Packet-based meaning

This Checklist outlines the practical considerations for a franchisor when launching an international franchise. A franchisor may wish to grow its network abroad to tap new territories and emerging markets, usually by entering into an international franchise agreement or an international development agreement. Nevertheless, the agreement and the structuring of the international arrangement can also present challenges and complications. This Checklist identifies some of the practical issues that a franchisor planning to expand overseas might encounter. Issues The franchise agreement will state that the franchisee must run the business in line with the franchisor’s operations manual. However, the business method described in that manual may not have been piloted or proven in the overseas territory. It will have been devised on assumptions tailored to the local market. A franchisee may therefore struggle to implement the method in the overseas territory if reliant on those assumptions. A franchisee is often contractually obliged to use the marketing material supplied by the franchisor under the agreement...

When considering an arbitration, you should consider: how the dispute will be financed and managed overall can the client realistically cover your professional fees together with the arbitration expenses? could another party or source be prepared to pick up the entire bill? is any relevant insurance already in place and available? would after-the-event insurance cover be an appropriate option? might your firm accept a conditional fee arrangement, a damages-based agreement, or some other funding structure? See Funding Arrangements—Overview (note: this link is not arbitration-specific) is the client open to exploring third-party funding? ...

This Checklist This Checklist consolidates obligations under the Criminal Finances Act 2017 (CFA 2017), alongside related guidance on preventing the facilitation of tax evasion. It further includes recommended actions reflecting best practice. It signposts pertinent Precedents that you may adopt or tailor to achieve compliance in full with these obligations and suggestions. A section allows you to indicate clearly completion of each requirement, with another for comments or recording action points. For further guidance, refer to Practice Note: Failure to prevent facilitation of tax evasion—compliance issues...

Except where an exemption or relief is available, payments of yearly interest that have a UK source (including amounts that tax legislation treats as payments of yearly interest) must be made under deduction, with the payer required to account to HMRC for an amount in respect of UK income tax at the basic rate (20%) or, from 6 April 2027, at the savings basic rate (22%). Although often called a withholding tax, it is in fact simply a means, in practice, of collecting UK income tax. While the tax is imposed on the interest received by the non-UK beneficial owner, it is recovered from the UK-based payer of the interest. For further detail, see Practice Notes: UK withholding tax on yearly interest and Exemptions and reliefs from UK withholding tax on yearly interest. This Flowchart assists in determining whether the quoted eurobond exemption applies to a payment of interest, so that the payer need not withhold UK income tax from that payment in question. For more information on the quoted...

Select this link to open or print the full-size PDF:...

This Checklist This Checklist outlines practical due diligence actions for selecting and overseeing agents or representatives, such as verifying ownership and control, evaluating country and payment risks, defining scope and remuneration (including success fee exposure), confirming competence and credentials, and making sure fees, licences and facilitation payment controls are consistent with the company’s anti-bribery requirements. Practitioners supporting clients with appointing and supervising agents or representatives should reflect on the following: every agent or representative of the business should be subject to due diligence the company must undertake its own enquiries and augment any information with newspaper or web-based research to satisfy itself regarding each agent whether the company has analysed and documented the rationale for, and the procedure by which, an agent was appointed...

Mergers The Commission approved KKR & Co. Inc’s takeover of sole control of Encavis AG (M.11542) after a phase I review—see further details in Midday Express. The Commission has received notification of Blackstone/Winthrop Technologies (M.11548) under the normal merger procedure. NOTE—For current merger inquiries before the Commission, consult the EU mergers—ongoing cases tracker. State aid Commission launches consultation on new procedure for access to justice in State-aid related environmental matters The Commission has opened a consultation on a proposed procedure designed to enable public access to justice for certain Commission decisions on State aid measures, for challenges based on alleged breaches of EU environmental law. More specifically, under the proposal, eligible members of the public—ie environmental non-governmental organisations—would be able to request an internal review by the Commission of a State aid decision for purported violations of EU environmental law. Those eligible applicants would have a right of redress before the EU Courts...

