Legal Practice Notes

Benchmarking means assessing an incumbent outsourcing provider’s services against equivalent or comparable offerings from alternative suppliers on a like-for-like basis. A customer may carry out such an exercise to establish whether or not its current provider’s services match the wider market on price and quality, and to check that it is still receiving value for money from the engagement. This Practice Note addresses the following legal and commercial features of benchmarking within outsourcing arrangements and deals: When are benchmarking provisions used? Key considerations Consequences of benchmarking Supplier considerations Customer considerations It highlights key considerations, potential consequences, and perspectives for both supplier and customer parties. For a template benchmarking schedule, see Precedent: Benchmarking schedule. See also the ‘ Benchmarking’ section of Practice Notes: Negotiation guide—services agreements and Negotiation guide— IT contracts. When are benchmarking provisions used?......

To cut expenditure and drive efficiency, many companies now sub-contract elements of their operations to external providers, commonly referred to as ‘outsourcing’. There are no dedicated statutes, tax rules included, that govern outsourcing arrangements, and the term has no precise legal definition. As a result, each outsourcing deal turns on its own facts and throws up a different combination of tax considerations, VAT among them. This Practice Note highlights the key VAT points to assess when dealing with outsourcing. For broader tax considerations, see Practice Note: Outsourcing—general tax issues. This Practice Note addresses contractual outsourcing; for joint venture outsourcing, see: Joint ventures and tax—overview... VAT liability of outsourced supply A central question for outsourced services is how their VAT liability is treated. As a general rule, unless the services fall within a VAT exemption, qualify for the zero rate, or sit outside the scope of VAT (for...

STOP PRESS: The Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025 ( Commencement No 6 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/82 bring the remaining provisions of the Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025 ( DUAA 2025) into effect and operation. Measures concerning subject access requests, legitimate interests, purpose limitation, automated decision-making, international transfers and enforcement are in force and take effect from 5 February 2026, while those on penalty notices and complaints come into force from 19 June 2026, respectively. For further details, see Practice Note: Data ( Use and Access) Act 2025—employment implications. This Practice Note will be updated shortly to reflect these changes. It examines the key employment law issues that may arise when drafting and negotiating outsourcing arrangements, with particular focus on the application of the Transfer of Undertakings ( Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 ( TUPE), SI...

This Practice Note explores customer responsibilities and related dependencies within outsourcing arrangements. It sets out what these expressions mean, distinguishes them from assumptions, and outlines what happens when a customer does not meet a responsibility. It then highlights key considerations for both supplier and customer. Customer responsibilities are duties imposed on the customer under an outsourcing or other services contract that the supplier relies upon to deliver its own obligations. Often described as dependencies, they are frequently the subject of intense negotiation. This Practice Note addresses the following legal and commercial aspects: What are customer responsibilities? Consequences of customer failures Customer’s perspective Supplier’s perspective Implied duties See also clause 25 and Schedule 6 of Precedent: Outsourcing agreement—long form. Although the emphasis is on outsourcing, the issues described are applicable to most services agreements, particularly those that are complex or...

Practice Note: Service of applications and documents in family proceedings outside the jurisdiction of England and Wales This Practice Note sets out guidance on serving applications for matrimonial or civil partnership orders, and other family proceedings documents, beyond England and Wales. It addresses service in Scotland or Northern Ireland, in states party to the Hague Service Convention, and in all remaining countries, for proceedings started on or after 6 April 2022. It outlines the deadlines for service and for acknowledging service of matrimonial and civil partnership applications, and also considers when a translation is required. For proceedings issued before 6 April 2022, see Practice Note: Service of documents in family proceedings outside the jurisdiction (pre- DDSA 2020). For provisions on serving court documents within the EU before implementation period ( IP) completion day (11 pm on 31 December 2020), see: Service on a party in an EU...

Who can make an out-of-court administration appointment outside of court opening hours? Where an urgent administrator appointment is needed but the court is closed, a qualifying floating charge holder ( QFCH) may file a notice of appointment with the court despite it not being open to the public. This is permitted only while the court is closed, and the QFCH may submit the notice by: faxing the relevant form to the designated telephone number; or emailing it, either in the message or as an attachment, to the designated email address. The usual entitlement criteria remain, including giving sufficient notice to any prior floating charge holder and ensuring the floating charge has become enforceable. For more detail, see Practice Notes: Out-of-court administrator appointments—who can appoint and in what circumstances?, Out-of-court administration appointments by a QFCH—the procedure and Security review checklist. How is the appointment made? What...

