Law360, London: The owners of 21 hotels across England have agreed to settle their attempt to claw back £21m from Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe SE to cover losses they allegedly suffered during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. Community care assessments are conducted by the local authority (LA) where someone aged 18 years or older is ordinarily resident. LAs have a duty to assess an individual once they become aware that they may have needs which should be met. Introduction of care and support needs assessment easements To manage arising care and support assessments during the coronavirus pandemic the Coronavirus Act 2020 (CA 2020) was introduced. Four key elements provided that: (i) local authorities did not have to conduct detailed assessments of indviduals’ care and support needs; (ii) local authorities did not need to conduct financial assessments under the Care Act 2014 (CA 2014); (iii) local authorities did not have to prepare or review care and support plans under CA 2014; and (iv) local authorities’ duties to meet eligible care and support needs or carers’ needs became replaced with a power to meet needs. These provisions ran from 31 March 2020 and expired

Banking and Finance analysis: Timothy Bromley-White, solicitor at Macfarlanes LLP, discusses the implications of company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) and the new restructuring plan on real estate finance (REF) lenders during the coronavirus (COVID 19) pandemic. He provides an overview of the current usage of CVAs, noting that the overall decrease in their use disguise a marked increase in the use of CVAs in the hospitality, retail and fashion sectors. He concludes that REF lenders investing in these sectors may need to consider the underlying business of the tenants more closely than they might have had to do in the past.

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.

Law360: A group of hospitality and farming businesses have sued the National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Society Ltd for around £10.5m to cover losses the companies allegedly suffered from closures during the coronavirus pandemic.

1 Introduction 1.1 This policy sets out an overview of the Company’s arrangements for ensuring workers stay healthy and safe while they are working in the Company’s premises during the coronavirus (or COVID-19) pandemic. The government guidance states that COVID-19 is expected to be a feature of our lives for the foreseeable future, so we need to learn to live with it and manage the risk to ourselves and others. It supplements, but does not replace, the Company’s health and safety policy. 1.2 This policy does not form part of any contract of employment and the Company may amend it at any time. 1.3 This policy applies to all employees, workers and contractors. 1.4 The main way of spreading coronavirus is through droplets and aerosols that come into contact with the eyes, nose or mouth, or can be breathed in by another person, or passed on via surfaces or touch. In general the risk of catching or passing on COVID-19 is highest when you are physically close to the other person. Current government guidance recommends: 1.4.1 getting vaccinated; 1.4.2 meeting outdoors where possible, and letting fresh air into enclosed spaces;

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: proposed temporary relaxation of the statutory residence test: On 9 April 2020, a letter from the Chancellor to the Chair of the Treasury Select Committee was published, which outlined a proposed temporary change to the statutory residence test so that any period(s) between 1 March and 1 June 2020 spent in the UK by individuals working on coronavirus-related activities will not count towards the UK residence tests. The qualifying criteria will therefore be designed so that the relaxation of the rules is tightly targeted and supports only those people whose skill-sets are currently required, minimising the risk of abuse. See: COVID-19: temporary changes to the statutory residence test. Further details on the eligibility and scope of this temporary relaxation will be provided and this change will be included in Finance Bill 2020. The number of days spent in the UK is a fundamental element of the statutory residence

On 23 April 2020, the UK government announced it would legislate to temporarily ban statutory demands and winding-up petitions. This was supplemented by a press release last updated on 25 April 2020. While this announcement does not yet have legislative effect, the government has confirmed that the ban on statutory demands will be back-dated from 1 March 2020 and last until 30 June 2020. The ban on winding-up petitions will apply to those presented between 27 April 2020 and 30 June 2020. The ban applies to those based on the debtor’s inability to pay its debts due to coronavirus (COVID-19). The measures are due to be included in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill, expected imminently. The restrictions expressly state they apply to statutory demands to and winding-up petitions against: • companies; that are • tenants of commercial premises; who • cannot pay their rent due to the coronavirus However, there are

Law360: An employment tribunal judge failed to fully examine a salesman's requests for hybrid work during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the EAT has ruled after finding this might have saved his automatic unfair dismissal claim.

Law360: Apple defeated claims that it discriminated against a female Spanish employee by ordering her to return to her London-based role as part of a post-pandemic policy, an employment tribunal has ruled.

Law360: A pub landlord and seven other business owners have claimed that Liberty Mutual Insurance wrongly refused to cover them for disruption caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to their businesses.

Law360, London: Hospitality businesses forced to close during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic launched an appeal on 28 January 2025 over whether insurers were right to attempt to deduct the £6.5m they received in state support from claims payouts.