There is an enterprise management incentives (EMI) commitment of working time requirement which must be satisfied by any employee in order to qualify to be granted an EMI share option. An employee is eligible for EMI purposes only if their average amount per week of ‘committed time’ equals or exceeds: • 25 hours a week (regardless of any other economic activity they also undertake), or • if less, 75% of their working time For further details on the EMI working time requirement, see Practice Note: EMI—what makes an employee eligible?—Working time requirement. If employees are furloughed,

Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (LTA 1954) grants security of tenure to business tenants unless its provisions are contracted out. This means that a business lease will not expire by effluxion of time but will be continued as a statutory tenancy unless and until brought to an end in accordance with the provisions of LTA 1954 or when a new lease is granted by the court on the application of either the landlord or the tenant or when the lease is determined by surrender or forfeiture. A landlord is entitled to terminate a business tenancy to which LTA 1954, Part II applies by serving a notice in accordance with section

The position on this will depend upon whether HMRC considers that the particular reasons for the late notification will amount to a ‘reasonable excuse’. For an option to qualify as a statutory enterprise management incentives (EMI) option, notice of the option must be received by HMRC within 92 days of the date of grant of the option. HMRC enforces this time period strictly and failure to make such a notification will normally mean that the option is unable to benefit from EMI tax relief. However, a 'reasonable excuse' defence for failing to notify within this time limit may be permitted,

Online filing—certain information can be filed with Companies House electronically and this was the case even before the new measures were introduced to address the coronavirus pandemic. Companies House has published guidance, which explains the process and includes a list of documents that can be sent to Companies House using this procedure. Documents sanctioning a Part 26A restructuring plan (or Part 26 scheme) are not included in the list of

There is an enterprise management incentives (EMI) commitment of working time requirement which must be satisfied by any employee in order to qualify to be granted an EMI share option. An employee is eligible for EMI purposes only if their average amount per week of ‘committed time’ equals or exceeds: • 25 hours a week (regardless of any other economic activity they also undertake), or • if less, 75% of their working time Once an EMI option has been granted, this committed working time requirement continues to apply, and in addition to this the employee must actually spend a statutory minimum amount of time on the business of the company

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has published its third report and recommendations following its investigation into the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on healthcare systems across the UK. The report finds that the UK entered the pandemic with limited healthcare resilience, including workforce shortages, low bed capacity and high occupancy rates. It concludes that, while systems avoided collapse, this was associated with reduced standards of care, delays to treatment and adverse outcomes for both Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients. The report also outlines recommendations aimed at improving preparedness and response for future pandemics.

HM Treasury has published its response to the Covid Counter Fraud Commissioner’s final report, outlining measures to recover an estimated £10.9 billion lost to fraud and error from £380 billion in pandemic spending. HMT notes that, to date, £1.8 billion has been recovered. It accepted or partially accepted all 13 recommendations aimed at recovering pandemic-related losses and strengthening fraud prevention. The response sets out measures to reduce the risk of future fraud through stronger enforcement, new powers under the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025 and improved preparedness for future crises. It also confirms the establishment of the Public Authorities Fraud Investigation and Enforcement Service, expanded recovery and enforcement activity, including action on Bounce Back Loan Scheme fraud, and reforms to emergency planning, data sharing and counter-fraud capabilities to strengthen the protection of public funds during future national emergencies.

The position on this will depend upon whether HMRC considers that the particular reasons for the late filing will amount to a ‘reasonable excuse’. Companies operating employee share incentive arrangements are required to register those arrangements and then file an annual online return to HMRC in relation to them for each tax year. The deadline for filing the annual return is the 6th July following the end of the tax year which is being reported on. Penalties can apply if the relevant 6 July deadline is missed. However, these penalties will not apply if HMRC is satisfied that there is a reasonable

An employer has a general duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA 1974) to ensure so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of its employees. Failure to comply with these duties is a criminal offence. In addition, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MSHW Regs 1999), SI 1999/3242 require an employer to assess and control risks to protect its employees. For further information: • on the employer’s health and safety duties generally, see: Health and safety—overview and Practice Note: Safety and the risk to safety under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 • on criminal offences under the HSWA 1974 and related legislation, see: Health and safety offences—overview • on carrying out a coronavirus risk assessment, see the section: Coronavirus risk assessment in Practice Note: Coronavirus (COVID-19)—managing

Restrictions against the issuing of winding-up petitions were introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA 2020) as a result of the effect on the economy of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown. The government introduced various ways in which businesses and their employees were protected to some extent from the effect of the pandemic including the furlough scheme and bounce back loans. Other restrictions changed aspects of insolvency legislation such as that regarding wrongful trading and winding-up petitions. CIGA 2020, Sch 10 as it was first

Vaccination Current case law concerning the coronavirus vaccination relates only to the vaccination of the child themselves rather than the vaccination of a parent. In M v H (private law vaccination), the father applied initially for a specific issue order that the child should receive the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccination. He subsequently widened his application to encompass all the normal childhood vaccinations, as well as the vaccination for coronavirus. At the time of the application, the coronavirus vaccination had not been rolled out to children. MacDonald J declined to consider the issue of the coronavirus vaccination due to the lack of guidance at that stage from the National Health Service (NHS). He did, however, observe (at para [4]) as follows: ‘…it is very difficult to foresee a situation in which a vaccination against COVID-19 approved for use

A local authority is required to ensure that relevant tenancy checks are completed before they can serve notice in respect of a right to buy (RTB) application. However, how this verification is carried is not mandated by legislation or guidance and is a matter for each local authority to determine to ensure that fraudulent or ineligible applications are identified and rejected promptly. For the tenant to satisfy eligibility conditions, they must: • be an individual, who occupies the dwelling house as their only or principal home, as set out in section 81 of the Housing Act 1985 (HA 1985). For more information, see Practice Note: The tenancy condition • not be subject to any exceptions relating to the property