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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 Practice Note is archived and not maintained. It examines cross-border pension schemes (also referred to as ‘pan- European pension schemes’) as they operated in the UK prior to IP completion day. It covers why one might wish to establish such a scheme, the pre‑ IP completion day conditions they had to meet, the application of cross-border legislation to transfers between schemes, the tax treatment of European members’ contributions, how these arrangements functioned in practice, and relevant funding obligations. The Note also considers the revocation of the UK’s cross-border pension regime on IP completion day, the consequences for schemes that existed at the time, and alternatives to cross-border arrangements. This Practice Note is not maintained. Brexit revocation of the cross-border pension scheme regime As a consequence of Brexit, the UK’s cross-border pension scheme regime became obsolete at IP completion (11pm on 31 December 2020) and, from that...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived, not maintained, and provided solely for background reference. It addresses the ‘flexible furloughing’ version of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ( CJRS) that operated from 1 July to 31 October 2020. The content reflects the position under the revised CJRS during that timeframe. For more detail on: the extended CJRS running between 1 May and 30 September 2021, see Practice Note: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (extended version 1 May to 30 September 2021) [ Archived] the extended CJRS in force from 1 November 2020 to 30 April 2021, see Practice Note: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (extended version 1 November 2020 to 30 April 2021) [ Archived] the original CJRS applying from 1 March to 30 June 2020, see Practice Note: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (original version to 30 June 2020) [ Archived] For a template letter documenting flexible furlough...
ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note is not maintained and is provided for background only. It reviews the extended form of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ( CJRS) that ran from 1 May 2021 to 30 September 2021, described here as the ‘extended CJRS’ or the ‘ CJRS extension’. The CJRS has now ended. Claims for September 2021 had to be submitted by 14 October 2021, with any amendments required on or before 28 October 2021. For claim periods from 1 November 2020, HMRC may accept late claims or amendments where taxpayers have: taken reasonable care in attempting to claim on time a reasonable excuse, and claimed as soon as their reasonable excuse no longer applies For more on the process for making a late claim or amendment, and the details that must be provided, see: HMRC guidance: Make a late CJRS claim. Taxpayers can also use the HMRC Check a...
ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and is not maintained. What is the CJRS? At the Spring Budget 2020, the government introduced a range of steps to support businesses through the coronavirus pandemic (eg suspending business rates). One such measure was the temporary ‘ Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme’ ( CJRS), which was generally available to UK employers with a PAYE payroll, subject to eligibility rules. The scheme started on 1 March 2020 and, following several extensions, remained in place until 30 September 2021. Its purpose was to help employers whose operations were badly hit by coronavirus and who might otherwise have needed to make redundancies. Staff included in the CJRS were referred to as ‘furloughed’. Under the CJRS, employers were able to claim for furloughed workers as follows: Up to 31 July 2020: 80% of an employee’s wages, capped at £2,500 per month, plus...
ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note is not maintained and is provided purely for background. It reviews the extended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ( CJRS) that applied from 1 November 2020 to 30 April 2021, described here as the ‘extended CJRS’ or the ‘ CJRS extension’. For details on the extension from 1 May 2021, see Practice Note: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (extended version 1 May to 30 September 2021) [ Archived]. Background to the extended CJRS 31 October 2020: HM Treasury announced a November 2020 extension of the CJRS and deferred the start of the Job Support Scheme. See: Furlough Scheme Extended and Further Economic Support announced; Employment aspects of the new coronavirus lockdown and the extension of the CJRS (2/11/20). 2 November 2020: Announcement that the extended CJRS would operate until 2 December 2020. Sources: HMRC Help and Support bulletin (3 November 2020 at...
This Practice Note centres on the alpha scheme. What is the alpha scheme? The alpha scheme, forming part of the Civil Service Pension ( CSP) arrangements, took effect on 1 April 2015 as the reformed public service pension for civil servants. It is a career average revalued earnings ( CARE) scheme. From 1 April 2015 it was the public service pension for civil servants, replacing future PCSPS accrual. Before alpha was introduced, the Principle Civil Service Pension Scheme ( PCSPS) was the main pension for the civil service. The PCSPS comprises four sections: Classic, Premium, Classic Plus and Nuvos. The first three are final salary sections, while the fourth ( Nuvos) is a career‑average section. For further details on the PCSPS, see Practice Note: The legacy Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme ( PCSPS). When alpha was launched, the government acted to close the PCSPS to future...
A collective defined contribution ( CDC) scheme is a type of defined ambition arrangement. What is defined ambition? At its core is the principle of risk sharing, meaning the pension scheme’s risks are not shouldered wholly, or mainly, by either the employer or the members. A defined ambition pension combines aspects seen in traditional defined benefit ( DB) schemes with elements typical of traditional defined contribution ( DC) schemes. According to the Department of Work and Pensions ( DWP), the purpose of a defined ambition pension is to provide members with greater certainty than a pure DC pension, while aiming for less cost volatility for employers than current DB pensions. In a traditional DB arrangement, the employer typically carries the full burden of risks linked to investment performance, inflation and how long members live. There has been a marked move away from traditional DB owing to factors...
