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This Practice Note outlines the law concerning criminal recklessness. The subjective test for recklessness Certain statutory and common law offences allow the prosecution to prove mens rea through ‘recklessness’. Put simply, recklessness is where the accused takes an unjustified risk that results in unlawful harm or damage. The House of Lords in R v G reaffirmed the subjective approach to recklessness. Before R v G, two distinct tests were used, depending on the offence charged: Subjective recklessness from R v Cunningham: the prosecution had to establish that the accused personally foresaw the risk. Objective recklessness from R v Caldwell: the prosecution only needed to show that the risk would have been obvious to a reasonable person, without proving the accused themselves foresaw it. In R v G, the House of Lords concluded that the objective test could operate unfairly where a defendant did not foresee the
This Practice Note examines the remedy of rescission, explaining when and in what manner a contract can be unwound (at common law, in equity and under statute) and thereby terminated and brought to an end. It covers the consequences and effects of rescission, the principal grounds for setting aside an agreement (misrepresentation, mistake, undue influence, duress, non‑disclosure, fiduciary misdealing and bribery) and the main obstacles to claiming rescission—affirmation, the intervention of third‑party rights and the impossibility of restitution. For further guidance on rescission in the context of misrepresentation, see Practice Note: Misrepresentation—rescission as a remedy. There are many ways in which a contract may reach its end; see: Terminating contracts—how and when a contract ends—overview for a brief and accessible summary, with links to the related further practical guidance, including Practice Note: Termination and expiry of contracts. For a table
What is a res judicata? A res judicata is a determination by a court or tribunal with jurisdiction over the cause of action and the parties, which finally disposes of the issues decided so they cannot be litigated again by those bound, save on appeal. Final judgments entered by default or by consent fall within this concept, whereas rulings on purely procedural points and any decision lacking finality do not. The doctrine’s aim is to bring litigation to an end and shield parties from being harassed by the same dispute twice. in personam—binds the parties and their privies in rem—binds all persons, privy or otherwise (ie a judgment binding the whole world) A party may rely on res judicata: as an estoppel to defeat an opponent’s claim or defence; and/or as the basis of their own claim or
The offence of causing grievous bodily harm with intent Wounding or causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) with intent can be tried solely in the Crown Court on indictment. Elements of the offence Under the Offences against the Person Act 1861 (OATPA 1861), the prosecution must establish that the defendant unlawfully and maliciously: wounded with the intention of causing GBH, or caused GBH with that intention, or wounded intending to resist or prevent the lawful arrest or detention of any person, or caused GBH intending to resist or prevent the lawful arrest or detention of any person ‘Unlawfully’ and ‘maliciously’ Unlawfully The wounding or causing of GBH must be unlawful. Such conduct may be lawful if used: in self-defence in defence of another in defence of property for the prevention of crime where the victim gave express or implied consent For further information on these defences, see below:
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ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note sets out key details of the data protection regime before 25 May 2018 and records the legal position under the Data Protection Act 1998 ( DPA 1998). This Practice Note is provided for general background purposes only and is not currently maintained. Background to consent To meet the first data protection principle in the DPA 1998, as stemming from Directive 95/46/ EC (the Data Protection Directive), data controllers must be able to evidence, among other things, that they have satisfied: one of the conditions for processing personal data under DPA 1998, Sch 2; and if the data amounts to sensitive personal data, then, in addition, one of the conditions for processing sensitive personal data under: DPA 1998, Sch 3; or under the Data...
STOP PRESS: This document is currently being revised to take account of the Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025 ( DUAA 2025), which updates the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. For further detail on DUAA 2025 compliance, see Practice Note: Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025—compliance implications. This Practice Note draws on the UK General Data Protection Regulation ( UK GDPR) and the consent guidance issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office ( ICO). Under the UK GDPR, consent is rarely the default lawful basis for handling personal data, and organisations should assess whether another lawful ground is more suitable from both legal and operational viewpoints—see below: Do you need consent? and Practice Note: How to process personal data lawfully. What is consent? Consent means a freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous expression of the data subject’s wishes, whereby they indicate...
