ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note discusses some of the key considerations and implications for IP practitioners during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It also includes a table containing an archive of news items on coronavirus and coronavirus developments that relate to IP. For a discussion about the impact of the pandemic on IP strategy and practice, see News Analysis: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—the impact on IP strategy and practice. IP deadlines and procedures In light of the coronavirus pandemic and associated guidance on social distancing, offices were closed and some postal services suspended. In response to such measures, the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO), World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO), European Patent Office (EPO) and EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) announced changes to various IP deadlines and procedures. These announcements are tracked in the IP coronavirus tracker below and the IPO, WIPO, EPO and EUIPO have created dedicated and maintained coronavirus pages. Due to the fast-paced nature of the coronavirus crisis, it is essential to check these sites

ARCHIVED: this Practice Note is no longer maintained as the majority of concessions, which were introduced as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, have ended. It has been retained in archived form for historical interest, and may be beneficial for advisers for research purposes. This Practice Note is a compilation of links to useful information, news and news analysis in relation to the immigration implications of the coronavirus pandemic. This Practice Note will be updated on an ongoing basis with relevant materials. Note that links to all relevant government/third party guidance resources are found below at: Coronavirus (COVID-19) immigration resources—Information resources. For the National Archives webpage containing links to previous versions of the main Home Office guidance page for individuals from 27 March 2020, see here. Update: Relaxation of restrictions, switching and international arrivals and travel On 19 July 2021, the majority of coronavirus restrictions in England ended, only for new restrictions to be introduced from 30 November 2021 to reduce the transmissibility of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. England moved from ‘Plan

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is no longer maintained. It considers issues relating to the right to holiday and holiday pay during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It: • summarises the position under WTR 1998 in relation to the right to annual leave (or holiday) and pay under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR 1998), SI 1998/1833, as a reminder of the general context in which these issues need to be considered • describes the relevant guidance issued by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), HMRC and Acas, and • considers, specifically in the context of holiday and holiday pay during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: ◦ how holiday pay is calculated ◦ whether an employer can tell an employee when to take their holiday, including managing holiday requests and requests to cancel booked holiday, and whether an employer can cancel a worker’s booked holiday or require a worker to take holiday at specific times ◦ amendments to the WTR 1998, SI 1998/1833 relating to carrying forward holiday

A number of temporary changes were introduced by government in relation to accessing Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), and SSP rules, in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. These changes have been reversed following the government’s decision to remove coronavirus restrictions in 2022 and, in particular, the publication of the government’s plan for living with COVID-19 on 21 February 2022. The temporary changes to SSP introduced during the pandemic, together with a summary of developments in relation to their removal, are listed below: • those who self-isolated or were required to shield from time to time because of coronavirus were potentially deemed incapable of working, and, therefore, entitled to SSP (see: SSP entitlement extended to those who self-isolate below). These deeming provisions were revoked by the Statutory Sick Pay (General) (Coronavirus Amendment) Regulations 2022, SI 2022/380, in force on 25 March 2022 (see: LNB News 25/03/2022 5). This means that from 25 March 2022, if an employee tests positive for coronavirus, in order to qualify for SSP they

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. In the midst of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, the government announced a number of measures either that related specifically to the UK tax regime. For further details, see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—tax implications [Archived]. This Practice Note provides a high level picture of some of the ways that the coronavirus crisis impacted subsisting tax-advantaged share schemes and changes in HMRC guidance and legislation. This Practice Note also looks at how companies have dealt with underwater share options and unsuitable performance conditions resulting from the subsequent economic climate. These sections are relevant to all share plans. The coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS) and the Job Support Scheme (JSS) The Coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS), initially announced on 20 March 2020, provided support to UK employers with a grant to enable them to continue paying up to 80% of their employees’ salary not worked (up to £2,500 per employee per month) for those employees that were ‘furloughed’ during the coronavirus outbreak provided that

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note is not maintained and is for background information only. This Practice Note seeks to address a number of frequently-asked questions relating to the original version of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) that applied until 30 June 2020. For detailed information on the CJRS itself, see Practice Notes: • Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (extended version 1 May to 30 September 2021) [Archived] • Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (extended version 1 November 2020 to 30 April 2021) [Archived] • Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (extended version 1 July to 31 October 2020) [Archived] • Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (original version to 30 June 2020) [Archived] • Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme—guidance tracker [Archived] See also: • Coronavirus (COVID-19)—issues when ending furlough or terminating employment [Archived] • Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme—the pensions implications [Archived] • Taxation of coronavirus (COVID-19) government support payments [Archived] This Practice Note covers the following questions: • What will the HMRC grant cover? • What is the 80% based on? • Will

