Personal service meaning

Legislation safeguards the pension entitlements of members of occupational pension schemes and other employment‑related benefit arrangements, including workplace personal pension schemes that receive employer contributions, while they are away from work on statutory family leave. Statutory family leave encompasses: maternity leave paternity leave adoption leave parental leave shared parental leave parental bereavement leave carer’s leave Maternity leave Occupational pension schemes are taken to include a maternity equality rule requiring periods when a member is on maternity leave to be treated in the same manner as periods when they are not on maternity leave. This maternity equality rule applies to both paid and unpaid ordinary maternity leave (OML), as well as to paid additional maternity leave (AML). As a result, under this rule, time spent on OML and paid AML in a defined benefit (DB) scheme is recognised as pensionable service...

The suitability obligation All authorised firms are subject to a suitability obligation, which requires them to take reasonable steps to ensure that any personal recommendations, or decisions to trade, are suitable for their clients. The suitability obligation applies to: firms providing investment advisory services, and firms providing discretionary portfolio management services Firms providing non‑advised investment services will instead be subject to the appropriateness obligation (see Practice Note: Appropriateness). Firms must gather the information ‘necessary’ about their clients in respect of their: knowledge and experience in the investment field relevant to the type of investment or service, financial situation, and investment objectives For more information on the suitability obligation, see Practice Note Suitability. When does the obligation to provide a suitability report apply? In certain circumstances, firms are required to provide suitability reports to their clients under COBS 9.4...

Checklist to assist with taking instructions from a business when drafting a consultancy agreement See also: Key provisions in a consultancy agreement—checklist. Precedents For precedent consultancy agreements, see: Consultancy agreement—company and individual—pro-client Consultancy agreement—company and company—pro-client Consultancy agreement—individual and company—pro-consultant Consultancy agreement—company and company—pro-consultancy Consultancy agreement—company and individual—pro-client (short form) Side letter to consultancy agreement—company and company—pro-client Further related guidance See: Consultancy services—overview and Practice Notes: Managed service companies and the anti-avoidance legislation Deciding appropriate employment status Personal service companies—the key benefits and key tax considerations Securing intellectual property rights from employees and contractors IR35—the large and public client off-payroll regime—practical considerations for the end client Issue Business objectives Why do you want to appoint a consultant? What are you trying to achieve? Service scope What services will fall within the scope of the...

This Flowchart This Flowchart helps determine the appropriate rate of stamp duty land tax (SDLT) for the transaction in question. Different SDLT rates may apply to purchases depending on the property type (residential, non-residential (commercial property), or mixed-use property). Use this Flowchart in conjunction with Practice Note: Rates of SDLT. This Flowchart proceeds on the basis that: the buyer is acquiring a single property and the purchase is not linked with any other transaction. For further detail on linked transactions, see Practice Note: SDLT chargeable consideration—Linked transactions no relief from SDLT applies to the transaction...

FORTHCOMING CHANGE : The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 obtained Royal Assent on 27 October 2025. For guidance on the Act’s effect on residential tenancies in England, see Practice Note: Renters’ Rights Act 2025—key provisions. This Flowchart outlines how to end an assured (AT) or assured shorthold tenancy (AST) via section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988), including: service of a section 8 notice issuing proceedings the steps in the case leading to an order for possession Where HA 1988 applies, unless the tenant agrees to leave voluntarily, a landlord may recover possession only by using the procedures in HA 1988, sections 8 or 21, obtaining an order for possession and enforcing it. See Practice Note: Assured and assured shorthold tenancies—terminating. The section 8 process is available where the tenant has defaulted on tenancy obligations (for example, failing to pay rent) or the landlord qualifies for possession on another HA 1988, Sch 2 ground, whether during a fixed...