In this issue: Horizon scanning Status and worker categories Benefits Prohibited conduct Unfair dismissal Settlement Employment tribunals Dates for your diary Trackers New Q&As Employment resources on Lexis+® LexTalk®Employment: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Horizon scanning What to watch in Employment law this winter In 2025, the government’s suite of employment reforms has set the pace, yet noteworthy shifts in case law and workplace culture also merit close attention as winter draws in. Some updates will stem from regulators, including the Financial Conduct Authority, which is anticipated to finalise guidance on tackling non-financial misconduct. Practitioners should also be mindful of the broader adoption of artificial intelligence, alongside a rise in employees voicing politically sensitive opinions at work, both of which demand vigilance as 2026 approaches. See Law360: What to watch in employment law this winter. Status and worker categories European Parliament ready to negotiate better...

On 7 April 2026, Dyson secured an interim injunction against Chinese rival Dreame after the UPC tribunal held that the ‘Dazzle’ hair styler infringed Dyson’s patent, compelling a suspension of sales throughout all UPC Member States and Spain. The Hamburg Local Division explained that including Spain (despite it not being a UPC Member State) was warranted because Dreame’s EU-based importer was actively putting the goods on the Spanish market, thereby creating a sufficiently close jurisdictional connection to hear the claims together under EU jurisdictional rules. The panel, chaired by Sabine Klepsch, declined to stretch the order to the UK. Citing the UK–EU Windsor Framework, under which certain EU product safety requirements still apply in Northern Ireland and oblige non‑EU manufacturers to appoint an EU-based representative to place goods there, Dyson argued this regulatory nexus tied UK sales to the EU and could ground UPC jurisdiction. The judges disagreed, concluding those provisions are principally intended to smooth trade between Northern Ireland and the EU, not to create an adequate legal link...

This Practice Note sets out the essentials of Regulation (EU) 2024/2847, the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA): its background, timeline, aims, and how it aligns with other EU laws. For details on the CRA’s scope or core duties for economic operators, see the following Practice Notes: The EU Cyber Resilience Act—scope and classification of products The EU Cyber Resilience Act—obligations, compliance and enforcement Regulation (EU) 2024/2847, known as the CRA, is the first EU measure to set mandatory cybersecurity requirements for ‘products with digital elements’ across the EU. From December 2027, products that do not satisfy these requirements cannot be placed on the EU market. Accordingly, compliance will be crucial for market entry for both hardware and software. Manufacturers, importers and distributors will have extensive cybersecurity responsibilities and risk significant fines for non-compliance. The CRA was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 20 November 2024, entered into force on 10 December 2024, and applies in full from 11...

Data security sits at the heart of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR). The sixth data protection principle—integrity and confidentiality—requires you to adopt suitable technical and organisational measures so that personal data is processed with appropriate security, including: protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing accidental loss, destruction, or damage This Practice Note reflects Data Protection Commission (DPC) guidance on personal data breaches under the EU GDPR, and also draws on guidance from the European Data Protection Board (EDPB). Data security requirements Article 32 puts practical detail behind the GDPR’s integrity and confidentiality principle. You must implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to achieve a level of security proportionate to the risk, taking into account: the nature, scope, context, and purpose of processing the risk of varying likelihood and severity for the rights and freedoms of data subjects Where appropriate, your security measures should include: the pseudonymisation and encryption of...

CASE HUB See more, timeline, commentary and connected cases. Case facts European Commission merger inquiry under Article 14(1) EUMR into inaccurate or misleading information supplied by KKR during the Commission’s 2024 review of KKR’s acquisition of NetCo. Latest developments On 24 July 2025, the Commission opened its investigation. Parties KKR & Co. Inc (KKR): Headquartered in the US, KKR is a global investment firm providing alternative asset management alongside capital markets and insurance services. NetCo: Based in Italy, NetCo is a newly established company that comprises FiberCop—presently jointly controlled by KKR and TIM—as well as TIM’s primary and backbone fixed-line network...

