For the purposes of this Q&A we have assumed that disciplinary action has been carried out and we have focussed on when notifications are required. The information provided in this Q&A should be read alongside the terms of the consultancy agreement. See the following provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA 2000). For the purposes of action by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under its disciplinary powers, a person is guilty of misconduct if any of conditions A to C is met in relation to the person: • Condition A is that the person has at any time failed to comply with the rules of conduct made by the FCA and at that time the person was an approved person or an employee of a relevant authorised person. • Condition B is that: (i) the person has at any time been knowingly concerned in a contravention of

The Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 (MEES Regs 2015), SI 2015/962, reg 27 provides that a landlord must not let substandard (ie with an EPC rating of ‘F’ or ‘G’) non-domestic private rented (NDPR) property unless: • ‘relevant energy efficiency improvements’ are undertaken, or • one of the exemptions (consent, devaluation or temporary exemptions) applies In relation to existing leases, provisions often require tenants to keep property in good repair and condition and at the end of the lease to yield it up to the landlord in the repair and condition required by the lease. Some landlords may argue that this requires tenants to improve substandard property to a condition that is Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES)-compliant. This argument is unlikely to be successful. There

Effect of an easement Where a lease is more than seven years and grants or reserves easements, the easement should be registered. Easements cannot be substantively registered in their own right. The correct method of protection depends on whether: • the easements are legal or equitable, and • the servient land (ie the burdened land) and the dominant land (ie the benefitting land) is registered or unregistered The grant of the easement does not trigger compulsory first registration of the servient land. The easement is effective at law when made and binds the world. On first registration of the servient land, HM Land Registry must note the burden of any legal easements affecting the land contained in the deeds and documents lodged with the application. So if

The power to appoint a receiver of specified property is a statutory incident of a charge and is a method of enforcement of the security. Property comprised in a bankrupt's estate is so comprised subject to the rights of any person other than the bankrupt (section 283(5) of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986)). The court has no power under the IA 1986 to stay the enforcement of his security by a secured creditor of the bankrupt (IA 1986, s 285(4)). Accordingly, the mortgagor’s right to appoint a receiver takes priority over the trustee in bankruptcy’s (trustee) rights in administering the bankruptcy. As a trustee

Variation of contracts and deeds An existing contract or deed may be varied in writing, provided that the variation satisfies the usual requirements for the creation of a binding agreement—ie offer, acceptance, certainty, consideration and contractual intention of the parties (although if a variation is documented as a deed, there is no need for the parties to provide consideration). If the variation is executed as a deed, further formalities are required (see Practice Note: Deeds). For more guidance, see also: • Forming enforceable contracts—overview • Practice Note: Forming enforceable

This Q&A examines the legal and practical issues an employer should consider when dealing with employees who are absent due to travel disruption caused by adverse weather conditions and/or industrial action or major incidents. Practical issues When adverse weather and the resultant travel chaos, or travel disruption caused by industrial action or major incidents affect employees’ ability to get to work on time or, in some cases, at all, there are a number of practical steps an employer can consider taking in order to reduce business disruption, avoid any confusion and minimise potential employment law claims: • implement an adverse weather and travel disruption policy or include appropriate provisions within an existing absence management policy and ensure all employees are aware of the policy and its contents—see main section: Policy below • develop a business continuity plan to cover, for example, unforeseen critical staff absence or widespread staff absence, temporary closure of the business and alternative workplace arrangements • decide if employees will be paid for any absence from

From 1 October 2021, the revised periods of notice required to determine various residential tenancies in England are suspended and revert (subject to some exceptions) to the periods which were required before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This is subject to the government retaining the right to

There are no exceptions given in the Workers and Temporary Workers: sponsor a skilled worker sponsor guidance for the requirement for overseas-trained nurses and midwives being sponsored on the Skilled Worker route to complete their Nursing and Midwifery Council registration within eight months of either: • the start date on their Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) (if this is their first application for permission on the Skilled Worker route as a pre-registration nurse or midwife),

A lease for a term exceeding three years must be in writing and be granted by deed for it to take effect as a legal interest. A failure to comply with this requirement means that the lease will only take effect as an equitable interest. The requirement does not apply however where the interest granted is a periodic tenancy because such an interest is not a three-year term. See Practice Note: Contracts for the sale of land—formation, signature and variation. Where a tenancy is in writing, there will seldom be dispute as to the terms to which it

As part of a claim by a landlord against a former tenant for rent arrears, can it recover the costs of re-letting to a new tenant, including legal fees and the cost of internal alterations to make the premises suitable for the new tenant’s business, plus removal of asbestos, re-wiring and re-plumbing etc? The landlord may have had to do some of the works at some point, in any event, but it certainly did not envisage them being necessary for the remainder of the term of the previous lease held by the defaulting tenant (approx. five years). Costs of this nature are unlikely to be the subject of a specific covenant by the tenant either to pay such fees or do such works.

Pursuant to Part III of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 (LTA 1987), certain long leaseholders of flats may compulsorily acquire the landlord’s interest through a nominated person where: • the landlord has failed to comply with his obligations to repair, maintain, insure or manage the building, or • the building has been managed for at least two years by a manager appointed under LTA 1987,

Authorities and committees are required to allocate seats in a way which shows proportional representation of political groups. The question asks whether it is possible for an independent member, presumably meaning one who is not a member of any party political group, to be allocated a seat on the planning committee. The answer is partially dependent on the facts and the wording of the authority’s constitution, but as long as the authority is divided into political groups and no statutory exceptions apply, the independent party member would have to form a group with at least another member to obtain representation and therefore a seat on the planning committee. In some cases, where there are various independent members, they form an independent group, sometimes known as the ‘independents’, and are therefore entitled to be represented on the planning committee. Note that this rule does not apply to area committees, and authorities can opt out of this arrangement if alternative arrangements