This decision tree sets out a logical route for deciding whether you may undertake email marketing and, if so, who you can contact. It is just as applicable to text and SMS activity. Separate trees cover postal and live telephone direct marketing—see: Direct marketing decision tree—postal—data protection and Direct marketing decision tree—live telephone calls—data protection. Of all marketing channels, electronic marketing is the most demanding from a regulatory perspective. You must comply with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations 2003 (PECR 2003). PECR 2003 applies different rules to different electronic marketing methods, depending on your audience and the goods/services being promoted. You must also meet the relevant UK GDPR obligations. For more guidance, see the following Practice Notes: Direct marketing compliance—Electronic mail How to handle personal data for direct marketing Direct marketing—UK GDPR and PECR 2003 interplay What is electronic mail direct marketing? Direct marketing is the communication, by any means, of...

In this issue: Key DR developments Cross-border disputes Pre-action and limitation Litigation Case management Evidence and disclosure ADR Scottish Dispute Resolution Dates for your diary Useful information Daily and weekly news alerts Key DR developments Guidance and reports Courts and Tribunals Judiciary publishes February 2026 updated edition of the Equal Treatment Bench Book: The Courts and Tribunals Judiciary has issued an interim February 2026 update to the Equal Treatment Bench Book. For more information, see: Courts and Tribunals Judiciary publishes February 2026 updated edition Equal Treatment Bench Book—LNB News 26/02/2026 28. HCCH publishes 2025 annual report highlighting private international law developments The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) has released its 2025 annual report, noting the creation of two new Experts’ Groups to examine private international law topics linked to Digital Tokens and Carbon Markets. For more information, see: HCCH publishes 2025 annual report highlighting private international law...

Sriram (acting by her litigation friend, the Official Solicitor) v Revenue and Customs Commissioners and another [2024] EWHC 853 (Ch), [2024] All ER (D) 86 (Apr) What are the practical implications of this case? Creditors should act with care to ensure that service of a statutory demand (and bankruptcy petition) is properly effected, particularly where a debtor seeks to avoid service and has several addresses. Attempts to serve ought to be clearly and contemporaneously recorded. Creditors are required to take all reasonable measures to bring the document or documents to the debtor’s attention. However, this does not oblige them to attend or write to every address associated with the debtor that they know about. The addresses that must be tried will depend on the circumstances of the individual case. A wide, scattergun strategy to service is not expected. By way of example, if a debtor holds multiple properties and there is no reply to a visit or correspondence at one property, that location may not amount to a ‘known’...

According to the Department for Business and Trade, a former Insolvency Service employee, who remains anonymous, supplied The Times, the Financial Times and Sky News in November 2023 with confidential details about the agency’s plan to seek director disqualification against Greensill. The government’s High Court defence, dated 29 April 2024 and now public, asserts this constituted unlawful processing of the Australian businessman’s personal data under the UK GDPR, together with a breach of confidence and misuse of private information. However, the government rejected the contention that the disclosures caused Greensill “significant anxiety and distress”. By then, the department argued, the ex-Citigroup and Morgan Stanley banker’s standing as a businessman was “already significantly, if not irreparably, damaged”. Greensill issued proceedings against the government in March 2024, seeking damages and compensation, contending that the Insolvency Service’s investigation was “an obviously confidential and private process”. He alleges the staff member, referred to only as X, infringed his privacy by tipping off the media about the scope and key areas of focus in the...

This Practice Note was prepared by Anne Redston, Barrister. It reflects her personal view; she is not authorised to speak for the Tribunals Service or the judiciary. This Practice Note: explores how legal professional privilege (LPP) operates in relation to tax matters examines the relationship between LPP and HMRC’s powers to obtain information and conduct inspections considers the extent to which LPP is available to non-lawyer tax advisers This Practice Note is a brief overview and does not cover every circumstance, so you may need further advice concerning your client’s position. For example, it does not consider privilege: under Scots law, or in relation to criminal proceedings, such as tax fraud It also does not address without prejudice privilege. This is considered in Practice Note: Without prejudice communications and in Wired Orthodontics. What is LPP? In the ex parte Morgan Grenfell case, Lord Hoffman described LPP as ‘a fundamental human right...

