This Practice Note considers waivers in the context of insurance underwriting and claims-handling. While the focus of this Practice Note is on the law of waiver relating to a ‘non-consumer insurance contract’ (as defined in section 1 of the Insurance Act 2015 (IA 2015)), certain principles are gleaned from case law relating to a ‘consumer insurance contract’ (as defined in section 1 of the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012 (CI(DR)A 2012)). Waiver during the underwriting process The duty of fair presentation IA 2015 introduced a duty on the insured to make a fair presentation of the risk to the insurer in relation to a ‘non-consumer insurance contract’. In summary, this involves the insured • 1) disclosing to the insurer ‘every material circumstance which the insured knows or ought to know’ or • 2) ‘failing that, disclosure which gives the insurer sufficient information to put a prudent insurer on notice that it needs to make further

Definition of part-time worker The definition of part-time worker is found in the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000, which states that a worker is a part-time worker if (s)he: • is paid wholly or in part by reference to the time (s)he works, and • is not identifiable as a full-time worker, having regard to the custom and practice of the employer in relation to workers employed by the worker's employer under the same type of contract '…same type of contract' in this context means that two compared individuals must, for example, both be employed as employees (who are not apprentices), or both be employed as apprentices, or both have contracts conferring worker status; conversely an apprentice, for example, is not on the 'same type of contract' as an ordinary employee. This issue is discussed further in Practice Note: Part-time workers under the heading Part-time worker defined. For

According to the Acas guide: Discipline and grievances at work (p.31): ‘If the employee has received a final written warning further misconduct or unsatisfactory performance may warrant dismissal. Alternatively the contract may allow for a different disciplinary penalty instead. Such a penalty may include disciplinary transfer, disciplinary suspension without pay , demotion, loss of seniority or loss of increment. These sanctions may only be applied if allowed for in the employee’s contract or with the employee’s agreement.’ The effect of the employee’s refusal to agree to a demotion may depend on: • the background to the decision to demote, and • whether the sanction is allowed for in the contract or with the employee’s agreement In Roberts v West Coast Trains, the Court of Appeal held that the claimant had not been dismissed by their employers, so as to entitle them

For the purposes of this Q&A, wehave focussed on a brief overview in terms of the rights under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992, SI 1992/3288 (the Regulations) and fixed costs in general. The Regulations set out a number of requirements that the tour operator must comply with, both before and after the package tour. Further, a failure to comply with certain regulations will also result in criminal liability. Crucially, the Regulations provide the consumer with the ability to sue the tour operator directly irrespective of whether they were the supplier of services, as SI 1992/3288, reg 15 provides as follows: ‘15.— Liability of other party to the contract for proper performance of obligations under contract • The other party to the contract is liable to the consumer for

The Limitation Act 1980 (LA 1980) bars a party from pursuing a remedy after the expiration of a certain period of time, the public policy behind this being finality and certainty that claims will not be brought after a certain period of time. LA 1980, s 5 provides that 'an action founded on simple contract shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued'. An action for the recovery of a debt is an action founded on simple contract. At common law, where no time for repayment is specified in a contract of loan, or where the loan was expressed simply to be repayable 'on demand', the lender’s cause of action in general accrued when the loan was made and time began to run from that moment. See case law: Garden v Bruce;

Position under the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993, SI 1993/3053 (the Regulations) We have assumed that the situation being considered is separate to that provided for in Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993, SI 1993/3053 (the Regulations, SI 1993/3053, reg13) which provides that the agent has the right to receive a signed written statement of the terms of the agency contract. Despite an agency relationship being unwritten, the Regulations still apply to it, and the provision of written terms is not deemed to be a variation or termination of the unwritten relationship under the Regulations. The specific scenario in this Q&A is not provided for under the Regulations. The Regulations provide only that: • an agency contract for a fixed period which continues to be performed by both parties after that period has expired shall be deemed to be converted into an agency contract

