Construction analysis: The Technology and Construction Court (TCC) awarded damages to the claimant, in respect of defects in a residential property. The court was required to consider the measure and quantification of damages for defective building works in contract and under the Defective Premises Act 1972 (DPA 1972), and the scope of the ‘fit for habitation’ standard required by DPA 1972.

This Practice Note is concerned with simple contractual debts which usually arise in the course of commercial transactions. It does not provide guidance on debts in the following contexts: • banking and mortgages, which are discussed in detail in Lexis+® UK Banking & Finance (see Practice Note: Banking & Finance—new starter guide and related content) • consumer debts, which are addressed in Lexis+® UK Financial Services (see eg: Consumer credit agreements—overview and related content) • rent arrears, which are discussed in Lexis+® UK Property Disputes (see eg: Recovering rent arrears and related content) Note: this Practice Note does not discuss the provisions of The Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020, SI 2020/1311. Those regulations have only limited application to business debts, but, if the debtor in your case is an individual, it is worth ascertaining whether the Debt Respite Scheme applies to their circumstances. See further: LNB News 16/07/2020 36—The Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) and LNB News

The remedies available in cases involving attempts to enforce post-termination restrictions may conveniently be divided between: • interim remedies available before final trial, and • remedies available following final trial of the case Interim remedies typically consist of injunctions—see Practice Notes: • Interim injunctions in employee competition claims and confidentiality claims • Springboard injunctions in employee competition claims • Delivery up orders in employee competition claims and confidentiality claims • Search orders and imaging orders in employee competition claims and confidentiality claims • Freezing orders in employee competition claims Although the court will usually order an expedited trial in employee competition cases, it is often the case that claims involving the enforcement of post-termination restrictions will never reach a final trial—the main battle between the parties tends to take place at an interim stage where the employer seeks, and the employee resists, the granting of injunctive relief. Once that initial battle is over, which tends to be relatively quick and less costly in terms of overall litigation costs, the parties

Date of commencement and date of commencement of continuous employment A written statement of particulars of employment must contain (among other things): • the date when the employment began • the date on which the employee's continuous employment began See Practice Note: Written statements of employment particulars—to 5 April 2020 [Archived]. For information on continuity of employment generally, see Practice Note: Continuity of employment. There is a presumption that a person's employment 'during any period' is continuous. An employer who alleges that an employee does not have continuity must produce evidence to show this. However, that presumption applies

This Practice Note analyses common methods of incentivising suppliers in outsourcing arrangements. It covers services credits, earn back, service bonuses, gain sharing and results-based contracting. It also addresses some general oversight arrangements including step-in, benchmarking and audit rights. Most outsourcing contracts will contain a range of mechanisms intended to incentivise suppliers by either punishing poor performance, or rewarding performance that exceeds the required level. This Practice Note focuses on the following common methods of supplier incentivisation: • Service credits, earnback and service bonuses • Late delivery payments and early delivery bonuses • Gainsharing • Results-based contracting • Oversight arrangements The tools discussed below are only part of a wider picture when it comes to incentivising supplier performance. Outsourcing contracts are often long-term arrangements requiring an ongoing relationship between the parties. As such, it often makes sense for the customer to recognise that: • it may be prudent to take a reasonably balanced approach and avoid trying to allocate all risks onto the supplier • it has an ongoing role

Law360: The new Labour government has dropped legislation that gives workers the right to request a more predictable working pattern to allow them to pursue a stronger contractual right to the hours they usually work.

Law360: A Royal Navy reservist can bring a claim that he was mistreated for seeking equal pay with full-time sailors in the service, as a tribunal ruled that the apparent statutory exclusion of reservists from that right 'cannot be read literally'.

Dear [insert name of authorised recipient on behalf of counterparty], [insert name of agreement]: [insert client name] and [insert counter-party name] 1 We refer to our letter dated [insert date] (breach notice) regarding the [insert agreement name] dated [insert date] (Agreement) between [insert client name] (our client) and [insert counter-party name] ([insert counter-party short name]). 2 In the breach notice our client asserted (among other things): 2.1 [insert counter-party short name] was in breach of the Agreement by failing to pay £[insert amount] (Debt) to our client in accordance with Clause [insert number] by the due date; 2.2 [insert counter-party short name]

Dear [insert name of authorised recipient on behalf of counterparty], [insert name of agreement]: [insert client name] and [insert counter-party name] 1 We refer to our letter dated [insert date] (breach notice) regarding the [insert agreement name] dated [insert date] (Agreement) between [insert client name] (our client) and [insert counter-party name] ([insert counter-party short name]). 2 In the breach notice our client asserted (among other things): 2.1 [insert counter-party short name] was in breach of the Agreement by failing to pay £[insert amount] (Debt) to our client in accordance with Clause [insert number]

[To be typed on employer’s headed notepaper] [Enter employee name] [Enter employee address] Confidential: addressee only [Date] Dear [enter name of employee] Proposed change to [enter details, eg your place of work] I refer to our meeting on [enter date]. [Set out details of any prior consultation process that has taken place.] [As we discussed at that meeting, the Company has been reviewing its requirements for work undertaken by those in your current job role at [enter employee’s current place of work] in light of [enter details of the business reasons that require the employer to invoke the mobility clause, eg the substantially increased business the Company is undertaking in the North East region]. As I explained, the Company has decided that, as a result of the review, the needs of the business require [enter number] additional individual[s] working as a [enter employee’s current role] at the Company’s [regional ] [office OR branch OR depot] at [enter location]. OR As we discussed at that meeting, the Company has been reviewing its business needs and has decided, as a result of that review,

This Practice Note considers the restrictions and limits on working hours and shift patterns imposed by the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR 1998), SI 1998/1833. For information: • on who is protected under WTR 1998, see Practice Note: Eligibility for working time rights • on workers’ rights under WTR 1998 and their enforcement, see Practice Note: Working time rights and obligations • on remedies, see Practice Note: Remedies for breach of working time rights Workers and employers are free to agree any hours of work they choose up to the maximum working hours set out in WTR 1998. WTR 1998 implement Directive 2003/88/EC, the Working Time Directive (WTD). Domestic laws that implement UK obligations under EU law are assimilated law. For further information, see Practice Note: Assimilated law. For guidance on whether judgments of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) are binding on UK courts, see Practice Note: Assimilated law—Assimilated case law. Where there is any chance that a worker may have to work hours or shift patterns that are

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. The Construction horizon scanner tracks key upcoming developments of interest to construction lawyers. Once a development occurs, it is moved into the archive for the relevant year. This is the archive for events that occurred in 2018. For case law, see: Construction case tracker—2018 [Archived]. Legislation What happened? When? Find out more Invoice assignment: Ban on contract terms prohibiting the assignment of a receivable, or preventing the assignee from determining the validity or value of a receivable, or hindering their ability to enforce a receivable 31 December 2018 The Business Contract Terms (Assignment of Receivables) Regulations, SI 2018/1254 introduced the prohibition for contracts entered into on or after 31 December 2018.Draft regulations were published in September 2017 (see: LNB News 18/09/2017 97) but were withdrawn in November 2017 (see News Analysis: Business Contract Terms (Assignment of Receivables) Regulations 2017: Unexpected consequences for lenders and LNB News 24/11/2017 73).New regulations were published in July 2018—see LNB News 06/07/2018 82 and News Analysis: Updated draft