Under the auto-enrolment framework, specific records must be: retained in relation to workers and qualifying schemes for a set period supplied to the Pensions Regulator on request The purpose is to enable employers to demonstrate that they have complied with their auto-enrolment duties, while also helping them to: avoid or resolve potential disputes with employees check or reconcile contributions paid into a scheme ensure the effective and efficient running of the scheme The Pensions Regulator has published guidance that summarises the record-keeping requirements under the auto-enrolment framework. Trustees, managers and pension scheme providers (as well as employers that administer a pension scheme) should also familiarise themselves with the Pensions Regulator’s good practice guidance on record-keeping in general. Who must keep records? The following parties are required to keep records: an employer a trustee or manager of an...
ARCHIVED : This archived Practice Note centres on the abolition of defined benefit ( DB) contracting-out, effective from 6 April 2016. It is no longer maintained. For details of the DB contracting-out framework in force from 6 April 2016, see Practice Note: Legal regime applicable to Section 9(2B) rights and GMPs from 6 April 2016. For general guidance on the meaning and purpose of contracting-out, see Practice Note: What does ‘contracting-out’ mean for pension lawyers? In addition to DB contracting-out, there was once another route—contracting-out on a money purchase basis (also called defined contribution ( DC) contracting-out). DC contracting-out was abolished on 6 April 2012. For more, see Practice Note: Abolition of DC contracting-out [ Archived]. Why was DB contracting-out abolished? From 6 April 2016, contracting-out on a salary-related basis (that is, DB contracting-out) came to an end. Schemes that were...
FORTHCOMING CHANGE : Under section 10 of the Finance Act 2022, the normal minimum pension age ( NMPA) will be increased from 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028 (with the exception of members of the firefighters, police and armed forces public service pension schemes). The Finance Act 2022 will also confer on members of registered pension schemes a right to access benefits before age 57 where, on or before 4 November 2021, they either held an ‘unqualified right’ to take benefits or were in the course of a substantive transfer to a scheme providing an unqualified right to a protected pension age of under 57 on or before 4 November 2021. To rely on this new 2028 protection, the scheme’s rules must have included, as at 11 February 2021, an unqualified right to take entitlement to scheme benefits before age 57. For more...
Under the Transfer of Undertakings ( Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/246 ( TUPE), a move of an undertaking from one organisation (the transferor) to another (the transferee) can arise in several situations, such as: a business sale at the beginning or the end of an outsourcing an internal reorganisation within an employer’s group (where the employing entity changes) a management buy-out the establishment or ending of a franchise These are circumstances in which TUPE may operate in practice. For further information, see Practice Note: TUPE—an overview for pensions lawyers. Considerations relevant to determine level of pension provision post- TUPE transfer When determining the pension benefits a transferee employer must make available to staff who move across, the transferee should assess the minimum pension provision it is legally obliged to put in place for those...
THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES TO OCCUPATIONAL AND PERSONAL PENSION SCHEMES Automatic statutory transfer of terms and conditions of employment In private sector outsourcings, staff moving to a Supplier must continue on the same contractual terms after the handover as applied beforehand, in line with the Transfer of Undertakings ( Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/246 ( TUPE), save that a specific pensions exception applies in practice. Which benefits fall within the pensions exception?......
FORTHCOMING DEVELOPMENT : Section 10 of the Finance Act 2022 will increase the normal minimum pension age ( NMPA) from 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028 (save for members of the firefighters, police and armed forces public service pension schemes). It will additionally grant members of registered pension schemes the ability to draw benefits before turning 57 where, on or before 4 November 2021, they already held an unqualified right to take benefits, or were progressing a substantive transfer to a scheme that, on or before 4 November 2021, provided an unqualified right to a protected pension age below 57. To rely on the new 2028 protection, the scheme’s rules must, on 11 February 2021, have contained an unqualified right to access benefits before age 57. For more detail, refer to Practice Note: Increasing the normal minimum pension age ( NMPA) to...
On the transfer of part or all of a business When part or the whole of a business is transferred, staff move from the current employer (the transferor) to the incoming employer (the transferee). European laws were created to safeguard transferring employees’ rights in these situations, initially via the EU Acquired Rights Directive 77/187/ EEC ( ARD 1977), later repealed and supplanted by the archived Acquired Rights Directive 2001/23/ EC ( ARD 2001). In this Practice Note, these are together called the ARD Directives. The ARD Directives were given effect in the UK by the Transfer of Undertakings ( Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981, SI 1981/1794, subsequently revoked and replaced by the Transfer of Undertakings ( Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/246 ( TUPE 2006). Although UK implementing laws such as TUPE 2006 form part of domestic law, the underlying...