Use of terms ‘connected’ and ‘associate’ in pensions Although initially coined within the insolvency/bankruptcy regime set out in the Insolvency Act 1986 and underlying regulations, the notions of ‘association’ and ‘connection’—together with the allied idea of ‘control’—have, over time, been adopted and applied across various parts of the UK’s pensions legislation framework for practical purposes in appropriate cases. Examples include: Moral hazard powers — the terms are employed in the moral hazard provisions of the Pensions Act 2004, in practice to assess the degree of distance or proximity of entities from sponsoring employers of occupational pension schemes, and whether such entities might be susceptible to the Pensions Regulator’s moral hazard powers, for example the issue of financial support directions and contribution notices — for further information, see Practice Notes: Contribution notices and Financial support directions ...
Employer debt legislation Section 75 (and 75A) of the Pensions Act 1995 ( PA 1995), together with the underlying legislation, collectively comprise what is commonly called the ‘employer debt legislation’. In broad terms, these provisions state that a statutory (non-priority) debt arises in respect of an employer (or employers) participating in a registered defined benefit occupational pension scheme when the scheme is in deficit on a buy-out basis and one of three trigger events occurs: the scheme entering wind-up an insolvency event (as defined for the purposes of the legislation) in relation to a participating employer in a multi-employer scheme, a participating employer ceasing to employ active members while at least one other employer continues to do so (an ‘employment cessation event’) The statutory debt created under PA 1995, s 75 (a ‘section 75 debt’ or ‘employer debt’) is owed by the...
This Practice Note mainly concerns the settlement of disputes involving occupational pension schemes in England and Wales. It does not cover the compromise of debts under section 75 of the Pensions Act 1995 (often called Bradstock agreements); for that, see Practice Note: Compromising section 75 debts— Bradstock agreements. Why compromise? When a commercial conflict arises between two or more parties, it is usual to pursue resolution by agreement rather than only seeking a court determination; the same holds within the pensions sphere as across wider commerce. A well‑judged compromise can deliver key benefits for everyone involved, including: cost savings time savings confidentiality greater flexibility and informality for affected parties, and avoiding the risk of an unfavourable court outcome Compromising a dispute demands that the parties reach consensus on how to address the issues raised and, ideally, how similar matters should be handled or, with luck, prevented in future....
Authored by Katherine Worraker, Ian Ahkong, Tom Howgate, Daniel Johnson and Harry Stead of Deloitte LLP. UK occupational pension schemes run by a single sponsoring employer, or by a group of connected employers, can combine their assets within a common investment fund ( CIF) collectively together. Doing so may deliver advantages including economies of scale and entry to opportunities that smaller schemes might otherwise struggle to reach individually on their own. By diversifying holdings, a CIF enables each participating scheme to disperse investment risk more widely across assets. Trustees can determine the proportion of a scheme’s assets to place in a CIF, or elect to retain assets outside the CIF and allocate them elsewhere as they see fit. There are several legal and tax points to weigh up where a CIF is contemplated at the outset, though these should not, in...
This Practice Note This Practice Note explains how information set out in a document, or a statement given by or on behalf of a person, can be relied upon where authenticity must be verified in a commercial setting. It outlines the principal ways to validate information and documents, indicates when statutory declarations, oaths, affirmations and affidavits are appropriate, how to check they have been properly prepared, and offers guidance for practitioners when employing these validation methods. It sets out the requirements for: Statutory declarations Oaths Affirmations Affidavits Formalities for administering statutory declarations, oaths, affirmations and affidavits Statutory declarations and affidavits out of jurisdiction For information on notaries, their purpose, steps required to notarise a document and the meaning of legalisation, see Practice Note: Notaries and notarisation. For guidance on certified copies, including what a certified copy is, when a...
THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES TO DEFINED BENEFIT OCCUPATIONAL PENSION SCHEMES In the present economic environment, more employers are choosing to cease future benefit build-up for existing members in their defined benefit workplace pension schemes, and to establish a new defined contribution arrangement for benefits earned on future service instead. Closing a scheme to further accrual is frequently complex, and trustees will need to consider a range of factors and its implications before giving approval to any proposal advanced by the employer......
Practice Note The UK charities landscape is substantial, with varied pension arrangements across organisations. Many charities now contend with financial strain driven by multiple influences, including: rising operating expenses falling levels of giving weaker than expected investment returns Local authorities are increasingly outsourcing elements of their services to the private and third sectors—frequently housing, elderly care and youth provision. Charities and other not for profit bodies often assume these roles; in this note, references to a ‘charity’ also encompass a ‘not for profit organisation’. Any charity entering into a local authority contract must recognise the pensions consequences. A notable illustration came in September 2015, when it was reported that the Multiple Sclerosis Society planned to sell a support centre to meet costs arising from participation in the Local Government Pension Scheme. This Practice Note outlines the specific pension...
