This Checklist sets out some of the key issues to consider when a party is unable to comply with its contractual obligations due to the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19)—eg to proceed with/complete works under a construction contract, or supply goods or services under a supply contract (or series of supply contracts). Commercial considerations, shared objectives and collaboration will also play a key role in ensuring that parties are able to mitigate the impact of coronavirus on their staff and business, in challenging times and where neither party is at fault. Force majeure Force majeure is a term used to describe an event that is beyond the control of the parties, and which prevents them from fulfilling their contractual obligations: Triggering force majeure • check to see whether your contract contains force majeure provisions or provisions with a similar effect. Note that: ◦ the term ‘force majeure’ may not necessarily be used in the contract, eg the FIDIC 2017 standard form construction contracts use the term ‘Exceptional Event’ ◦ force majeure provisions may be set out in a standalone clause

For information on the coronavirus (COVID-19) job retention scheme (CJRS), see Practice Notes: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (original version to 30 June 2020) [Archived] and Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (original version to 30 June 2020)—FAQs [Archived]. Information on the CJRS is provided in the form of: • guidance for employers: Claim for your employees’ wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme • guidance for employees: Check if your employer can use the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme These two sets of guidance

Details of the coronavirus (COVID-19) job retention scheme (CJRS) are set out: • in the HMRC’s: ◦ guidance for employers: Check if you can claim for your employees' wages through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and ◦ guidance for employees: Check if your employer can use the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and • in The Coronavirus Act 2020 Functions of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme) Direction (Treasury Direction) issued by the Treasury on 15 April 2020 The HMRC employer guidance was first published on 26 March 2020. Since then it has been updated on 4 April, 9 April, 15 April, 17 April and 20 April. For information on the CJRS generally, see Practice Note: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (original version to 30 June 2020) [Archived]. See also News Analyses: • Treasury gives legal effect to Coronavirus

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note considers the Acas guidance on how to deal with disciplinary and grievance procedures during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and the adjustments it suggests that employers may need to make to implement the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures (Acas Code) to ensure that any procedure is safe, fair and reasonable. It is not maintained and is for background information only. The existing Information Commission’s Office (ICO) Employment Practices Code and supplementary guidance have not been updated to reflect Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2016/679, UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) or the Data Protection Act 2018. For information on the ICO’s plans for an Employment Practices Hub, and consultations launched to date in respect of draft guidance, see Practice Note: The UK GDPR and DPA 2018: key data protection issues for employment lawyers—Information Commission’s Office (ICO) guidance. This Practice Note is based on the information and guidance that has been made available to date, and will be updated to reflect the new ICO guidance

The Vice-President of the Court of Protection, Mr Justice Hayden, has issued guidance on visits to protected persons by judges and practitioners during the coronavirus pandemic. See Court of Protection: Guidance COVID-19. This guidance recognises the particular

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note explains the temporary relaxation of the obligations upon local authorities (LA)s in relation to assessments of Education, Health and Care needs and provision for those in their local authority area. It explains what has changed in terms of legal obligations and the loosening of timescales within which a LA must act to allow for the extreme pressures on resources, and possible lack of key staff for the duration of pandemic management. These relations are only permitted because of a reason relating to the incidence or transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19). Coronavirus (COVID-19) response In March 2020, the Coronavirus Act 2020 (CA 2020) was published and within it, the Secretary of State was permitted to give a notice which disapplies or modifies certain legal duties due to the transmission of coronavirus. On 30 April 2020, in accordance with the power granted by CA 2020, s 38, Sch 17 Pt 1, para 5(1) the Secretary

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note is not maintained and is for background information only. This Practice Note considers the ‘flexible furloughing’, revised version of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) that applied between 1 July and 31 October 2020. This Practice Note reflects the position under revised CJRS between 1 July and 31 October 2020. For further information on: • the extended CJRS that applies 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 that applied between 1 November 2020 and 30 April 2021, see Practice Note: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (extended version 1 November 2020 to 30 April 2021) [Archived] • the original CJRS that applied between 1 March and 30 June 2020, see Practice Note: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (original version to 30 June 2020) [Archived] For a sample letter agreement recording furlough arrangements under the extended CJRS, see Precedent: Letter—from employer to employee regarding flexible

This Practice Note summarises the new capital markets recovery package of measures proposed by the European Commission in July 2020 to address the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The package makes targeted amendments to the EU Prospectus Regulation (EU) 2017/1129, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2014/65/EU (EU MiFID II), the EU Securitisation Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 (OJ L 347 28.12.2017 p 35), and the Capital Requirements Regulation (EU) 575/2013 (EU CRR), with the aim of enabling capital markets to more easily support European businesses in recovering from the crisis caused by coronavirus. Background to the capital markets recovery package On 24 July 2020, the European Commission adopted a capital markets recovery package as part of its overall coronavirus (COVID-19) recovery strategy. The Commission had already proposed a targeted banking package in April 2020 to facilitate lending to households and businesses throughout the EU (for more information, see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—targeted EU banking package). The capital markets recovery package is intended to make it easier for capital markets to help businesses in the

For information: • on furloughing under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) generally, see Practice Note: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (original version to 30 June 2020) [Archived] • on the restrictions on hours of work and working time under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR 1998), SI 1998/1833 generally, see Practice Note: Hours of work and working time A worker who has been furloughed under the CJRS is not permitted to carry out any work, whether at night time or otherwise; the Treasury Direction provides that an employee is a furloughed employee if the employee has been instructed by the employer to ‘cease all work in relation to their employment’ and that ‘an employee has not ceased all work for an employer if the employee works for a person connected with the employer…or otherwise works indirectly for the employer’. The HMRC employer guidance provides that when an employee

Law360, London: A racecourse business shuttered during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on 22 July 2025 lost its case that £2.5m insurance limits applied to every cancelled race, with a London court ruling that each event was not a separate point of loss.

There is no express geographic restriction in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CRJS) Treasury directions, or the CRJS guidance. However, the directions require that the employee was on the UK employer's payroll in tax year 2019–20. This means a Real Time Information submission notifying payment in respect of that employee to HM Revenue and Customs must have been made on or before 19 March 2020. Accordingly, if, for example, the employee had switched to a non-UK payroll prior to tax year 2019–20, no CRJS

Law360: Insurers launched an appeal on 18 June 2024 to overturn a landmark test case ruling that would provide cover for coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdowns for thousands of companies with 'at-the-premises' business interruption wording in their policies.