This Precedent includes a PowerPoint team brand workshop template with accompanying notes to help you run a session with your team to identify the key activities and values you want your business to be recognised for. It guides you and the group through sharing and refining ideas, then moves into setting concrete actions and clear next steps. 1 Meeting logistics Let the team know in advance that this will be a working session and ask them to consider how they add value to the business, arriving prepared to share their views. Have to hand paper, one pack of sticky notes per person, marker pens for everyone, and a space in the room where items can be put up on the wall. Plan for two and a half hours, including a 15-minute comfort break halfway through (based on five to ten attendees). Appoint someone in the team to help with timekeeping and to compile a list of actions, owners and timescales to capture at the end of the meeting....

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: Potential changes to Wills Act 1837 The Law Commission’s review of wills culminated in a final report on 16 May 2025. Volume II contains a Draft Bill proposing replacement of the Wills Act 1837. For details of these proposals, including the published draft legislation, see Practice Note: Hot topic—modernising Wills and Modernising wills: Final Report Volume II: Draft Bill for a new Wills Act. STOP PRESS: Abolition of non-dom regime and introduction of residence-based IHT regime The Finance Act 2025 (FA 2025), which received Royal Assent on 20 March 2025, implements the abolition of the remittance basis and introduces a residence-based regime from 6 April 2025. FA 2025 makes residence, rather than domicile, the main determinant of liability to inheritance tax. changes to the rules defining excluded property status; removal of protected settlements status for offshore trusts; and modifications to overseas workday relief. For further information, see Practice Notes: The abolition of the remittance basis of taxation...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: Potential changes to Wills Act 1837 On 16 May 2025, the Law Commission’s review of Wills published its final report, formally setting out its conclusions, with Volume II containing a draft Bill intended to supersede the Wills Act 1837. For details of these proposals, including the published draft legislation, consult Practice Note: Hot topic—modernising Wills and Modernising wills: Final Report Volume II: draft Bill for a new Wills Act. STOP PRESS: Ending the non-dom regime and moving to a residence-based IHT regime. The Finance Act 2025 (FA 2025), which obtained Royal Assent on 20 March 2025, enacts legislation for the removal of the remittance basis of taxation and substitutes a residence-based system commencing on 6 April 2025. It also displaces domicile as the principal determinant of inheritance tax (IHT) liability for individuals. Further measures cover revisions to the rules for excluded property status, the removal of protected settlements status for offshore trusts, and alterations to overseas workday relief as applicable. For more on these reforms, see...

This Q&A presumes the beverages are not provided as part of catering. The Value Added Tax Act 1994 (VATA 1994) sets out the UK’s value added tax (VAT) framework. For broader guidance on VAT, consult Practice Notes: What is VAT?, When does VAT apply? and When can a person recover VAT? Zero-rated supplies A zero-rated supply still counts as a taxable supply, despite no VAT being levied on it. Accordingly, it differs from a VAT-exempt supply in VAT terms...

Neither the legislation—Part 4, Schedule 6 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (EIA 2006)—nor the guidance—Governance handbook and Schools causing concern—Statutory guidance for local authorities—addresses whether a duty to consult persists where a local authority intends to exercise its EIA 2006, s 65 powers to appoint an Interim Executive Board (IEB) after the entire governing body has stepped down. Warning notice As stated at page 14 of the guidance, a warning notice under Part 4 of the EIA 2006 must be provided in writing to the school’s governing body and must include: the matters on which the local authority’s concerns are based...

This is a Q&A about whether it is necessary for dependants to apply to switch categories at the same time as their relevant points-based system (PBS) migrants. The Points Based System (Dependant) Guidance states, as a general rule, that where the principal migrant changes employer or education provider, receives a new certificate of sponsorship and applies for leave to remain to work or study with their new sponsor, their dependants are not obliged to apply for leave to remain at the same time...