a cyber security incident) in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). It mirrors the UK GDPR’s rules on reporting and recording personal data breaches, alongside the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guidance on breach management. It charts the end-to-end breach lifecycle, offering direction and links to the relevant precedents for each step of the process. See Precedents: Personal data breach plan, Data breach report form—internal and Data breach assessment and action plan, which steer you through every stage of this workflow. Note 1—assemble data breach team The initial action is to bring together your data breach team. Decide who in the organisation is best positioned to respond promptly to the incident and who should support the ensuing enquiry. This typically calls for contributions from specialists across the business, including IT, HR and compliance/legal, and may, in some instances, involve engagement with external stakeholders and suppliers. The Precedent: Personal data breach plan urges you to...

Contributory negligence When the defendant holds primary responsibility for the incident, they may assert that the other party contributed to it. The matters to assess are: which parties were to blame for the incident, and to what extent? in what proportion should damages be allocated, having regard to the comparative responsibilities of those at fault?...

On 19 November 2025, the Commission unveiled its Digital Omnibus proposal. It comprises two principal strands: one delivering ‘quick fixes’ to pain points in Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, the EU AI Act, and another, more intricate, amending the data acquis, most notably Regulation (EU) 2016/679, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR), Directive 2022/58/EC, the ePrivacy Directive, and Regulation (EU) 2023/2854, the EU Data Act. The headline items are delays to the high-risk AI rules under the EU AI Act, and a fresh EU GDPR lawful basis of legitimate interest for processing personal data when developing or operating AI systems (with safeguards). There is much to absorb—just as we get to grips with the new regime, changes are proposed, some bound to be disputed while others will be seen as eminently sensible. Here we outline the key points. EU GDPR The EU’s flagship legislation, the EU GDPR, is poised for its first substantial overhaul, with several significant amendments on the table...

In this issue: Investigating criminal conduct Criminal procedure and evidence Proceeds of crime Sentencing Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Consumer protection and cartels Cybercrime and data protection offences Environmental offences Financial services and pensions offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Insolvency offences and Companies Act offences Money laundering International Other corporate crime news Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Investigating criminal conduct Standards of candour in closed hearings, and corporate witness statements (Attorney General v BBC; R (‘Beth’) v IPT) When scrutinising MI5’s actions across two High Court cases, the court addressed the grave consequences of presenting inaccurate material within closed hearings. It outlined the tightly confined situations that can justify a departure from open justice under section 6 of the Justice and Security Act 2013 (JSA 2013). The court further...

UK companies face uncertainties in cybersecurity regulation UK businesses remain unsure about forthcoming cyber security rules as lawmakers step up pressure on the government to bring forward the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill as soon as possible, following attacks on high-profile British companies. A draft is anticipated in Parliament within the next few weeks, yet the schedule could shift due to the recent ministerial reshuffle. When challenged by opposition politicians on 9 September 2025 and 10 September 2025, Labour lawmakers speaking for the government declined to give a firm date, stating that new legislation would arrive “when parliamentary time allows”. The Bill is intended to refresh the UK’s cyber security framework to align with the NIS 2 Directive. A policy statement from April 2025 indicates it would bring further sectors and their suppliers into the scope of mandatory regulatory duties, tighten oversight, and raise incident-reporting requirements. In the House of Lords on 10 September 2025, Conservative lawmaker Chris Holmes pressed ministers to confirm when the Bill would be...

This Practice Note outlines how in-house lawyers can collaborate with other business functions to secure adherence to regulatory requirements... What regulations need to be complied with and who is responsible for compliance programmes? Every organisation faces sector‑specific rules and broad, cross‑cutting obligations, including: data protection health and safety competition product safety financial crime environmental obligations employment consumer protection advertising and marketing sanctions/export controls reporting/tax In a regulated sector, a visible compliance function is to be expected, yet it is uncommon for a single department to cover every regulatory strand. Where the core business is not regulated, compliance can become fragmented: HR may take charge of health and safety, while another HR lead may oversee ethics (anti‑bribery). An environment team might drive environmental compliance but leave gaps, for example around product packaging and disposal. Data privacy may sit with a dedicated team or be handled by Legal. The legal team will typically take...

