Legal Practice Notes

This Practice Note looks at: an explanation of ‘the gender pay gap’ and other pay differences connected to a protected characteristic, such as ethnicity and disability findings from recent Office for National Statistics ( ONS) reports about these disparities common drivers or traits of gender, ethnicity and disability pay gaps methods an employer can use to pinpoint the specific causes of pay gaps within its own workforce, including where in the organisation they arise and the factors behind them steps an employer can introduce or adopt to improve its pay gaps Pay gap reporting can provide a concrete means for an employer to evidence progress under the S (social) of ESG (environmental, social and governance). For further information, see: News Analysis: ESG: Pay Gap Reporting—a tangible way to show progress under the S. For more on ESG...

This Practice Note offers guidance on the timing of service of the claim form. The claim form must be served during its validity period, ie after the date of issue of the claim form and before the deadline set by CPR 7 or a specific statute. The Practice Note describes the validity period and then explains how to identify both the date of issue and the last date for service. The deadlines differ according to whether service is in England or Wales, or in another jurisdiction. The Practice Note also sets out example scenarios for determining the date on which the claim form is treated as issued. A central point when fixing the time allowed for service is that the particulars of claim, although they do not have to be served with the claim form, must likewise be served within the claim form’s...

CASE HUB ARCHIVED – this archived case hub records the position as at the decision of 5 March 2019; it is no longer maintained. See the timeline and commentary Case facts Outline European Commission Article 101 TFEU inquiry into two cartels concerning the supply of automotive occupant safety systems (car seatbelts, airbags and steering wheels) to European carmakers (the Volkswagen Group and the BMW Group) in the EEA ( AT.40481). The schemes centred on aligning market conduct and exchanging information. Latest development On 5 March 2019, the Commission adopted its infringement decision after the three automotive equipment suppliers reached settlement with the Commission and admitted participation in the two cartels. Aggregate fines of €368.277m were levied......

Updated for the UK by the Practical Guidance Team. A debtor-in-possession ( DIP) is required to run the enterprise, act as a fiduciary or trustee for the bankruptcy estate, and put forward a reorganisation proposal that creditors can accept. These responsibilities are supported by the DIP’s management team, its board of directors, and appointed insolvency solicitors. Advisers should be aware that where the Bankruptcy Code refers to acts of the trustee, those provisions equally cover the DIP while the debtor controls its operations and no trustee has been installed to administer the estate. In broad terms, a voluntary Chapter 11 case proceeds through a comparable, standard sequence of steps......

Where a fixed charge receiver acts for the seller in disposing of a property, the overriding aim is a ‘clean deal’. This means that, on completion, both the receiver and the appointing mortgagee will know the exact sum due to the mortgagee after deducting sale costs and expenses, with no post-completion claims against: the receiver (and the mortgagee where the mortgagee is transferring the property—see Practice Note: Overreaching by a mortgagee) the net sale proceeds payable to the mortgagee This outcome is secured by transferring risk to the buyer and excluding the receiver’s personal liability. Sales information pack and pre-contract enquiries Buyers should recognise that, as the receiver is not the property owner and may have been appointed only recently, the receiver will hold very limited information about the asset. The position is especially challenging where the property is let and has been managed by the...

Stop Press : On 24 February 2025, the principal provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2023 ( PA 2023) take effect. We are in the process of reviewing and revising our content accordingly. Please note that procurements launched on or after 24 February must proceed under PA 2023, while those commenced under the earlier regime—the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ( PCR 2015), the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016, the Concession Regulations 2016, and the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011—must continue to be conducted and managed under that legislation. For background reading and context, see Practice Note: Introduction to the Procurement Act 2023— PA 2023. Framework agreements are employed to procure construction projects across both public and private sectors. They are, however, far more common in the public sector, where they are governed by the public procurement rules. This Practice Note explores the...

CASE HUB ARCHIVED This archived case hub captures the position as at the judgment dated 21 May 2021; it is no longer being updated. For more, see the timeline and commentary. Case facts Outline Sabre Corporation appealed the Competition and Markets Authority’s 9 April 2020 decision blocking Sabre’s anticipated acquisition of Farelogix Inc. Latest development On 21 May 2021, the CAT handed down its judgment, rejecting the appeal in full. Among other findings, the CAT held that the CMA: (i) did not err in claiming jurisdiction over the deal by applying the share of supply test under section 23 of the Enterprise Act 2002; and (ii) enjoys wide discretion in deploying that test as it considers appropriate, including by looking at products’ functionality. Parties Sabre Corporation ( Sabre): A US-based travel technology provider headquartered in Southlake, Texas. Competition and Markets Authority (...