This Q&A considers the following questions: Can an employer claim liquidated and ascertained damages (LADs) where there is uncertainty around whether the completion date should have been extended as a result of an earlier delay, for which the contractor has made an extension of time (EOT) claim but it hasn't been awarded as the contractor has not yet provided sufficient substantiation? What if there is a cap on liquidated damages which is reached anyway as the contractor is still in delay even if its EOT claim is approved, and is time barred from making a further claim for this second delay? Subject always to the terms of the specific contract, LADs for delay are normally payable by the contractor in respect of the period starting from the ‘completion date’ (or similar terminology) as defined in the contract until practical completion is achieved. The contract will invariably allow for the completion date to be varied from time to time

For further information about constructive dismissal, see generally Practice Note: Constructive dismissal. An employee is potentially constructively dismissed in circumstances where the employer behaves in such a way as to entitle the employee to resign and to claim that they have effectively been dismissed as a result of the employer’s bad conduct. There are three essential requirements for a constructive dismissal: • there must be an actual or anticipatory breach of contract by the employer which is a fundamental or repudiatory breach, ie one that goes to the root of the contract so as to be sufficiently serious to justify the employee's resignation • the employee must resign in response to the breach, rather than for some other reason • the employee must not delay too long in terminating the contract in response to the employer's breach, otherwise the employee may be regarded as having elected to affirm

The International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) and the Confederation of International Contractors’ Associations (CICA) have announced they will co-host a webinar on 19 June 2025 to discuss the second edition of the FIDIC Short Form of Contract (Green Book), a contract designed for low-risk construction projects. The webinar will explore the key features of the updated Green Book and its potential application in the market. The second edition upholds FIDIC’s core principles of balanced risk sharing and clearly outlines the essential rights and obligations of all parties. It also serves as an alternative to the 2017 Red and Yellow Books.

What does this Practice Note cover? The Practice Note: OTC and exchange traded derivatives—key features and concepts: • explains some of the key concepts underlying non-cleared over the counter (OTC) derivatives, exchange traded derivatives (ETDs) and cleared OTC derivatives, including: ◦ derivatives (see 'Derivatives' in OTC and exchange traded derivatives—key features and concepts—Key concepts) ◦ trading and dealing (see 'Trading and dealing' in OTC and exchange traded derivatives—key features and concepts—Key concepts) ◦ exchanges (see 'Exchanges' in OTC and exchange traded derivatives—key features and concepts—Key concepts) ◦ margin (see 'Margin' in OTC and exchange traded derivatives—key features and concepts—Key concepts), and ◦ clearing (see 'Clearing' in OTC and exchange traded derivatives—key features and concepts—Key concepts) • describes the key features of the three types of derivatives—see OTC and exchange traded derivatives—key features and concepts—Key features of non-cleared OTC derivatives, ETDs and cleared OTC derivatives explains the reasons for the increasing importance of cleared OTC derivatives—see OTC and exchange traded derivatives—key features and concepts—Increasing importance of cleared OTC derivatives, and • explains

This week's edition of Local Government weekly highlights includes expert analysis of the decisions in Coastal Housing Group v Mitchell, finding that rent is not payable by contract-holders in Wales unless and until landlords provide them with a copy of Electrical Condition Reports for their homes, Luton Landlords & Letting Agents Ltd v Luton BC, which relates to a long-running dispute over the introduction of property licensing schemes in Luton and on the Revised National Planning Policy Framework. Cases include the Court of Appeal confirming the irrevocability of adoption orders, the KBD reinstating particulars of breach of contract and duty of care in relation to the university of Cambridge’s alleged failure to implement reasonable adjustments as recommended by its Disability Resource Centre, a case concerning allegations of sexual abuse, with the court confirming abuse and establishing risk of harm to child, amongst others. This weekly highlights includes further updates on Social housing, Public procurement, Governance, Education, Children's social care, Social care, Healthcare, Planning and Local government finance.

The Cabinet Office has updated Procurement Policy Note 022: Procuring Steel in Government Contracts (PPN 022) to introduce a new transparency requirement from 1 October 2026 for relevant steel procurements above specified thresholds. For projects or programmes valued at £10 million or more, or expected to require more than 500 tonnes of steel, in-scope organisations should confirm in the Contract Details Notice whether UK-produced steel will be used by the prime contractor or within the supply chain. Where UK-produced steel will not be used, or where origin data is not known at contract award, a rationale should be provided.