This Practice Note highlights the principal points to weigh up when acting for an outgoing tenant and advising on the assignment of a rack rent (occupational) commercial lease. See also Practice Note: Transferring commercial property—a practical guide, together with the Assignment of a rack rent lease (assignor)—checklist. Is the landlord’s consent required to the assignment? Carry out the following checks in sequence, in particular: Carefully scrutinise the lease terms, together with any deeds of variation and, where necessary, any other supplemental documents. If the lease is registered and contains HM Land Registry prescribed clauses, the register will confirm whether or not the lease includes provisions that restrict or prohibit dispositions, as shown by clause LR8 of the lease. Consider whether a restriction has been entered on the title expressly barring assignment without the landlord’s consent. Where relevant, review any superior lease carefully to establish if assignment is...

OSPAR The OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North- East Atlantic 1992 ( OSPAR) is an international agreement rooted in the 1972 Oslo Convention against dumping and the 1974 Paris Convention, which expanded Oslo's scope to land-based marine pollution and the offshore sector. Those two instruments were later consolidated and developed through OSPAR, which further extended their combined reach. In 1998, a biodiversity and ecosystems annex was agreed to cover non-polluting human activities capable of harming the sea. For further details, see Practice Note: Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North- East Atlantic ( OSPAR)—snapshot. OSPAR deals with every source of contamination of the marine environment and the harmful impacts of human activities on it, applies the precautionary principle, and enhances regional co-operation through co-operative regional action across the North- East Atlantic region......

Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North- East Atlantic ( OSPAR) Parties Fifteen governments and the EU: Belgium Denmark Finland France Germany Iceland Ireland Luxembourg the Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland the United Kingdom the EU Adopted 22 September 1992 Entry into force 25 March 1998 Full text Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North- East Atlantic Subject Marine pollution, marine conservation OSPAR OSPAR is a regional arrangement through which 15 governments and the EU (see implementing Council Decision 98/249/ EC) co-operate to safeguard the marine environment of the North- East Atlantic. Its name stems from the two instruments it replaced: the 1972 Oslo Convention on preventing pollution by dumping from ships and aircraft, and the 1974 Paris Convention tackling pollution from land-based sources. Those original treaties reflected rising...

The orphan works problem Orphan works are copyright works where the rights holder is unknown or cannot be found. Examples include: books films music photographs The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 ( CDPA 1988) grants the copyright owner exclusive rights in the UK to perform various acts in relation to a copyright work. Acts set out in CDPA 1988—such as copying and communicating to the public—carried out by anyone other than the owner, without permission, may infringe those exclusive rights. As a result, orphan works cannot be copied or published without the rights holder’s consent without risking copyright infringement. This limits their use in, for example: books TV programmes exhibitions websites For further context on where orphan works sit within copyright and associated rights, see: Copyright & associated rights—overview. The orphan works problem has led to large volumes of...

( OMPs) are medicines that help prevent, identify or treat rare illnesses and medical conditions. Because the number of people affected is very small, without incentives, pharmaceutical companies may doubt whether sales would cover the research and development ( R& D) costs of medical products to detect, prevent and treat such disorders. In the relevant EU law, 'rare' is defined as affecting fewer than five in 10,000 people in the EU. Yet most rare conditions impact fewer than one in 100,000 people. Although each individual rare disease is uncommon, they carry major public health importance and significance. There are thought to be more than 6,000 distinct rare diseases; so, while each is infrequent on its own, together they account for a substantial patient population, roughly one in every 12 people in the EU (all rare diseases combined). In the absence of...

STOP PRESS: The Supreme Court decided in R (on the application of Worcestershire County Council) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2023] UKSC 31 that responsibility for section 117 Mental Health Act 1983 aftercare rests with the authority for the area in which the individual was ordinarily resident prior to the admission. This still holds even where accommodation had been arranged by another local authority under an earlier section 117 obligation. For commentary, see News Analysis: Ordinary Residence and Mental Health Aftercare Services ( R ( Worcestershire County Council) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care) and Supreme Court confirms duty to provide after-care services ends when a person is re-detained for treatment ( R (on the application of Worcestershire County Council) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care), LNB News 10/08/2023 41. A local...

If a claim under the Inheritance ( Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 ( I( PFD) A 1975) proceeds to a final hearing, the court can make one or more of the following orders: regular periodical payments for a stated duration a lump-sum award of a specified amount transferring identified property to the applicant settling specified property for the applicant’s benefit acquiring designated property from the estate and either transferring it to the applicant or settling it for their benefit varying any ante-nuptial or post-nuptial settlement (including one created by Will) made on the parties to a marriage to which the deceased belonged, so as to benefit the surviving party, any child of that marriage, or anyone the deceased treated as a child of the family in relation to that marriage an order varying any...