FORTHCOMING CHANGE: On 23 October 2025, the DWP opened a consultation on proposals for ‘ Retirement CDC schemes’, a fresh pension design aimed solely at retired members. Under the plans, savers with DC pots could, at retirement, move their funds into a collective pool that pays trustee-run lifetime income, recalibrated each year in line with investment outcomes and the health of the scheme. These Retirement CDC arrangements would sit as sections within Master Trusts or in unconnected multi-employer vehicles. For more detail, see: Decumulation-only CDC schemes, below. For legislative consistency, the Pension Schemes Act 2021 ( PSA 2021) uses ‘collective money purchase’ for what are commonly called ‘collective defined contribution’ ( CDC) schemes. This Practice Note treats the two labels as interchangeable. Why develop a CDC framework? CDC works by sharing risk across a broad membership, allowing schemes to aim for (though not legally...
This Practice Note concentrates on the matters that applied prior to 6 April 2016—the date on which salary-related contracting-out (often called DB contracting-out) was brought to an end—when buying out these contracted-out salary-related ( COSR) entitlements: guaranteed minimum pensions ( GMPs)—the benefits built up by COSR scheme members as a result of contracting out between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 1997 Section 9(2B) rights (also referred to as post-1997 COSR rights)—the benefits accrued by COSR scheme members as a result of contracting out between 6 April 1997 and 5 April 2016 The legislative requirements that applied differed according to whether the relevant contracted-out rights were GMPs or Section 9(2B) rights. For guidance on the buy-out considerations from 6 April 2016 for Section 9(2B) rights and GMPs, see Practice Note: Buying out Section 9(2B) rights and GMPs from 6 April 2016. For...
FORTHCOMING DEVELOPMENT : Section 10 of the Finance Act 2022 will lift the normal minimum pension age ( NMPA) from 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028, with members of the firefighters, police and armed forces public service pension schemes excluded. The Act also preserves access before age 57 for members of registered schemes who, on or before 4 November 2021, either already held an ‘unqualified right’ to draw benefits, or were part-way through a substantive transfer to a scheme conferring an unqualified right to a protected pension age below 57 by that date. To rely on this 2028 protection, the scheme’s rules must, as at 11 February 2021, have contained an unqualified right to take scheme benefits before 57. For more detail, see Practice Note: Increasing the normal minimum pension age ( NMPA) to 57—pensions impact. As a general position, members of...
The position of a personal pension on bankruptcy Once a bankruptcy order is made, the bankrupt’s estate automatically passes to the official receiver, or to an insolvency practitioner appointed at that time, who serves as the first trustee in bankruptcy. Certain items are excluded, such as tools and equipment needed for the bankrupt’s trade, and clothing and similar essentials necessary to meet basic domestic needs. This Practice Note explains what happens to an individual’s pension entitlements when a bankruptcy order is made. It looks at the impact of bankruptcy on occupational, personal and state pension arrangements. Bankruptcies predating 29 May 2000 This section applies to individuals made bankrupt following bankruptcy petitions lodged before 29 May 2000. Rights gained under personal and occupational pension schemes are generally recoverable by the trustee in bankruptcy. A debtor’s contractual rights under these arrangements are treated as choses in action within the broad...
Employers have a duty to: Re-enrol eligible jobholders into an automatic enrolment scheme broadly every three years, where on the relevant date they are not active members of a qualifying scheme Re-enrol eligible and non-eligible jobholders without delay in certain situations, for example where they cease active membership of a qualifying scheme due to an action taken by the employer The point in time from which a jobholder must be put back into a scheme is known as the automatic re-enrolment date. Whether re-enrolment is on the cyclical timetable or happens immediately, the process matches auto-enrolment: the employer must follow the same legal steps so the jobholder becomes an active member from their automatic re-enrolment date. Employers are also required to re-register with the Pensions Regulator, confirming how they have met their automatic re-enrolment duties......
THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES ONLY TO PENSION SCHEMES IN ENGLAND AND WALES This Practice Note has been archived. It applies only to pension schemes in England and Wales. It explained the actions employers should have undertaken to get ready for auto-enrolment well before their staging date. It focused on preparation ahead of each employer’s staging date. These preparations covered: determining the precise staging date applicable to them, assessing the make-up of the workforce, examining current pension arrangements and the design of benefits, establishing the necessary support structures in place, and planning communications with workers. The auto-enrolment framework, created by Part 1 of the Pensions Act 2008, imposes a duty on employers to arrange the automatic enrolment of all their ‘eligible jobholders’ into a ‘qualifying scheme’ that satisfies statutory criteria. The obligation to comply with the...
FORTHCOMING DEVELOPMENT : The Pensions ( Extension of Automatic Enrolment) ( No. 2) Bill secured Royal Assent on 18 September 2023, becoming the Pensions ( Extension of Automatic Enrolment) Act 2023, and was published on 19 September 2023. The Act enables the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to set regulations to: lower the minimum age at which otherwise eligible staff must be automatically enrolled and re-enrolled into a workplace pension; remove the Lower Earnings Limit from the qualifying earnings band so contributions are calculated from the first pound of pay; vary the framework for the annual review of the qualifying earnings band. Alterations to eligibility for automatic enrolment will follow a consultation on the detailed method and timetable for implementation. The commencement of section 1 of the Act will be “on such day or days as the Secretary of State may by...
ARCHIVED : This archived Practice Note reviews the Pensions Regulator’s quarterly auto-enrolment compliance and enforcement bulletins up to June 2020. It delivers concise synopses of each bulletin in that span, the enforcement steps taken, and the principal messages for employers on auto-enrolment. It is not updated and is provided for historical reference only. For further detail on the Regulator’s auto-enrolment compliance and enforcement approach, see Practice Note: Auto-enrolment—compliance and enforcement. The Pensions Regulator publishes quarterly auto-enrolment compliance and enforcement bulletins to: share information on its casework and the powers it has exercised under the auto-enrolment regime, and assist employers, their advisers and the wider pensions industry in understanding the types of compliance and enforcement interventions that follow its educational and enabling communications and support The first quarterly bulletin appeared in July 2014 and related to the period from 1 April 2014 to 30 June 2014. The...
What is certification and when is it required? Certification is the process used to decide whether a pension scheme meets the test scheme standard for auto-enrolment purposes. For defined benefit schemes (or the defined benefit part of hybrid schemes), an employer may take one of the following approaches: confirm that the scheme (or the defined benefit element of a hybrid scheme) meets the test scheme standard for its enrolment duties; or pass responsibility for certifying the scheme to the actuary in particular circumstances There are also specific situations in which the actuary is required to certify the scheme. For more detail on the test scheme standard for defined benefit schemes, see ‘ Defined benefit occupational pension schemes’ in Practice Note: Auto-enrolment—what types of scheme may be used? Note that, for auto-enrolment only, hybrid schemes are those that are neither wholly money purchase nor wholly...
ARCHIVED This Practice Note is archived and no longer maintained. In addition to using postponement, employers running defined benefit or hybrid schemes may defer auto-enrolment for eligible jobholders until 30 September 2017 (the transitional period), provided specific conditions are met. Where an employer defers auto-enrolment for that transitional period for eligible jobholders and does not apply a further postponement of up to three months after it ends, the auto-enrolment duties take effect: on the day following the end of the transitional period (ie 1 October 2017), or earlier, on the day after the date the transitional period stops applying (for example, because a condition is no longer met) If a postponement period is applied after the transitional period ends, the duties start on the deferral date. Note that any eligible jobholder who is not already actively participating in the scheme may opt in to active...
THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES ONLY TO PENSION SCHEMES IN ENGLAND AND WALES Under the statutory auto-enrolment framework, employers must: automatically enrol any eligible jobholders into an 'automatic enrolment scheme', unless they are already an active member of a 'qualifying scheme' with that employer enrol any non-eligible jobholders who submit an opt-in notice into an 'automatic enrolment scheme', unless they are already an active member of a 'qualifying scheme' with that employer Qualifying schemes must at least satisfy minimum standards. For a defined contribution ( DC) arrangement, this includes compulsory employer and worker contributions at no less than the minimum rates. An automatic enrolment scheme is a qualifying scheme that also fulfils additional conditions. This is outlined further below. Employers should confirm that any scheme selected to meet auto-enrolment duties achieves the minimum standards. The Pensions Regulator has issued comprehensive guidance to support employers in...
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When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...
This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...
Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...
I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...
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