Commercial analysis: Kira King, barrister at New Square Chambers, considers the case of MacInnes v Gross. The claim was for €13.5m arising out an alleged oral contract or alternatively by virtue of a quantum meruit for the same sum. It was held that the contractual claim failed because there was no intention to create legal relations and there was uncertainty as to both the contractual parties and the terms of the contract. Similarly, it was held that the quantum meruit claim failed because it could not be said that the €13.5m represented the objective market value of the services provided by the claimant.

Terms and Conditions 1 The Recruitment Services 1.1 The Agency sources and supplies Temporary Workers to perform Assignments for Clients to match a Client’s Work Specification (Recruitment Services). 1.2 In providing the Recruitment Services under this Agreement, the Agency acts at all material times as an employment business pursuant to the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations 2003. 1.3 Temporary Workers will be supplied by default as workers ‘employed’ by the Agency and subject to PAYE, unless, following a reasonable and objective determination by the Client, they are self-employed workers outside of IR35. 1.4 The Recruitment Services are provided to the Client on the Terms and Conditions set out in this Agreement, which will be deemed to be accepted when the Client provides a written request to the Agency to supply a Temporary Worker for any Assignment; and they prevail over any other terms put forward by the Client at any time. 2 Definitions 2.1 In these Terms and Conditions: Affiliate • means, in relation to a Party, any person that Controls, is Controlled by, or is under common Control with that Party; Agency

Where a seller of property makes a false statement of fact, and the buyer relies on that in entering the contract, it may be appropriate to consider a claim for misrepresentation. Such a claim arises where one party

Contractor’s programme 1 Within seven days of the date of this Contract the Contractor shall without charge produce to the Employer a programme for carrying out the Works [detailing

[Insert in para 6.1 of response form ET3:] 1 It is [accepted OR not accepted OR denied] that the Claimant was employed by the Respondent as a [insert job title, eg service engineer] from [insert date] until his dismissal on [insert date]. It is [accepted OR denied] that the Respondent is [insert brief description of the nature of the Respondent, eg an internet service provider]. 2 The Respondent denies that the Claimant was unfairly dismissed[ and/or wrongfully dismissed] [ and/or that there was a failure to comply with the statutory right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or colleague at a disciplinary hearing], as alleged or at all. [ The contract of employment ] 3 [It is accepted that the Claimant’s contract of employment included a notice period of [insert details, eg three months]. However, the contract of employment[ at paragraph [insert number]] also expressly provided for dismissal without notice in the case of gross misconduct.] 4 The contract of employment expressly provided that the following rules and procedures applied to the Claimant’s employment: [insert details of any relevant rules and procedures, eg the Respondent’s Code

What are the obligations to set out the basic rate cost of a telephone call? The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/3134 (the Consumer Contract Regulations) set out a number of obligations on traders regarding telephone charges. The Consumer Contracts Regulations, which came into force on 13 June 2014, state at reg 41(1): where a trader operates a telephone line for the purpose of consumers contacting the trader by telephone in relation to contracts entered into with the trader, a consumer contacting the trader must not be bound to pay more than the basic rate. In addition, the Consumer Contract Regulations, Sch 2, para (i) states there is an obligation to provide information to the consumer (under the Consumer Contract Regulations, reg 10(1) and 13(1)) where: the cost of using the means of distance communication for the conclusion of the contract where that cost is calculated other than at the basic rate. Is the term ‘basic rate’ defined? The term is not defined anywhere

This Checklist sets out some of the key issues to consider when a party is unable to comply with its contractual obligations due to the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19)—eg to proceed with/complete works under a construction contract, or supply goods or services under a supply contract (or series of supply contracts). Commercial considerations, shared objectives and collaboration will also play a key role in ensuring that parties are able to mitigate the impact of coronavirus on their staff and business, in challenging times and where neither party is at fault. Force majeure Force majeure is a term used to describe an event that is beyond the control of the parties, and which prevents them from fulfilling their contractual obligations: Triggering force majeure • check to see whether your contract contains force majeure provisions or provisions with a similar effect. Note that: ◦ the term ‘force majeure’ may not necessarily be used in the contract, eg the FIDIC 2017 standard form construction contracts use the term ‘Exceptional Event’ ◦ force majeure provisions may be set out in a standalone clause

We have assumed for the purposes of this Q&A that there is a clause in a contract which allows party A to terminate and the situation where party B is in repudiatory breach such that party A can elect to treat the agreement as repudiated and so treat it as at an end and claims damages. See Practice Notes: Contractual damages—general principles and Causation and remoteness in contractual breach claims. Contractual right to termination for breach Where a contract contains an express right to terminate the agreement for breach, it should set out

Consideration should be given to: • the contractual position • the position under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 An employee’s contract of employment will usually set out standard working hours they are expected to be available for work (see, Practice Note: Written statements of employment particulars—to 5 April 2020 [Archived]), often with a degree of flexibility built in allowing the employer to vary normal hours in the interests of business efficacy. There may also be express provisions in the contract relating to work over and above those standard working hours (ie overtime work), and whether an employee

The general rule is that the authority of an agent is revocable by the principal who originally conferred that authority, even if it is agreed in the contract that the authority is ‘irrevocable’. The revocation by the principal of the contract is effective to terminate the agent’s authority, but can give rise to a claim for damages. The main exception to the general rule is the case where the agent has a relevant interest of his own in the exercise of his authority. This exception applies if two conditions are satisfied. First, there must be an agreement that

This week's edition of Construction weekly highlights includes a summary of the key implications of the Autumn Budget 2024 for the construction industry, an announcement by the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) of the release date for the 2024 edition of the JCT Measured Term Contract, a case in which the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council dismissed an employer’s defences to non-payment based on abatement, fraud and assignment (Estate Management v Junior Sammy Contractors), a case in which the Technology and Construction Court (TCC) rejected an argument that an adjudicator had wrongly predetermined the merits of the dispute (Essential Living v Conneely Facades), a statement from the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) encouraging the use of industry-approved standard form contracts, and a call from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) to accelerate the number of apprenticeship starts by applying for CITB apprenticeship grants.

date [date] Parties 1 [name of (first) Seller] [and [name of second Seller] both] [of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [number]) whose registered office is at] [address] (Seller) 2 [name of Buyer] [of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [number]) whose registered office is at] [address] (Buyer) 1 Definitions In this Agreement, the following definitions apply: Buyer’s Option • the option to require the Seller to transfer the Property to the Buyer on payment of the Price; [Buyer’s Option Fee • £[amount in figures] [([amount in words] pounds)] (plus any VAT payable on it);] Buyer’s Option Notice • a notice in the form attached to this Agreement at Appendix 5; Buyer’s Solicitors • [name] of [address] (reference [details]) or any other solicitors that the Buyer notifies to the Seller; Deposit • £[amount in figures] [([amount in words] pounds)]; [Independent Surveyor • an independent chartered surveyor who has at least [10] years’ experience of valuing property of a comparable type and in a comparable location to the Property;] Interest • interest at the rate of [4]% per annum over the base rate from time to time of [name of bank]; Legislation • all