STOP PRESS: Directive (EU) 2026/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2026 amending Directive (EU) 2015/2302 to make the protection of travellers more effective and to simplify and clarify certain aspects of that Directive was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 8 May 2026. Directive (EU) 2015/2302 (the EU Package Travel Directive) sets out rules on package travel contracts, including traveller information requirements, cancellation rights, refunds, liability for performance of travel services and insolvency protection. The new Directive amends the EU Package Travel Directive to strengthen traveller protection, simplify the legal framework and address issues identified since its application began, including issues relating to cancellations, refunds, vouchers and insolvency protection highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. See: LNB News 11/05/2026 27. This Practice Note will be updated shortly to reflect the changes introduced by the new Directive. This Practice Note provides guidance on Directive (EU) 2015/2302 on package travel and linked

This Practice Note considers the right of employees and workers not to be subjected to a detriment, or dismissed, on certain grounds relating to health and safety in the workplace. It sets out who is protected, the qualifying period of employment, and the specified health and safety grounds, namely health and safety officials, participating in consultations, raising health and safety concerns, leaving work in the face of serious and imminent danger, and taking protective steps to avert serious and imminent danger. It covers selection for redundancy on health and safety grounds, and the remedies available for detriment and unfair dismissal. It also outlines the protections that may apply in relation to whistleblowing and trade union activities. An employee, regardless of length of service, has the right: • not to be subjected to a detriment (eg denied promotion), and • not to be dismissed on various grounds relating to health and safety. A worker, regardless of length of service, has the right not to be subjected to a detriment (eg denied

The Insolvency Act 1986, s A1 (IA 1986) provides for an process whereby directors of insolvent companies, or companies that are likely to become insolvent, can obtain a moratorium, initially for a 20 business day period (which can be extended in some circumstances). The process is supported by Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (IR 2016), SI 2016/1024, r 1A.1. The moratorium is designed to allow viable businesses time to restructure or seek new investment free from creditor action. The legislative framework for the moratorium process was inserted into IA 1986 by provisions in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA 2020), which was enacted quickly, spurred on by the coronavirus pandemic. The moratorium is overseen by an insolvency practitioner acting as a ‘monitor’, although the directors will remain in charge of running the business on a day-to-day basis subject to certain constraints. This is sometimes known as a ‘debtor-in-possession’ process with the company being the ‘debtor’. The moratorium is free-standing, meaning it is not tied to any particular insolvency or restructuring process. This can be contrasted

This Practice Note provides practical guidance on how to exchange executed documents properly when one or more parties to a contract are not physically present. This is sometimes known as virtual signing or virtual closing. It details the guidance provided by the Law Society of Ireland on the virtual execution of documents. Virtual closings This Practice Note provides practical guidance on how to exchange executed documents properly when one or more parties to a contract are not physically present. This is sometimes known as virtual signing or virtual closing. The Law Society of Ireland has issued Guidance on the ‘virtual’ execution of documents. While this guidance remains valid, it should be noted that it was last updated in 2014 prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which led to a move away from the approach in R (Mercury Tax Group and Another) v HMR (Mercury) (where scanned, wet-ink signatures are circulated by pdf with originals to follow), towards e-signature. The Law Society of Ireland has since published an Updated Guidance Note Regarding E-Signatures, Electronic Contracts

Background This Practice Note examines the legal and practical issues for employers to consider in relation to remote working arrangements. The concept of remote working has been around for some time, however the experiences of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, during which many employees worked entirely, or primarily, from home resulted in a huge shift in work practices. Remote work is emerging as an increasingly common work arrangement. The government introduced the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022 to fulfil their obligation to implement Directive (EU) 2019/1158 (the Directive) on work-life balance for parents and carers. For further information on the Directive, see Practice Note: The EU Work-Life Balance Directive. Following widespread criticism of this initial stand-alone bill, and it’s failure to reflect commitments made in Making Remote Work: National Remote Work Strategy (DETE, 2021)—guidance issued by the government in 2021 in relation to remote work, the bill was amended to include a stand-alone right for all employees to request ‘remote working arrangements’. An employee now has the statutory right under Part 3 of the Work

Pre-action investigation and protocol Who brings proceedings under section 6 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986? All proceedings under section 6 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (CDDA 1986) are brought by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade (SoS), working within the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. In practice, the functions of the SoS are carried out by the Insolvency Service. Proceedings will either be brought in the name of the SoS or by the official receiver (OR) under the SOS’s direction (only in compulsory winding up cases). Both exercise the same functions and for ease when we refer to SoS in this Practice Note, we also include the OR. Note also that directors of dissolved companies that have not been through an insolvency process can also be disqualified under CDDA 1986, s 6 following amendments to this provision by the Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Act 2021, though such disqualifications fall outside the scope of this Practice Note. Against a 'director of an insolvent