CASE HUB ARCHIVED –this archived case hub reflects the position at the date of the judgment of 25 November 2014; it is no longer maintained. See further: timeline, commentary and related/relevant cases Case facts Outline An appeal was lodged before the General Court seeking to annul the Commission’s decisions of 25 and 27 June 2013, which compelled France Télécom, Orange and all entities they directly or indirectly controlled to submit to an inspection, under Article 20(4) of Regulation 1/2003, in support of a Commission inquiry into a suspected abuse of dominance in Internet connectivity services. Telecoms operators Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica were likewise subjected to unannounced inspections as part of the same probe. The General Court delivered its judgment on 25 November 2014. On 3 October 2014, the Commission announced that it had closed the investigation without taking any action. It adopted a...

What are the optional technical housing standards? In March 2015, after consulting on accessible design, the government set out policy through a Written Ministerial Statement on housing standards. It brought in optional provisions within the Building Regulations for water efficiency and access, alongside the nationally described space standard, together termed the ‘new national technical standards’. These sit alongside, and complement, the mandatory Building Regulations 2010, SI 2010/2214 (the Building Regulations). See Practice Note: Obtaining building regulations approval. What optional technical housing standards can LPAs set? Local planning authorities ( LPAs) may adopt additional technical requirements that surpass the minimum thresholds in the Building Regulations 2010 for: access water space standards Planning Practice Guidance ( PPG) advises LPAs to assemble evidence to decide whether extra standards are warranted locally, and to justify appropriate policies in their local plans. As the Building Regulations already address the physical security of new...

Under LTA 1954, s 30(1)(d) A landlord may resist a new lease under section 30(1)(d) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 where it has proposed, and is ready to arrange, alternative premises for the tenant. This Practice Note explains what ground (d) is, how it works in practice, what a landlord must prove, and how the court may assess this ground. Under LTA 1954, s 30(1)(d), opposition is permitted where the landlord has offered and is willing to provide or secure other accommodation for the tenant; the terms for that accommodation are reasonable having regard to the current tenancy and all relevant circumstances; and the premises, and the time they are available, are suitable for the tenant’s requirements (including preserving goodwill) by reference to the nature and class of the business and the situation, extent and facilities of the holding. On that basis, the...

Ground (e) in section 30(1) of the Landlord and Tenant 1954 ( LTA 1954) A landlord may resist the grant of a renewed business lease by relying on ground (e) in section 30(1) of the Landlord and Tenant 1954 ( LTA 1954). This Practice Note explains what ground (e) entails, the circumstances in which it is invoked, and the manner in which the court addresses opposition to a new lease advanced on this ground. A landlord is entitled to object to the grant of a new lease under ground (e) in section 30(1) of LTA 1954 where: the existing tenancy ( T) arose from the subletting of only part of the premises included within a superior tenancy, and the landlord holds an interest in reversion to that superior tenancy the aggregate of the rents reasonably...

Section 30(1)(f) of the LTA 1954 A landlord looking to resist the grant of a renewal lease on redevelopment grounds may rely on section 30(1) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 by citing ground (f). They must show that, upon the termination of the present tenancy, they intend to demolish or reconstruct the premises within the holding (or a substantial part), or to undertake substantial construction works to the holding or any part of it, and that these works could not reasonably be carried out without obtaining possession. This Practice Note sets out the necessary elements to establish this ground of opposition, including proving the ground (f) intention, the evidence supporting that intention, and the nature of the works. It also addresses the tenant’s potential reliance on section 31A of the LTA 1954 and the availability of statutory compensation under section...

Introduction Operations management is the discipline of making things happen to meet customer needs: turning inputs—whether materials or information provided by customers—into outputs by using facilities and staff to deliver a service or product. It is, therefore, a crucial element of any business. The creation and provision of customer value form the core rationale for operations management. The customer, as a result, is and must remain the central focus of every organisation, and smooth, reliable delivery is vital. Why operations management is increasingly important The business environment is placing rising pressure on companies’ operations. Cost competition is growing ever more severe, whilst at the same time customers are asking for better value for money. Technologies are changing, and the combination of these factors means product and service mix and ranges are changing more and more......

This Practice Note sets out how issuers make payments on debt securities to investors. It also covers day count fractions and the conventions for business days in detail. Over time, the debt securities markets have fashioned an infrastructure that enables payments on the securities to pass from issuers to holders. It accommodates differing legal jurisdictions and time zones worldwide, supports multiple currencies, and aligns with a range of payment conventions as appropriate. The arrangements for paying amounts on debt securities operate within ordinary banking systems and, in parallel, outside them through central securities depositories ( CSDs ) and custodians. For further information on debt securities market infrastructure, see Practice Note: UK Debt securities—trading, settlement and custody for reference. Payments on global securities Debt securities can in principle be held in either global or definitive form (see Practice Notes: Form of debt...