The Transfer of Undertakings ( Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/246 ( TUPE) have been in force since 6 April 2006 TUPE gives effect to the Acquired Rights Directive. Unlike TUPE, the Acquired Rights Directive is not part of domestic law, even as assimilated law. TUPE has a wide scope. For example: TUPE can apply when a client acquires something with employees attached, whether an asset or an activity rather than a business, so those workers' protections may follow. A buyer of a shopping centre, for instance, may inherit cleaners, security guards or caretakers with the building. Likewise, if a client takes over the delivery of a service, the employees currently providing it may transfer and become the client's staff by virtue of TUPE. TUPE may operate regardless of who the employees' existing employer is, including where their employer is not the seller in the...
FORTHCOMING CHANGE: On 15 December 2025, the DWP opened a consultation to strengthen trusteeship, governance and administration standards for trust-based pension schemes (closing 6 March 2026). Proposals include centrally set, mandatory accreditation for professional trustees, a statutory definition of “professional trustee”, initiatives to enhance trustee board diversity, a non-public trustee directory overseen by the Pensions Regulator ( TPR), and potential TPR regulatory oversight of pension scheme administrators. This consultation forms part of a wider reform package designed to raise governance as the pensions landscape consolidates into fewer, larger schemes, and also examines measures such as improving board diversity, introducing a statutory trustee directory and intensifying regulatory oversight. Taken together, these moves signal a transition from encouraging accreditation towards a possible compulsory framework for professional trustees. For further information, see Professional trustees, below. THIS PRACTICE NOTE APPLIES TO TRUST- BASED OCCUPATIONAL PENSION...
The Pensions Regulator ( TPR)’s General Code, in force from 28 March 2024, features a module titled ‘ Remuneration and fee policy’ that outlines TPR’s expectations for trustees when developing a remuneration and fee policy. While there is no statutory duty to create and keep such a policy, and the General Code itself has no force of law, TPR regards it as an essential component of establishing and operating an effective system of governance ( ESOG), as required by the Occupational Pension Schemes ( Governance) ( Amendment) Regulations 2018, SI 2018/1103. Accordingly, not having a remuneration and fee policy could be considered by a court or tribunal when assessing whether a scheme has met the ESOG requirement, unless the scheme can show it has taken an alternative route to satisfy that obligation. For further information on the status of the General Code, see...
Save where exempt, pension scheme trustees—including directors of corporate trustees and, from 1 April 2015, members of the pension board of a public service pension scheme—have a statutory obligation to acquire and maintain an appropriate level of knowledge and understanding across specified pensions areas. This obligation is commonly abbreviated to TKU. The TKU framework The TKU duty is set out in: sections 247–249 of the Pensions Act 2004 ( Pe A 2004) the Occupational Pension Schemes ( Trustees' Knowledge and Understanding) Regulations 2006, SI 2006/686 (the TKU Regs) The Pensions Regulator ( TPR) has expanded on the duty in a range of guidance, including: the General Code of Practice guidance on scheme management skills for DC pensions trustee guidance entitled ‘ Understanding your role’ Which trustees are subject to the TKU duty? Subject to the exemption outlined below, trustees of all...
Sound administration underpins the smooth operation of a pension scheme and the delivery of good member outcomes, not least because administrators are typically members’ first port of call; consequently, their effectiveness, consistency and accuracy indeed strongly influence member experience and results. In short, administration counts because it is the usual locus of pension governance, safeguarding data accuracy, regulatory compliance and correct member outcomes being delivered on a consistent basis. What is a scheme administrator? For the purposes of this Practice Note, ‘scheme administrator’ means the individual or entity that supports the scheme’s day-to-day running by planning, managing and performing its administrative tasks. This can be an external provider, a dedicated internal team within the employer and/or the employer’s human resources or finance functions and departments. This usage is different from the ‘scheme administrator’ in Part 4 of the Finance Act 2004 ( FA 2004), denoting the person or...
When reaching decisions, trustees are expected, among other obligations, to: act in the best interests of scheme beneficiaries act for a proper purpose possess sufficient knowledge and understanding of pensions law consider all relevant factors and ignore those that are irrelevant In putting this principle into effect, trustees need to determine: what amounts to a relevant factor, and the extent to which the trustees can (or ought to) take that factor into account For further information on trustee duties, see Practice Note: Duties of pension trustees. These matters were considered by the High Court in Independent Trustee Services Ltd v Hope (the Ilford case), which explored the relevance of the Pension Protection Fund ( PPF) in trustees’ decision-making. The Ilford case—the facts Independent Trustee Services Ltd was the sole corporate trustee of the Ilford pension scheme, a defined benefit...
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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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