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note provides details of the various versions of coronavirus (COVID-19)-related guidance issued by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) from 14 July 2021 onwards, and provides tracked change versions, showing the updates between one version and the next, to enable practitioners easily to ascertain which version of the relevant guidance was live at any given date. It is no longer maintained and is for background information only. For information on the versions of this guidance that were published up to 13 July 2021, see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—guidance tracker for employment (BEIS working safely guidance to 18 July 2021) [Archived]. In each case, the versions of the guidance are shown in reverse chronological order, with the most recent appearing first. For a guidance tracker that deals with: • the various versions of current guidance and advice issued by Acas, the Cabinet Office, HMRC, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) (formerly Public Health England (PHE)), the Health and Safety Executive

This tracker was used to track key developments, legislation, guidance and briefing notes relating to the initial response to coronavirus (COVID-19) between June and August 2020, focusing on updates relevant to local government governance. It is designed to provide a historical record of the legislation and guidance in place and used during that period. For current developments, see: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—governance tracker [Archived]. Click on the links below to jump to the relevant section: • Primary legislation • National restrictions • Local restrictions • Travel restrictions • Local authority governance • Financial support • Government guidance • Other sources of information • News Analysis • Case Law Primary legislation Development When in force Find out more Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA 2020) Comes into force partly on 26 June 2020, and fully on such day as the Secretary of State may by regulations appoint. Act making provision for companies in financial difficulty and amends to the regulation of companies This Act makes provision about companies and other entities in financial difficulty;

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is archived and is no longer maintained. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Lawyers across the world have been grappling with many common areas of concern in connection with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. There are a number of areas that are particularly relevant to banking and finance lawyers. For more detail and analysis on these, see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19) implications for Banking & Finance lawyers, which is updated regularly with news, practical guidance and analysis covering the impact of COVID-19 developments. This Practice Note focuses on government and regulatory responses to the pandemic from a lending perspective, implications for facility agreements, both from a borrower and lender perspective, and various practical implications in relation to deal execution. We have put together a set of COVID-19 FAQs, which comprise a number of questions that might arise on a lending transaction during the crisis. We add to the list on a regular basis. To access the list, see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—Banking & Finance frequently asked questions [Archived]. Specialist financing transactions This

This archived Practice Note considered the key issues for Corporate practitioners in relation to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It has not been updated since May 2022. General meetings and AGMs The coronavirus outbreak raised immediate legal and practical issues for companies which were seeking to hold their annual general meeting (AGM) or other general meetings. For further details, see Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—holding general meetings and AGMs. Latest guidance for company meetings in 2021 Chartered Governance Institute guidance for company meetings in 2021 On 24 February 2021 the Chartered Governance Institute (CGI) issued updated guidance (2021 Guidance) in anticipation that general meetings would be required to be held on a closed basis until at least 17 May 2021 and possibly until at least 21 June as a result of the government’s ‘stay at home measures’. The 2021 Guidance was produced by a working group comprising the City of London Law Society Company Law Committee and Martin Moore QC, with the support of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Financial

UPDATE: The CJRS ended on 30 September 2021. This Precedent has been archived and is no longer maintained. For further information on the extended CJRS, see Practice Note: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (extended version 1 May to 30 September 2021) [Archived]. [ To be typed on headed notepaper of employer ] [Date] Dear [insert name of employee], Re: [insert name of employer] (the Company) Thank you for confirming, in response to my letter dated [date], that you agree to being placed on furlough under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and consent to the temporary changes to your contract of employment dated [insert date](Contract) and your terms and conditions of employment. [ [FULL-TIME OR PART-TIME EMPLOYEE WHOSE BASIC PAY DOES NOT VARY:] I am writing to confirm that the Company has made a claim to HMRC under the CJRS in respect of your wage costs for the [insert

A number of competition authorities around the world are reacting in order to adapt to the impact caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The table below tracks and summarises coronavirus (COVID-19) related developments in relation to antitrust investigations/claims, exceptions/exemptions, new legislation and State aid investigations. For a summary of changes to merger control procedures in highlighted jurisdictions, see further: MJ merger control—competition authorities and coronavirus (COVID-19) status NOTE—this tracker only covers developments within its scope that have been made publicly available. It is not intended (nor purports to be) an exhaustive or definitive resource. Coronavirus (COVID-19) related antitrust investigations/claims Jurisdiction Case name, companies under investigation and industry Issues Developments Albania Personal protection products• Numerous pharmaceutical companies (listed here) Price-gouging • Infringement decision issued—15/10/2020• Investigations launched—18/03/2020 Armenia PCR tests• 11 undertakings Restrictive agreements • Investigations launched—26/11/2021 Medical gloves• Unknown Price-gouging • Investigation terminated—27/08/2020• Investigations launched—27/05/2020 Masks• Unknown Price-gouging • Investigation terminated—27/08/2020• Investigations launched—26/05/2020 Azerbaijan Medicines and masks• Buta Farm LLC• Olive Pharmaceuticals LLC• Vita Pharmaceuticals LLC• Intermed Plyus LLC• Dokta LLC Price-gouging • Investigations launched—13/03/2020 Brazil Masks, goggles and protection filters• Inmadica Andina Price-gouging •