Allergan plc v CMA; Advanz Pharma Corp v CMA; Cinven ( Luxco I) S.a.r.l (formerly Cinven ( Luxco I) S. A.) & Others v CMA; Auden Mckenzie ( Pharma) Limited and Another v CMA; Intas Pharmaceuticals Limited and Others v CMA (abuse of dominance) [ Archived] CASE HUB ARCHIVED — this archived case hub sets out the position as at the judgment dated 18 September 2023; it is no longer updated. See also, timeline. Case facts Outline Appeals by Allergan plc, Advanz Pharma Corp, Cinven ( Luxco I) S.a.r.l (formerly Cinven ( Luxco I) S. A.), Auden Mckenzie ( Pharma) Limited and Intas Pharmaceuticals challenging the CMA’s 15 July 2021 decision in its Chapter II probe into excessive and unfair pricing of hydrocortisone tablets, which concluded an abuse of dominance and levied fines exceeding £260m in total. Latest development On 18 September 2023, the CAT handed down its...

This Practice Note addresses how the court settles the provisions of a renewal lease under sections 32–34 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 ( LTA 1954) where the parties fail to agree, covering the identity of the premises, the duration of the term, the rent due, and clauses including improvements, rent review and break rights, guarantors, repairing obligations, reinstatement and alterations, service charges, and rent deposits in dispute by either side. Court determination Where a landlord and tenant remain unable to agree the provisions of a renewal lease, either party may apply to the court to determine the terms pursuant to LTA 1954, s 24(1)......

Operating as a ‘legal business person’ Many of us aim to function as a ‘legal business person’, yet which concrete actions will actually get us there? This Practice Note centres on practical activities and steps designed to help us operate as a legal business person. Think back to the very first few days in your current position. Reflect on the induction you received: Ask yourself the following. was it tailored to legal work, or a broader commercial overview that involved non-lawyers as well, side by side? how was it delivered—through a run of one-to-one meetings with commercial colleagues, or more of a show-and-tell style experience presented to you? or was there no induction at all, leaving you staring at a blank screen while you waited for the first emails to arrive, wondering what to do next? It’s useful to picture what your ideal...

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived, not kept up to date, and provided solely for background reference. In addition, certain links may no longer lead to the provisions as they stood when the guidance in this Practice Note was issued. For more on earlier and/or later amendments to the CPR, see: CPR updates—overview and Procedure Rule Committee minutes—overview. CPR 45—fixed costs The Ministry of Justice has signed the April 2018 Update to the Civil Procedure ( Amendment) Rules 2018, SI 2018/239, which details changes scheduled to take effect on Friday, 6 April 2018. The SI has now been signed......

Senior lenders typically insist not only on superior security over junior creditors, but also on the juniors being subordinated to them—ie the order of claims against the borrower is altered so junior lenders accept their debts will not be settled until amounts due to the seniors have been discharged. It is likewise used to push any intra-group loan repayments behind the servicing of liabilities owed to third-party financiers. As a rule, creditors nearest the principal asset-holding entities (called ‘ Opcos’ here, though depending on the structure this might instead be a ‘ Propco’) wield the greatest influence over any restructuring/insolvency, so their ultimate dividend tends to be larger. The three main types of subordination are: contractual subordination — both senior and junior finance provided to the same borrower structural subordination — seniors fund the Opcos, while juniors lend at Holdcos level ...

Allocation of jurisdiction within the UK under the CJJA 1982 This Practice Note explores how jurisdiction is apportioned across the UK under the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 ( CJJA 1982). It examines the scope of that regime and the conditions that must be satisfied for it to apply, and considers its interaction with Regulation 1215/2012, Brussels I (recast) (the Regulation). It sets out the primary rule together with the departures from it, and, lastly, addresses forum non conveniens in this setting. The CJJA’s intra- UK jurisdiction framework is designed to furnish rules allocating jurisdiction inside the UK itself. Distinct rules and factors arise when assessing whether UK courts possess jurisdiction over a claim that contains an international dimension. The UK comprises four countries, yet there are only three legal jurisdictions, and CJJA 1982, s 50, describes each as ‘parts of the...

Introduction It is ever more accepted that every enterprise holds and deploys some form of IP. Financiers active in markets with IP-heavy companies are paying closer attention to making sure their collateral captures the worth embodied in that IP. The legal position on taking security over IP remains unsettled, requiring lenders to navigate ambiguity. Moreover, charging IP rights can be expensive to establish and challenging to realise. A funder must begin by pinpointing and assessing the borrower’s IP. It should differentiate categories of IP, for instance rights with proprietary attributes and those arising under contracts. It should also appreciate that a firm’s IP is typically interconnected, such as a patent and the related know-how that gives the patent practical value. Finance lawyers must likewise consider the intrinsic nature of the IP and the setting from which its value derives. A central issue is how the...

