Where, in the context of a collective redundancy exercise, an employer failed to comply with the requirements (under sections 188 and 188A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A 1992)) for statutory consultation, the employment tribunal may make a 'protective award' as a remedy for that failure. Such a protective award is treated as ‘arrears of pay’ for the purposes of Part XII of the Employment Rights Act 1996, with the result that an employee whose employer becomes insolvent can apply to the Secretary of State for it to be paid out of the National Insurance Fund. For further information, see our Practice Notes: • Protective awards • Redundancy—Insolvency and the state guarantee fund Any payment

Section 168 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) provides that a company may by ordinary resolution remove a director at any time. CA 2006, s 168 operates notwithstanding anything in any agreement between the company and the director or in the articles

Unfortunately, this question has no straightforward answer. Notwithstanding the comprehensive review of the law relating to unenforceable penalties in Cavendish Square Holding BV v Talal El Makdessi and ParkingEye Ltd v Beavis (Makdeshi), the various members of the Supreme Court were unable to agree on a single test to determine whether or not a contractual provision is a penalty. Practitioners are left to try to apply the various principles on which the majority were able to agree. For further information, see News Analysis: What implications does the Cavendish Square v El Makdessi Supreme Court decision have for corporate lawyers? It is clear that a provision will no longer be a penalty merely because it entitles a party to payment of a sum (or transfer of property) that is not a

The amount of stamp duty land tax (SDLT) charged in relation to a chargeable transaction is a percentage of the chargeable consideration for the transaction. The percentage is determined by reference to whether the relevant land: • consists entirely of residential property, in which case the rates, and related calculation method, in Table A or amended Table A (titled 'Residential’)

For the purposes of this Q&A, we have focussed on the contractual arrangements and allocation of liabilities stemming from the business transfer. Commercial Agency Regulations 1993 Our Practice Note: Termination of commercial agency considers the regulations governing the termination of commercial agencies (as defined in the Commercial Agency Regulations (CAR 1993)) and looks at when the right to indemnity or compensation does or does not exist in general. CAR 1993, reg 17 deals with the entitlement of commercial agent to an indemnity or compensation on termination of an agency contract. In particular, reg 17 (6)–(9) states the following: (6) Subject to paragraph (9) and to regulation 18 below, the commercial agent shall be entitled to compensation for the damage he suffers as a result of the termination of his relations with his principal. (7) For the purpose of these Regulations such damage shall be deemed to occur particularly when the termination takes

This Q&A focuses on termination notices in business-to-business contracts, additional considerations may apply in a business-to-consumer contract. What are the requirements for a valid notice to be served? The requirements for a valid notice of termination will depend upon the specific provisions of both the notices clause and termination clause within the applicable contract. The provisions set out in the termination clause will identify whether the right to terminate has arisen, and the provisions of the notices clause will determine how a notice must be served. In the scenario in question, that analysis must then be considered against the notice which is purported to have been served and further consideration may also need to be given to the nature of

Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, SI 2012/3118, reg 6 requires that an EPC is provided where a building is sold or rented out. Under Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, SI 2012/3118, reg 2: • ‘building’ means a roofed construction having walls, for which energy is used to condition the indoor climate, and (other than in reg 9(4) and 11) reference to a building includes reference to a building unit in that building • ‘building unit’ means a section, floor or apartment within a building which is designed or altered to be used separately A part of a building designed or altered to be used separately is where the accommodation

Chapter II of Part IV of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A 1992) sets out the triggers for the employer’s statutory obligations to inform and consult on a collective redundancy, and what those obligations consist of. For further information, see our Practice Notes: • Collective redundancy—the triggers for the statutory consultation obligations, and • Collective redundancy—statutory information and consultation obligations The relevant legislation (TULR(C)A 1992, Pt IV, Ch II) and the underlying Collective Redundancies Directive, 98/59/EC are couched in terms of the obligations of the employer to inform and consult with appropriate representatives. We are not aware of any statutory obligation on the appropriate representatives or trade union in respect of the information provided by the employer. It

Section 50 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) provides that where it appears to the court that there is reason to believe that a child who is in care, the subject of an emergency protection order, or in police protection, has been unlawfully taken away or is being unlawfully kept away from, or has run away or is staying away from, their responsible person by virtue of the relevant order, or is missing, the court may make a recovery order. A recovery order is a direction to any person who is in a position to do so to produce the child on request to any authorised person, authorises that person to remove the child; requires the disclosure of any information as to the child’s whereabouts,

On the question as to whether or not a registered England and Wales lasting power of attorney would be recognised and given authority in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), it would be advisable to seek advice from a locally qualified professional. However, we refer you to Practice Note: Private Client—British Virgin Islands—Q&A guide [Archived], which states in the response to Q29: ‘The authority given to an attorney by power of attorney ceases on the donor's

For further information about the right to request flexible working, generally, see Practice Note: Flexible working. A right to request flexible working is essentially a right for an eligible employee to apply to their employer for a change to their terms and conditions of employment if the change relates to: • the hours the employee is required to work • the times when the employee is required to work • where the employee is required to work, as between their home and a place of business of their employer See section 80F(1)(a) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. While the Acas guidance on the types of flexible working suggests that the employee may request to work remotely other than from home (giving the example of working from a mixture

The fact that a tenancy attracts the operation of the Housing Acts, as a general rule, does not affect the operation of the usual common law and statutory rules which apply to that tenancy. For present purposes, three provisions in LPA 1925, are relevant: • first, LPA 1925, s 205(1) provides: ‘In this Act unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them... (ii) “Conveyance” includes a mortgage, charge, lease, assent, vesting declaration, vesting instrument, disclaimer, release and every other assurance of property or of an interest therein by any instrument...’ • secondly, by LPA 1925, s 52(1), ‘all conveyances of land or of any interest therein are void for the purpose of conveying or creating a legal estate unless made by deed’. So, generally, a lease (as understood