By operation of law in the UK, most sorts of intellectual property (IP) rights created by employees in the course of their duties belong to the employer. This is reversed in relation to moral rights in artistic works, such as books, music or art, which belong to the employee unless the contract states otherwise. This means that the employee will have the right to be identified as the creator of the work and to object to it being distorted, but will not have any economic rights. This position arises pursuant to the relevant statutes governing that particular area of IP. For example, the general rule under section 11(1) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988) is that the author of a work is the first owner of any copyright

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: An Italian reinsurer has lost its challenge against French insurer Covéa Insurance Plc's coronavirus business interruption (BI) claim, with a London appellate court on 30 September 2024 upholding findings that the pandemic met the definition of 'catastrophe' used in the policy.

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: The Labour Party promised to create a new coronavirus (COVID-19) corruption tsar and use 'every means possible' to recoup public money lost in fraud and failed contracts during the pandemic, as it launched its general election manifesto on 13 June 2024.

UPDATE (29/3/21): The Cabinet Office published on 29 March 2021 new guidance on what you can and cannot do, which sets out the changes that took place in England on that date. The Cabinet Office: National lockdown: Stay at Home guidance has been taken down. See: LNB News 29/03/2021 43. This Practice Note will be updated shortly to reflect these changes. UPDATE (29/3/21): The Department of Health and Social Care announced on 28 March 2021 that, as part of its free workplace coronavirus (COVID-19) testing programme, employers will have the opportunity to offer rapid home testing to their employees. Further information on the employer testing duty can be found here. See: LNB News 29/03/2021 34. This Practice Note will be updated shortly to reflect these changes. UPDATE (23/3/21): The Department of Health and Social Care announced on 22 March 2021 the publication of a new set of regulations, the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Steps) (England) Regulations 2021, SI 2021/364, which set out the steps

What is the doctrine of frustration? If the contract does not include a force majeure clause or it does but the applicable force majeure event is not included, it may be possible for the parties to rely on the common law doctrine of frustration. A contract will be discharged by frustration if after formation, an event occurs which renders further performance of the contract impossible, illegal or something different from what was contemplated by the parties when entering into the contract. Frustration is not a straightforward doctrine to rely on, however, as it is dependent on interpreting the true construction of the terms of a contract in the context of the nature of that contract and the relevant surrounding circumstances when it was made. If there is a radical difference between the original contractual obligation and the performance that is possible due to a change in circumstances, the doctrine of frustration may apply. Successful reliance on the doctrine of frustration is dependent on the parties having not made provision

On 13 March 2020, the Law Society issued guidance in respect of residential conveyancing transactions in light of coronavirus. It is suggested that there is unlikely to be a drafting solution appropriate to every case, and exchanging contracts on a ‘business as usual’ basis may be preferable to using new provisions, but it is up to individual conveyancers to make this assessment. It is further stated that if completion does not take place after contracts have been exchanged, as a result of coronavirus, this will amount to a default and the relevant contractual provisions

IN THE MATTER OF AN ARBITRATION UNDER THE COMMERCIAL RENT (CORONAVIRUS) ACT 2022 [Property address] (‘the Premises’) BETWEEN: [insert name]        Tenant and [insert name]        Landlord _______________________________________ [ Draft ] TENANT’S FORMAL PROPOSAL FOR RELIEF FROM PAYMENT OF A PROTECTED RENT DEBT _______________________________________ Introduction This is the Tenant’s formal proposal for resolving the matter of relief from payment of a protected rent debt, and is made for the purposes

An employer must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of their employees. Failure to do so is a criminal offence. This core duty extends to the provision of plans and systems of work that are safe and without risks to health, and the provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary to ensure the health and safety at work of employees. It is important to remember that this duty extends to both physical and mental health. For further information, see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—managing the workplace to 18 July 2021 [Archived] under ‘Health and safety considerations’. In relation to pregnancy, an employer has the following mandatory duties at all times (and not just during the coronavirus pandemic): • a general duty on employers to carry out a general risk assessment where they employ women of child-bearing age, in respect of processes, working conditions, or physical, biological or chemical agents which

While the effect of a scheme of arrangement is not exactly the same as a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) (as a scheme has binding force by operation of statute), the Companies Act 2006 does not prescribe the subject matter of a scheme, and parties must look to the terms of the scheme to determine its effects. See Practice Note: Effect of schemes of arrangement and release of security. For CVAs and individual voluntary arrangement (IVA), it is entirely dependent upon the arrangement and how the force majeure clause in the CVA and/or IVA is drafted. It is necessary to review the specific wording of the force majeure provision to determine whether coronavirus (COVID-19) is a force majeure event. The majority of IVAs use either the IVA Protocol or R3’s standard conditions. Neither contains a force majeure clause. There are no industry standard terms for CVAs. If the scheme, CVA or IVA contains a specific provision, it must still

An employer has a general duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA 1974) to ensure so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of its employees. Failure to comply with these duties is a criminal offence. In addition, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MSHW Regs 1999), SI 1999/3242 require an employer to assess and control risks to protect its employees. For further information: • on the employer’s health and safety duties generally, see: Health and safety—overview and Practice Note: Safety and the risk to safety under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 • on criminal offences under the HSWA 1974 and related legislation, see: Health and safety offences—overview • on carrying out a coronavirus risk assessment, see the section: Coronavirus risk assessment in Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—managing