The right to statutory holiday under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR 1998), SI 1998/1833 applies to ‘workers’, and is to a total of 5.6 weeks' annual leave each 'leave year', made up of: • a basic entitlement to a minimum of four weeks' annual leave (20 days for a regular full-time worker) each leave year, implementing the right to annual leave under Directive 2003/88/EC, WTD • an additional entitlement to 1.6 weeks' annual leave (eight days for a regular full-time worker) each leave year, which is a right under domestic legislation only Statutory paid holiday entitlement therefore equates to 28 days’ holiday per year for a worker working five days per week. Statutory holiday entitlement is capped

Can a young person be an agency worker? A young person is defined as someone who is over compulsory school age but under the age of 18. A person is over compulsory school age on the last Friday in June in the school year in which they have their 16th birthday. ‘Young worker’ is similarly defined in Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR 1998), SI 1998/1833, reg 2(1). For further information, see: Practice Note: Employing children and young people, in particular section ‘Employment of young people’. Aside from specific provisions relating to the national minimum wage and working time, young people are not treated separately in employment law. There is therefore nothing to say that a young person

Section 140A(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974) provides for the court to make an order if it determines the ‘relationship between the creditor and debtor arising out of the agreement (or the agreement taken with any related agreement) is unfair to the debtor…’. For that purpose, ‘the agreement’ is obviously the primary credit agreement in question. A ‘related agreement’ is defined by CCA 1974, s 140C(4)(c) as including ‘a security provided in relation to the main agreement…’. As per the definition of ‘security’ in CCA 1974, s 189(1), that will include a contract of guarantee. CCA 1974, s 140B(1) gives the court a number of powers in the event of a finding of an unfair relationship (UR). These include a number

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 inserts a new Part A1 into the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) which provides for a new insolvency process whereby directors of insolvent companies, or companies that are likely to become insolvent, can obtain a 20 business day moratorium period. For more detail, see Practice Note: Moratorium. IA 1986, s A18 lists certain pre-moratorium debts which are exempt from the payment holiday during the moratorium. In particular, IA 1986, s A18(3)(f) exempts the following: ‘debts or other liabilities arising under a contract or other instrument involving financial services’. IA 1986, Sch ZA2 sets out further details of what constitutes a ‘contract or other

This Q&A considers the distinction between the contractual tenancy into which a tenant of a dwelling house enters and the statutory protection which it will have under the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988) if certain conditions are met. At common law, when a tenant enters into a tenancy agreement for a fixed term, he will be bound by the terms of his contract. If it is for a fixed term, then in the absence of a break clause, he will be bound by its terms for its duration. Once it comes to an end, it becomes necessary to determine whether the parties have either expressly or by their conduct agreed to a further fixed term or some form or periodic tenancy, the latter usually being identified by the period

If there is a share purchase, the identity of the employer remains unchanged and, if the new owner wants to ensure that a key employee or MD signs up to a new long-term contract, this will be a matter for negotiation between the parties. For further information on employment issues on share purchases, see Practice Notes: • Share purchases—employment issues acting for the buyer • Share purchases—employment issues acting for the seller If there is an asset purchase to which the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE 2006), SI 2006/246 applies then, subject to an employee's right to object to the transfer (see Practice Note: Employee transfer—Employee right to object to the transfer, the contracts of employment of those employees employed by the transferor and 'assigned to the organised grouping

This Practice Note examines the doctrine of consideration and the key role it plays in English law in determining whether a contract is enforceable. A promise will only be capable of being contractually enforced if it is either made in a deed or made in exchange for something of value, known as 'consideration'. This Practice Note considers what amounts to valid consideration. It considers what can amount to valid consideration, executory consideration and executed consideration, benefit and detriment, past consideration, adequacy of consideration, when performance of existing duties can be valid consideration, including when varying an existing contract. Note: settlement offers made under CPR Part 36 operate outside the general rules of contract law and are governed by the specific regime set out in CPR 36. See Practice Notes: Part 36 offers—what are they, why make them? and Part 36 offers—how to make a valid Part 36 offer. For guidance on the specific requirements for documenting promises by way of a deed, see Practice Note: Deeds. What is consideration? Consideration is a key ingredient for

STOP PRESS: With effect from 1 January 2027, section 25 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) amends the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal set out in section 108 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) from two years to six months, and removes the cap on the compensatory award in ERA 1996, s 124. Transitional provisions are set out in the Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No 4 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/559. For information on the implications of the reduction in the unfair dismissal qualifying period for probationary periods, see Practice Note: Probationary periods. This Practice Note will be reviewed shortly. This Practice Note explores the issues to consider when acting for an executive director (who will also be an employee) entering into a service agreement and/or reviewing the draft service agreement. It: • is not suitable for use when advising a non-executive director • does not address the particular issues that apply where the company is regulated by the Financial

To succeed in a claim of unfair dismissal, the claimant must establish that they were dismissed by the employer. A contract of employment may terminate in a number of different ways (see Practice Note: Distinguishing dismissal from other forms of termination). However, the circumstances in which an employee is treated as having been dismissed for the purposes of an unfair dismissal claim are set out in section 95 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) and are limited to: • where the employee's contract of employment is terminated by the employer, whether with or without notice • where the employer gives notice to terminate the contract and, within the notice period, the employee gives counter-notice that expires before the end of the original notice period • where the contract of employment is a limited-term contract (eg a fixed-term contract) and terminates on the happening of the limiting event without being renewed under the same contract • where the employee terminates the contract by resigning, whether with or without notice, in circumstances where they are entitled

Infrastructure is a broad term encompassing a wide range of facilities from schools, hospitals, roads and railway lines to wind, electricity, waste and water projects, oil and gas facilities, pipelines and processing plants. While infrastructure construction contracts have key provisions in common, there is no one standard form that fits all projects. Any standard form will need to be tailored to suit the specific issues and subject matter of the projects, the risk profile of the parties and comply with the legal jurisdiction of the contract and project location. A bespoke form of infrastructure construction contract may be preferable to an extensively amended standard form. Choice of contract The form of contract used for constructing an infrastructure project depends upon the: • procurement of the works, for instance: ◦ under a single construction contract with one contractor who assumes single point responsibility for the project, such as under an Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC)/Turnkey contract ◦ under a single construction contract with one contractor whilst the employer retains some project risk ◦ under a PPP model

[ On headed notepaper of the OUTGOING party to the ORIGINAL CONTRACT ] [insert name of remaining party to the original contract] [insert address of remaining party to the original contract] [insert name of incoming party] [insert address of incoming party] [Insert date] Dear [insert names of remaining and incoming parties], Novation of contract We refer to the agreement between [insert name of remaining party to the original contract] (Remaining Party) and [insert name of outgoing party] (Outgoing Party) relating to [insert specific purpose of agreement][, as amended from time to time,] dated [insert date] (Original Contract), a copy of which is annexed to this Letter and initialled by the parties to this Letter. The Outgoing Party wishes to transfer, by way of novation, its rights and obligations under the Original CONTRACT to [insert name of incoming party] a company incorporated in [England and Wales] under number [insert registered number] whose registered office is at [insert address of incoming party] (Incoming Party) on the following terms set out in this letter agreement (Letter): 1 Novation 1.1 With effect from and including [the date of this

This is a type of regulated investment defined in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001, SI 2001/544, art 61(3).