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.

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This tracker was used to track key developments, legislation, guidance and briefing notes relating to the response to coronavirus (COVID-19) in 2020, focusing on updates relevant to education. It is designed to provide a historical record of the legislation and guidance in place and used during that period. For a navigational list of all local government coronavirus trackers, see: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—local government tracker up to 18 July 2021 [Archived]. Primary Legislation Development When in force Find out more Coronavirus Act 2020 (CA 2020)• CA 2020, ss 37–38 (schools, childcare providers etc) • CA 2020, Sch 16 Pt 1 (temporary closure of educational institutions and childcare premises 25 March 2020 Emergency measures in place and relaxation of education duties to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic This Act is made to enable the government to respond to an emergency situation and manage the effects of a coronavirus pandemic. A severe pandemic could infect up to 80% of the population leading to a reduced workforce,

A landlord can oppose the grant of a new lease under section 30(1)(b) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) on the basis of persistent delay in paying rent. This Practice Note covers what needs to be evidenced to establish ground (b) and what the court will take into account in reaching a decision. LTA 1954, s 30(1)(b) provides that: '…the tenant ought not to be granted a new tenancy in view of his persistent delay in paying rent which has become due' There must be a history of late payment, although it need not be prolonged, nor need there be substantial arrears of rent. The court will look at the whole course of the current tenancy in order to decide whether any delay has been ‘persistent’. The court will look at: • the inconvenience that the landlord has been put to (see Horowitz v Ferrand [1956] CLY 4843 (not reported by LexisNexis®)) • the frequency of late payments, the length of delay, and whether the arrears are

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.

We have assumed that the clause in question is included in a business to business contract. You may find the following materials useful: • Practice Note: Force majeure—consequences and contract discharge which has been updated to reflect the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The section ‘Force majeure clauses—interpretation’ considers how definitions of force majeure are interpreted by the courts • Q&As:

This week's edition of Life Sciences weekly highlights includes the analysis of the High Court’s decision in AA v Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, in which the High Court (Family Division) granted declaratory relief in 14 of 15 applications to renew consent for the storage of gametes and embryos outside statutory time limits, holding that section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 could be used to avoid a breach of Article 8 ECHR rights where applicants were denied a fair opportunity to renew consent due to clinic error. Also included, is MLex analysis of the European Commission’s 2026 priorities for implementing the EU AI Act and news that the MHRA launched a consultation on indefinite recognition of CE-marked medical devices in Great Britain and it has updated guidance on transitional arrangements under the amended Clinical Trials Regulations, as well as updated its guidance on the reporting procedure for defective medicinal products. Further news includes the Commission launching, BE READY, a €120m Horizon Europe partnership to strengthen pandemic preparedness research and the MHRA has reported seizing approximately 4.4 million doses of unlicensed erectile dysfunction pills in 2025 as one of the most frequently seized illegally traded medicines.

This Checklist sets out the key risks and matters to consider in relation to actions that can be taken to secure a resilient supply chain, including in relation to supply chain demand, supply chain communication, supply chain mapping, requirements of suppliers, supplier contingency arrangements, agreements with suppliers, supplier distress and insolvency, fraud, and de-risking. This Checklist accompanies Practice Note: Securing a resilient supply chain. Demand In relation to demand, have you: Matters to consider Yes No Assessed the potential implications of a significant supply chain event (eg from geopolitical events, pandemic, product shortages, etc) on your customer/end user? Considered the impact of a significant supply chain event (eg from geopolitical events, pandemic, product shortages, etc) on your distribution network and adapted that as required? Assessed the potential for solutions to be delivered through investment in technology (eg AI, digital twins, crisis and scenario modelling, etc) to deal with significant fluctuations

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a significant number of issues arising out of emergency legislation and the need to ensure that health is maintained in respect of other rights. Many issues that the pandemic has generated have not been foreseen and therefore do not appear in standard contracts nor in legislation. It is now common for persons who are in control of premises to impose conditions on visitors to those premises, such as to have a negative lateral flow test (LFT). Where that person is able to access those premises only with the consent of the landlord, it is entirely permissible for access to be subject to conditions, and thus, for example, a pub landlord