The Insolvency Service has reported that, Shaun David Dixon, a self-employed electrician, has been subjected to seven years of bankruptcy restrictions after he fraudulently claimed two coronavirus Bounce Back Loans (BBLs) amounting to £23,750 for his company. Dixon also exaggerated his turnover to receive £16,250 more than what he was entitled to. Bankruptcy restrictions now prevent Dixon from acting as a company director without the court's permission and from borrowing more than £500 without disclosing the sanctions—which will be enforced until 16 October 2031.

The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) has published an update regarding the significant backlogs caused by working constraints of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the family justice system. Provisions of the Domestic Abuse Perpetrator Programmes (DAPPs) has been impacted due to the necessary face-to-face delivery model and a few DAPP providers have had to reduce or suspend their offers. Cafcass has considered the development of remote DAPPs, however there is a lack of evidence to support the adoption of a remote model. A temporary process has been agreed to which will be applied in England.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has secured an additional 13-month prison sentence against Dr Gerald Martin Smith for obstructing the confiscation of his assets. Smith, already imprisoned for coronavirus (COVID-19) loan fraud, attempted to prevent the seizure of a Bloomsbury flat by transferring ownership to a British Virgin Islands company he covertly controlled. Smith further impeded the property's sale by changing locks and arranging tenants. The SFO also uncovered Smith's breach of a spending limitation order, as he received funds from his brother and subsequently spent over £53,000 on luxury dining and holidays. This case underscores the SFO's commitment to pursuing hidden assets and enforcing court orders against convicted fraudsters.

The Insolvency Service has reported that Zahid Afzal, director of Phone Bits Ltd and Phones Onn Ltd, received a two-year suspended sentence for fraudulently obtaining £150,000 in coronavirus bounce back loans (BBL). Afzal had already received legitimate loans totalling £52,500 when he applied for three additional £50,000 loans between May and November 2020. The Insolvency Service is pursuing recovery of the fraudulently obtained funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Afzal was charged under the Fraud Act 2006 after transferring the majority of the fraudulent loans to personal accounts.

This edition of Employment weekly highlights includes: (1) analysis from Nick Chronias, Partner at DAC Beachcroft LLP, David Reade KC and Joseph Bryan, barristers at Littleton Chambers, and Jonathan Tuck, Partner at Baker McKenzie of a Supreme Court decision on rectification of mistakes in collective agreements, (2) an Order setting pay and conditions of school teachers in Wales from 1 September 2024, (3) an employment tribunal decision finding that Bolt app drivers have worker status, (4) the coming into force of the Platform Work Directive, (5) a Court of Appeal decision concerning civil penalty notices under the Immigration Asylum and Nationality Act 2006, (6) the Department for Business and Trade consultation report following consultation with devolved governments on UK-Switzerland professional qualifications recognition implementation, (7) HMRC guidance for employers on reporting the apprenticeship levy and employment allowance, (8) an Equality and Human Rights Commission checklist and action plan for preventing sexual harassment at work, (9) a Financial Reporting Council consultation on updates to the UK Stewardship Code, (10) plans for an ‘omnibus’ EU Regulation to simplify EU sustainability reporting duties, (11) regulations bringing into force the offence of failing to prevent fraud provisions under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, (12) lessons for lawyers from the Home Office guidance on the offence of failing to prevent fraud, (13) an EAT judgment on the admissibility of pre-termination negotiations in ‘ordinary’ unfair dismissal claims, (14) Regulations extending temporary justice measures introduced in Scotland during the Coronavirus pandemic for an additional 12 months, (15) an important message from the Employment Tribunal President’s Support Office on the Notice of Change (Notice of Acting) functionality on MyHMCTS for claimant representatives, (16) updated agenda templates for Scottish employment tribunals, (17) a new tracker for employment-related legislation in force in 2023, (18) dates for your diary, (19) updates to our case, consultation and legislation trackers and horizon scanner, and (20) new Q&As.

