This guide is primarily aimed at trainees, newly qualified lawyers and other persons who are new to or unfamiliar with pensions law. One of the most important areas of pensions law is the legislation relating to section 75 debts (also known as employer debts or statutory debts), which is set out primarily in: • sections 75–75A of the Pensions Act 1995 (PA 1995), and • underlying regulations, principally the Occupational Pension Schemes (Employer Debt) Regulations 2005, SI 2005/678 (the Employer Debt Regulations) The employer debt legislation principally relates to employers participating in defined benefit (DB) occupational pension schemes (although, in very limited circumstances, the employer debt legislation can also apply to defined contribution (DC) pension schemes, but those circumstances are not discussed in this guidance note). Essentially the legislation provides that a (non-priority) debt can be created, owed by an employer (or employers) to an underfunded DB pension scheme, upon the occurrence of a ‘section 75 triggering event’. Triggering events There are three triggering events: • when an employer participating in a DB scheme

One of the dangers of employment cessation events is that they may inadvertently be triggered, eg because the sole remaining active member of an employer in a multi-employer defined benefit scheme has resigned. The Employer Debt Regulations, SI 2005/678 were amended with effect from 6 April 2008 to introduce the concept of grace periods, a concept intended to help the employer manage unintentional employment cessation events. For further information on employment cessation events and other section 75 triggers, see Practice Note: When is a section 75 debt triggered? When can a grace period be used? An employer of a multi-employer defined benefit scheme may notify the trustees that it wishes to enter into a grace period (by way of a grace period notice) if: • that employer ceases to employ active members at a time when at least one other employer employs active members, thus giving rise to an employment cessation event, and • it intends to employ at least one person who is an active member of the scheme during the next 12-month period (or any longer period

A person who does not comply with a court order made under section 64 of the London Building Acts (Amendment) Act 1939 (LBA(A)A 1939) can be prosecuted for an offence under LBA(A)A 1939, s 148 and be liable to a fine on summary conviction. The Building Act 1984 (BA 1984) is one of the principal pieces of legislation governing building works and construction. BA 1984, Pt III deals with matters such as drainage, the provision of sanitary conveniences, defective buildings, demolition and related issues. Although

CA 2006, s 793 enables any public company (whether or not listed) to give notice (commonly referred to as a Section 793 notice) to any person whom it reasonably suspects to be or to have been during the previous three years interested in its shares to confirm or deny that fact give particulars of the interests concerned, and provide certain other information with respect to such interests. In the context of a listed company or an AIM company, the provisions should be read in conjunction with the disclosure obligations under DTR 5 of the DTRs and Rule 8 of the Takeover Code.

CA 2006, s 793 enables any public company (whether or not listed) to give notice (commonly referred to as a Section 793 notice) to any person whom it reasonably suspects to be or to have been during the previous three years interested in its shares to confirm or deny that fact give particulars of the interests concerned, and provide certain other information with respect to such interests. In the context of a listed company or an AIM company the provisions should be read in conjunction with the disclosure obligations under DTR 5 of the DTRs and Rule 8 of the Takeover Code.

STOP PRESS: The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System Sandbox) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/583 (the PISCES Regulations) introduced a five-year financial market infrastructure regulatory sandbox, which permits the establishment of share trading platforms to enable secondary trading in private/unquoted public company shares through intermittent trading events. The PISCES Regulations came into force on 5 June 2025 and make temporary modifications to the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006), in particular to the provisions that enable a public company to investigate interests in its shares, which will last for the five year duration of the sandbox. The PISCES Regulations treat references to public companies in CA 2006, ss 791–828 as including companies with voting shares traded on an approved private intermittent securities and capital exchange system (PISCES), treat CA 2006, ss 803–807 as disapplied and treat the reference in CA 2006, s 819(1) to a company ceasing to be a public company as a reference to a company ceasing to have voting shares traded on an approved

[Insert name of company] [Insert address of company] [Insert fax number of company] [Insert email address of company] [Insert name of recipient and/or their job title, if appropriate, eg company secretary/directors of [name of company]] [Insert address of recipient] [Insert date] Dear [[Insert name of recipient] OR [Insert job title, eg company secretary or directors]] Section 793 of the Companies Act 2006—request for information about interest in the [[insert class]] shares of [insert name of company] We believe that you are interested in the [[insert class]] shares of [insert name of company] (the Company) or have been so interested at some point in the three years immediately preceding the date of this notice. We give this notice in accordance with section 793 of the Companies Act 2006 and require you to provide us certain information about your interests. In this notice, an ‘interest in shares’ has the meaning given to it for the purpose of Part 22 of the Companies Act 2006. Information required if you do not have a current interest in the Company’s [[insert class]] shares (and have not been so

Section 8 of PACE 1984 grants the power to a justice of the peace, to authorise entry and search of premises, following an application made by a constable. Under Section 8 of PACE 1984, a warrant may be granted if there are reasonable grounds for believing an indictable offence has been committed and there is relevant evidence on such premises likely to be of substantial value in investigating that offence. Other conditions also apply.

After the accused has provided a defence statement and the prosecutor has complied, purported to comply or failed to comply with the obligations relating to further disclosure, the defendant may apply to the court under section 8 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (CPIA 1996) for an order requiring the prosecutor to disclose material if the defendant has reasonable cause to believe there is prosecution material that satisfies the disclosure test. The Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 (CrimPR 2025), SI 2025/909 dictate the form and process which must be followed for such applications. The procedure is as follows: • complete the section 8 application form • ensure the defence statement makes

The Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery regime (CRAR) was introduced on 6 April 2014 by the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013 (TCGR 2013) under powers contained in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (TCEA 2007) to replace the old regime of distress for arrears of rent.

See Practice Note Drafting and varying consumer credit agreements. Under the section headed ‘Variations’, it states for agreements entered into prior to 1 February 2011. ‘A regulated agreement can be varied unilaterally by the creditor or owner where there is a power in the

The provisions relating to notices of sums in arrear (NOSIAs) are set out in sections 86B–86D of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA 1974). CCA 1974, s 86B covers NOSIAs under fixed-sum credit agreements and CCA 1974, s 86C covers NOSIAs under running-account credit agreements. CCA 1974 requires a NOSIA to be sent