The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 ( HSWA 1974) sets out broad duties to protect the health and safety of employees and others affected by work. Not complying with these duties is a criminal offence, prosecutable in either the magistrates’ court or the Crown Court. For details of the duties under HSWA 1974, ss 2–7, see the following Practice Notes: Failure to carry out health and safety duties under HSWA 1974—offences Safety and the risk to safety under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Employees' duties to take reasonable care for health and safety at work Directors’ duties for health and safety Health and safety law and the self-employed This Practice Note highlights those HSWA 1974 offences that can only be tried in the magistrates’ courts. Summary only health and safety...

Civil justice reform See our Practice Note: Civil justice reform in Scotland—virtual hearings and electronic submission of documents for up‑to‑date guidance on the current rules and day‑to‑day practice of the Scottish civil courts in relation to remote hearings and the electronic signing, electronic transmission and lodging of documents. This Practice Note outlines group procedure in Scottish civil litigation and carefully addresses the preliminary applications that must be sanctioned by the court before any group proceedings can properly be commenced. It opens with a concise account of the origin and the core statutory framework governing group procedure. It then considers the two applications requiring the court’s approval before such proceedings may start: the application to authorise the proposed representative and the application seeking permission to bring group proceedings. For practical guidance on the conduct of group proceedings after permission has been granted, see Practice Note: Group procedure in...

With effect from 6 April 2023, the provisions in CPR 19 were re-numbered and revised by the Civil Procedure ( Amendment) Rules 2023, SI 2023/105—see: LNB News 02/02/2023 98— Amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules in force on 6 April 2023— The Civil Procedure ( Amendment) Rules 2023. Further, modest revisions were made to CPR PD 19B by the 153rd Practice Direction update to the CPR—see: LNB News 07/02/2023 72—153rd Practice Direction update—changes in force 31 January 2023 and 6 April 2023. The provisions concerning group litigation orders ( GLOs) are contained in CPR 19.21 to CPR 19.26 (previously CPR 19.10 to CPR 19.15) and CPR PD 19B. Note that many of the authorities cited below (handed down before 6 April 2023) use the prior numbering. Where the substance of a provision has altered since the judgment, this is...

A risk with employment cessation events is that they can be set off unintentionally, for example because the last remaining active member of an employer in a multi-employer defined benefit scheme has left. The Employer Debt Regulations, SI 2005/678 were amended with effect from 6 April 2008 to introduce grace periods, a device intended to help employers deal with accidental employment cessation events. For further information on employment cessation events and other section 75 triggers, see Practice Note: When is a section 75 debt triggered? When can a grace period be used? When can a grace period be used? An employer in a multi-employer defined benefit scheme may notify the trustees that it wishes to enter a grace period (by giving a grace period notice) if: that employer ceases to employ active members at a time when at least one other employer still employs active...

This Practice Note discusses the following topics: the scope for parties to advance fraud allegations during an adjudication the situations in which fraud allegations may allow a party to resist enforcement of adjudication decisions fraud occurring within the adjudication process itself Distinct rules govern fraud allegations made in, or connected with, adjudication, and when such allegations may allow the losing party to contend that the adjudicator’s decision is not enforceable. Fraud as a defence in the adjudication itself Where a party knows the facts capable of undermining evidence or argument while the adjudication is underway, it can—and should—raise them in that forum. Fraud may operate as a defence in adjudication just as it does in court or arbitration: it requires clear, unmistakable evidence to support it in the same manner, and must be proved with sufficient clarity—in light of the...

Although forfeiture claims are not, strictly speaking, probate proceedings, they will almost inevitably draw personal representatives and/or beneficiaries into litigation before the court... Forfeiture principle The doctrine is rooted in the idea that it would be unjust to let a wrongdoer profit from their offence. As a matter of public policy, a person who has unlawfully killed another is prohibited from receiving any advantage that flows from the death, whether the entitlement arises under a Will or by intestacy... The restriction applies regardless of the route by which the benefit would otherwise pass (testamentary or intestate). It also extends to anyone who has unlawfully aided, abetted, counselled, or procured the killing. It appears that both the principle and the Forfeiture Act 1982 ( Fo A 1982) operate only against the offender. Thus, one person’s crime may bar that individual from asserting what would...