L&D encompasses all learning opportunities across the organisation. It includes, though is not limited to: taking part in training courses completing online tutorials watching webinars on-the-job coaching mentoring reading researching Regulatory requirements SRA The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) views learning as vital. Solicitors no longer have to tally continuing professional development (CPD) hours each year. Under the SRA’s competency regime, they must reflect on the quality of their practice, identify any learning and development needs, and then address them to ensure their knowledge and skills are current and they are competent to practise. For more information about the competence regime, see: Continuing competence—in-house lawyers—overview. Before the SRA competence statement, the SRA made no distinction between technical legal skills development and personal development. The competence statement addresses this, defining what solicitors must be able to do to deliver a proper standard of service and setting out core standards all solicitors and registered European lawyers (RELs) should undertake...

Once a bankruptcy petition and its supporting documents have been presented (or issued) at court, the petitioning creditor’s initial step is to ensure the documents are served on the debtor. This Practice Note outlines the methods by which a petitioning creditor must serve the bankruptcy petition on the debtor. It does not cover service of any other documents within insolvency proceedings. For further guidance on issuing a bankruptcy petition or what to expect at the bankruptcy hearing, see: Creditors’ bankruptcy petitions—grounds and documents required for presentation Bankruptcy petitions—process and procedure post-presentation of the petition The general rule—personal service of the bankruptcy petition on the debtor The general rule is that a sealed copy of the bankruptcy petition must—unless the court orders substituted service—be served on the debtor personally by an officer of the court, the petitioning creditor, the creditor’s solicitor, or a person instructed by the creditor or their solicitor. In practice, most bankruptcy petitions are personally served on the debtor by...

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...

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For the purposes of this Q&A, it is assumed that: the leasehold property forms part of the unadministered Estate the Estate bears the primary responsibility to pay the service charge the beneficiaries in occupation have a right to occupy the leasehold property Whilst the Estate is being administered, legal ownership of the deceased’s unadministered assets is vested in the personal representatives (PRs) for the purposes of administration and to carry out that administration. In the meantime, no beneficiary, whether taking under the deceased’s Will or by intestacy, has any proprietary interest in any particular or identifiable asset comprised within the unadministered Estate, nor any enforceable claim to such an item. See Practice Note: Beneficiaries’ rights and remedies. The PRs hold extensive powers to administer and manage the deceased’s Estate...

IR35 The off-payroll IR35 framework applies where: from 6 April 2017, the engager is a public authority; and from 6 April 2020, a private sector organisation (other than one that is ‘small’) hires a worker via an intermediary, for example a personal service company (PSC). The legislation takes effect in respect of payments made on or after those dates, even where such payments relate to services delivered before those dates. This applies without regard to precisely when the work was performed. In essence, and in practical terms, the off-payroll IR35 rules move the task of deciding whether IR35 applies from the PSC to the end client in relevant cases and, where IR35 does apply, they place the duty to deduct income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) on the party nearest to the PSC in the contractual chain (whether that is the end client contracting directly with the PSC, or another intermediary within more complicated contractual structures). IR35 is engaged...

Serving the notice Administration of Estates Act 1925, s 1(3) states that on a person’s death the personal representatives step into the deceased’s place in relation to his real property, so far as any interest survives his death, and equally in relation to his personal property. It follows that a notice connected to that property should be directed to the deceased’s personal representative, irrespective of who holds that role, and irrespective of whether a grant of representation has yet been obtained, since the testator’s property vests in the executor from the moment of death, without any interval. Where the death is intestate, the administrator’s office is described as dative, because it arises only from the grant of administration. Accordingly, until a grant issues, the deceased’s property vests in the Public Trustee and not in the administrator, who acquires authority on the grant. Service on the personal representative is the proper course even before any grant...