Overview On 27 August 2024, a Clinical Negligence Claims Agreement (the Agreement) was signed by NHS Resolution, the Society of Clinical Injury Lawyers (SCIL) and the patient safety charity Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA). The Agreement came into effect on the day it was signed. It replaced the earlier Covid-19 Clinical Negligence Protocol 2020 (the Protocol), which enabled claims to be progressed efficiently during the coronavirus pandemic. The Agreement relates to civil claims under English domestic law (including claims under the Human Rights Act 1998) and to claims under the European Convention on Human Rights. It builds on the success of the earlier Protocol in improving working practices in clinical negligence litigation and intends to continue to encourage positive behaviours from claimant and defendant lawyers and to promote a consistent approach in practice across England. Key aspects of the Agreement include a change to the process that was in place under the earlier Protocol for suspension of limitation periods. It also outlines ways in which parties to clinical negligence litigation should work cooperatively,

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. Employment law dates for your 2023 diary This Practice Note is a summary of the key legal developments that impacted employment lawyers during the course of 2023. The tables below set out, in chronological order, dates of relevance for employment lawyers, covering cases, legislation and consultations, sorted by month during 2023. More information and links to relevant news stories can be found in: • Case tracker—Employment • Archived—2023 Case tracker—Employment • Legislation tracker—Employment • Coronavirus (COVID-19)—Legislation tracker for employment [Archived], and • Consultation tracker—Employment January 2023 Date Type of event Topic Subject 1 January 2023 Legislation in force Immigration The Immigration Skills Charge (Amendment) Regulations 2022, SI 2022/1391, amended the Immigration Skills Charge Regulations 2017, SI 2017/499, to exempt, from the Immigration Skills Charge, sponsored workers on the Scale-up route and also specific EU national intra-corporate transferees on the Global Business Mobility-Senior or Specialist Worker route who are covered by a commitment in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement 4

This Checklist on remotely accessed mediations summarises the key considerations when deciding whether and, if so, how, to engage in a remotely accessed mediation via video conference (VC). The arrival of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic saw an increase in the use of remotely accessed mediations, ie mediations carried out online by way of VC. VC mediations (also commonly referred to as ‘online mediation’, ‘remote mediation’ and ‘remotely accessed mediation’) are not the only means of conducting a non face-to-face mediation, you can also mediate by telephone. That said, the ease and increased user functionality of the various platforms offering VC have lent themselves well to the process for remote access mediation. For information on the parties’ obligations to consider alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and the courts’ powers with respect to ordering or encouraging the parties to consider ADR, both before and during any litigation, see Practice Notes: Court powers to order or encourage ADR in civil proceedings and Court powers to order or encourage ADR in civil proceedings—key and illustrative decisions. For information on the potential costs

This Practice Note provides guidance on the interpretation and application of the relevant provisions of the CPR. Depending on the court in which your matter is proceeding, you may also need to be mindful of additional provisions—see further in the section Court specific guidance below. Preparing for application hearings in the digital age Traditionally, application hearings involved in-person attendance in a physical courtroom and the use of hard-copy documents. However, particularly since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there has been a significant shift towards more technology-based methods of disposing of applications. Remote hearings are currently the default position for shorter application hearings in a number of courts. For detailed guidance on remote hearings, see Practice Note: Remote and hybrid hearings in civil proceedings. In addition, documents for use at court are increasingly being submitted electronically, particularly in the High Court. For detailed guidance, see Practice Notes: • When and where is CE-File applicable?—from 1 October 2025 • How to use CE-File—from 1 October 2025 • Electronic bundles in civil proceedings • Electronic communication and

This week’s edition of PI & Clinical Negligence weekly highlights includes a Court of Appeal decision which confirms the primacy of the ‘but-for’ test of causation. We also consider upcoming changes to whiplash tariff amounts, a Court of Appeal judgment which provides guidance on causation in low-dose asbestos claims and we take a look at recent developments in military deafness claims including a test case which is due to be heard later this year. In addition, we have our usual round-up of other news, cases and New Law Journal articles of interest and we have included a free webinar.

A company has an implied power to distribute its profits to its members, unless its articles of association provide otherwise. A dividend is one type of distribution that may be made by a company to its members. In fact, dividends are the most common type of distribution made by a company. The provisions of Part 23 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006) and the common law rules relating to distributions (as modified by those provisions) must be complied with if a company is to make a lawful distribution. For consideration of the law and practice relating to distributions made by a company, see Practice Note: Distributions. For information on the consequences of non-compliance with the law on distributions, see Practice Note: Unlawful distributions. This Practice Note focuses on the law and practice that generally applies to the payment of dividends, which is not an issue that is dealt with in CA 2006, Pt 23. For details of the additional rules and guidance that specifically apply to dividends paid by listed companies and AIM companies, see Practice