This edition of Employment weekly highlights includes: (1) a review of what to expect from the new Labour government on employment law, (2) an EAT judgment looking at Coronavirus and Shimizu carry-over claims, (3) the Working Time (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024, (4) analysis of the proposed changes by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to its technical guidance on sexual harassment and harassment at work, (5) analysis by Elizabeth Ovey at Radcliffe Chambers of an EAT decision about whether fee-paid judges had been treated less favourably in terms of their access to a judicial pension scheme, (6) an EAT judgment about a claim of indirect discrimination concerning the employer’s use of text with small font size, (7) the Co-op’s first pay gap report based on socioeconomic background, (8) an EAT judgment about changes to HSBC’s European Works Council following Brexit, (9) the Working Time (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024, (10) an update that the Solicitors Regulation Authority has removed the updated guidance on non-disclosure agreements, which we previously reported, and reinstated the previous version, (11) the response of the Senior President of Tribunals to the consultation on panel composition in employment tribunals and the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) and a draft Practice Direction, (12) an EAT judgment about an unless order that wrongly required the claimant to pay an outstanding costs order, (13) a response by the Senior President of Tribunals to the consultation on panel composition in the Employment Tribunals and EAT, accompanied by a draft of the Practice Direction, (14) a Supreme Court judgment about the status of accrued EU law rights (15) the employment priorities of the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, (16) the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, (17) updates to our consultation and legislation trackers and our horizon scanner, and (18) new Q&As.

MLex: The role of UK anti-corruption champion is 20 years old this year, but anniversary celebrations would be out of place: No one has been in post for more than two years, and the new Labour government has been silent on the matter after almost two months at the helm. The government-appointed role has remained empty since June 2022, when John Penrose stepped down after more than four years in the post, as a protest at former prime minister Boris Johnson's rule-breaking during the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has published a report calling for urgent improvements to the process and communications regarding ‘Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation' (DNACPR). The PHSO’s casework and research demonstrates that whilst the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted problems, these continue to persist. Key findings include: (1) a lack of accessible information given at the time or before DNACPR conversations take place; (2) issues with record-keeping and documenting decisions, with up-to-date information not following a patient through the medical system and, (3) a lack of public awareness about CPR and who is responsible for making a DNACPR decision.

Hitachi has confirmed that it will end business operations on the Horizon Project which, would have seen nuclear power stations comprising of two units of UK advanced boiling water reactor be developed at Wylfa Newydd in Anglesey, North-West Wales. It was hoped that the Horizon Project would ‘develop Hitachi's nuclear business in the UK and contribute to the energy policy of the UK government, as well as maintaining the business foundation that supports the nuclear industry in Japan’. The project was initially suspended in January 2019 and will now no longer continue due to ‘economic rationality’ and the investment environment becoming ‘increasingly severe’ due to the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19).

The European Commission has released guidance for European contracting authorities on using EU law to tackle suspected cases of collusion in public procurement. There has been an increased danger of this during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as public authorities have had the need to urgently procure vast quantities of supplies for health services—some companies may attempt to use this to their advantage and artificially control procurement and restrict competition. The guidance provides a concise and ready to use tool for national authorities to combat those issues, and aims to raise awareness among authorities and businesses to show policies and regulations should still be respected.

This week's edition of Insurance & Reinsurance weekly highlights includes: Aon launches US$357m insurance programme for Ukraine; a range of insurers deny liability for aircraft detained in Russia; UK sanctions Russian insurer in move against shadow fleet; reinsurers escape US$41m claim over Taliban warehouse loss (Hamilton Corporate Member Ltd and others v Afghan Global Insurance Ltd and others); smaller insurers predicted to benefit from solvency changes; cases & decisions; key dates for your diary; and other news highlights reported over the past week.

The UK’s first formal tax residency test for individuals known as the statutory residence test (SRT) took effect on 6 April 2013. Before this, whether an individual was tax resident in the UK was determined by a combination of case law, practice and HMRC guidance. The SRT rules are contained in Parts 1–5 of Sch 45 to the Finance Act 2013 (FA 2013). HMRC's detailed guidance on the SRT is now contained in the Residence and FIG Regime Manual (RFIG), which replaced the former Residence, Domicile and Remittance Basis Manual guidance following the introduction of the foreign income and gains regime from 6 April 2025. There are a number of circumstances during the application of the SRT when it is necessary to determine whether an individual is working sufficient hours overseas or in the UK. These are for the purposes of: • the third automatic UK test • the third automatic overseas test, and • in the context of the split year treatment: ◦ Case 1—starting full-time