Corporate analysis: This analysis considers the initial impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis on a sample of FTSE 350 and AIM 50 companies issuing an AGM notice between 27 March and 15 April 2020.

Government recommendations on social distancing, self-isolation in the case of sickness, and business closures has resulted in many typical business and social activities being postponed or cancelled altogether by both customers and suppliers. Where a contract is cancelled, any supplies from a VAT perspective will no longer take place, requiring (depending on the terms of the particular contract) a refund of any payments and the cancellation of invoices or credit notes as appropriate. For more information on how a taxable person who has accounted for and paid VAT on a supply, but who is not ultimately paid for that supply, may claim a refund of the whole or part of the VAT they have already accounted for, see Practice Note: VAT bad debt relief. Where payment for an anticipated

UPDATE: Since this Q&A was first published on 31 March, the HMRC guidance for employers: 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 (first published on 26 March) has been revised on 4 April, 9 April and 15 April 2020. For information on the position as at 15 April 2020, see: Update (15 April 2020) below. The government published two sets of guidance on 26 March: • guidance for employers:

Practical implications of specifying offences under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/350 Specified offences are those which the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) does not have a duty to take over conduct of under section 3 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 (POA 1985). In practical terms this means that, provided the accused is aged 16 or over, the prosecution of offences under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/350 (Regulations) can be led directly by the police, without involving the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), as is the case with certain low-level traffic offences. In addition, it should be noted that where the DPP’s duty to take over the conduct of proceedings does not apply, the right to bring a private

The Home Office and UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) have released guidance on immigration provisions for individuals affected by travel restrictions associated with coronavirus (COVID-19). It can be seen from this guidance that some exceptions can be made in the case of Tier 2 visas (as well as Tier 4 and Tier 5) for periods of absence from work as a result of coronavirus. Separately, the Joint Council

The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), SI 2013/1471 sets out a scheme by which various deaths, injuries and occupational diseases which occur in the workplace are to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The purpose of RIDDOR is to enable the HSE to ascertain where and how risks arise in the workplace and whether they need to be investigated. With certain limited exceptions, health and safety legislation applies to all ‘employers’ and ‘undertakings’ regardless of where work is conducted. As employers and undertakings have sought to follow Government guidance on ‘Guidance for employers and businesses on coronavirus (COVID-19)’, many people have now been instructed to work from home wherever possible. For these people, the home has now become the ‘workplace’—health and safety legislation continues to apply to those working from home. For the purpose of this Q&A, in order to be reportable under RIDDOR the incident must be: • a ‘work-related accident

One of the temporary changes introduced by the government in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is that those who are required to self-isolate are potentially deemed incapable of working and therefore entitled to statutory sick pay (SSP). However, the answer to the question whether a worker is entitled to receive SSP if they self-isolate in response to an alert from the NHS COVID-19 app remains unclear, as explained below. According to the Public Health England (PHE): guidance for contacts of people with confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) infection who do not live with the person, contacts who need to self-isolate will usually be notified and advised to do so by the NHS Test and Trace, including

With some exceptions (eg in the building trade), it is customary for the employer to provide an employee with the equipment necessary to do their job (as opposed to a self-employed person who is usually expected to provide their own equipment). There are no particular statutory provisions relating to the provision of equipment to an employee who is homeworking. See Precedents: Policy—homeworking and Policy—temporary homeworking arrangements [Archived]. Paragraph 4 of Precedent: Policy—homeworking provides that the employer will provide all necessary equipment to a designated homeworker,

Law360: A London court has allowed insurers to make claims under reinsurance contracts for business interruption losses claimed during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, saying that the outbreak of an infectious disease constitutes a 'catastrophe' under the policy wording.

The rapid global spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and the steps taken to limit contagion are having a significant impact on the global economy and, consequently, on the financial system. Insurers are exposed on both sides of their balance sheets; on the liability side because of changes to interest rates as well as the potential increase in claims, and on the asset side due to market volatility. Insurers are generally well-capitalised, with sophisticated risk management capabilities which should help the sector as a whole to withstand the shocks associated with coronavirus. Insurance has an essential role to play during a pandemic event, providing protections to individuals, households and businesses. Insurance supervisors have pursued a range of regulatory and supervisory measures to provide operational relief to insurers in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and to provide appropriate flexibility to help insurers maintain their safety and soundness and deliver the essential services they provide to policyholders and the economy. Authorities have also adopted measures to support fair treatment of customers, including clear disclosure

This Q&A considers whether you can file and serve costs budgets via email in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This Q&A is based on the rules in force on 1 October 2020. For guidance on the position under the rules in force during the pandemic prior to this date, see Q&A: Can I file and serve a costs budget by email in light of coronavirus (COVID-19)? The obligation on the parties under CPR 3.13 is to ‘file and exchange’ budgets by the stated time. The rules use ‘exchange’ here rather than serve. This tends to suggest that the usual rules relating to service found in Part 6 of the CPR do not apply to cost budgets. Some caution should be adopted in relation to this approach,

Law360: Some £1.84bn (US$2.32bn) of UK government-backed coronavirus (COVID-19) loans granted to help businesses through the pandemic are suspected to be fraudulent, the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said 29 February 2024.