Data security sits at the heart of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The sixth data protection principle — integrity and confidentiality — obliges you to implement suitable technical and organisational steps so that personal data is handled with appropriate safeguards and security when processed, including: protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing accidental loss, destruction or damage This Practice Note draws on ICO guidance regarding personal data breaches under the UK GDPR. It also incorporates further practical pointers and information drawn from ICO guidance on managing data security breaches issued under the previous data protection regime; that guidance has now been withdrawn. The Practice Note additionally aligns with materials from the European Data Protection Board (EDPB). According to the ICO, although the UK has left the EU, these guidelines continue to be relevant. Data security requirements Article 32 expands upon the GDPR’s integrity and confidentiality principle by setting out further detail...

This Practice Note sets out advice for law firms on responding to client account fraud and outlines the applicable legal and regulatory duties. Client funds are inviolable and their careful stewardship is essential and paramount. What is client account fraud? A firm suffers client account fraud where money is unlawfully taken from its client account. Immediate steps to take Act swiftly to limit harm in the immediate aftermath of client account fraud. Do everything possible to prevent further loss and disruption promptly. Form a fraud response team and appoint someone to lead the incident without delay; suitable choices include: the compliance officer for finance and administration (COFA) the finance director the compliance officer for legal practice (COLP) the nominated officer the senior partner another appropriately senior person within the firm The SRA warning notice, Money missing from client account, states that if you discover that funds are missing, you must take steps to ensure...

Notification under the Serious Injury Guide Sent by email to [ insert the early notification contact name and email address as listed for each insurer at http://www.seriousinjuryguide.co.uk/ ] Dear [ insert name ] Ref: Accident Client name: Date of birth: [ to be provided in a separate email ] National Insurance number: [ to be provided in a separate email ] We represent [ insert claimant’s name ] who sustained injuries in an incident on [ insert date ] at around [ insert time ], occurring in the course of their employment as [ insert details OR other circumstances ]...

1 Management commitment Person accountable for the Product Safety Incident Plan (PSIP) [ Insert name and contact details of senior person in the organisation responsible for leading, developing and periodically reviewing the policy, and reporting on its operation to the Board ] Plan Review Date [ Insert date of next plan review ] 1.1 [ Insert organisation name ] aims to ensure every product it [ produces AND/OR distributes ] is safe, of high quality and meets all applicable legislation and standards. [ Insert organisation name ] evaluates those products and acts to remove, or, where that is not achievable, to reduce, any identified safety risks. 1.2 [ Insert organisation name ] achieves this through quality assurance, ongoing product monitoring [ , review of customer complaints and product returns, ] and risk assessment, in accordance with the relevant section of the PSIP. 1.3 The PSIP has been shaped with contributions from across the business, including [ eg design, production, quality assurance, customer services,...

Letter notifying data subject of data breach under the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, SI 2003/2426 [ Data subject’s name and address ] [ Date ] Dear [ insert name ], Notification of data breach On [ insert date ] we identified that [ what has occurred, ie a personal data breach (including whether an unauthorised third party was involved) ]. [ We believe that the OR The ] incident is understood to have taken place on [ insert date ]. Our enquiries [ to date ] indicate that the data [ was accessed by an unauthorised person OR was disclosed without authorisation OR was stolen OR was lost OR was destroyed OR was altered ] [ may have ] comprised personal information, for example [ describe the data and, if possible, confirm whether you consider the recipient’s data to have been affected, eg the names and addresses ]...

HSC(CHS)A 2003, Part 3 For personal injury compensation claims where the incident occurred on or after 29 January 2007, Part 3 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 (HSC(CHS)A 2003) applies. The HSC(CHS)A 2003 extends to any matter involving foreign nationals and foreign compensators, in circumstances where NHS treatment and/or ambulance services were delivered to the injured person following their return to England, Scotland or Wales. Part 3 of the HSC(CHS)A 2003 permits recovery of the costs of treating an injured person in all situations where that individual has successfully pursued a personal injury claim against a third party. Under HSC(CHS)A 2003, s 150(3), a ‘compensation payment’ is a payment, including one in money’s worth, made on behalf of a person who is, or is alleged to be, liable in respect of the injury. HSC(CHS)A 2003, s 150(3) further provides that relevant NHS charges are not included...