In Matthews and others v Kent & Medway Towns Fire Authority and others, the House of Lords held that part-time firefighters were employed under the same type of contract as full-time firefighters.

Force majeure is used to describe an event that occurs which is beyond the control of the parties, and which prevents them from fulfilling their contractual obligations. Although the NEC contracts do not use the term ‘force majeure’, they refer to comparable types of event—see Practice Note: Force majeure in construction contracts. We assume that the contract includes a Z clause providing for a definition of ‘force majeure’ which includes

In this situation the employer should ensure that the employee receives the same amount that he would receive if he were to bring a claim for damages for breach of contract. Those damages would equate to the value of the loss that he would suffer. In a claim for breach of contract, the valuation of the benefit of a company car will depend upon the contractual entitlement which the employee had before he was dismissed:

date: [date]. Parties 1 [name of Seller] [of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [number]) whose registered office is at] [address] (Seller) 2 [name of Buyer] [of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [number]) whose registered office is at] [address] (Buyer) [ BACKGROUND (A) By a contract dated [date] made between (1) the Seller[, OR , and] (2) the Buyer [and (3) [identify any other party to the contract]] (the Contract), the Seller has agreed to sell the property identified in the Contract (the Property) to the Buyer. (B) By a notice dated [date] the Seller has served a terminal schedule of dilapidations (the Schedule) on [name of tenant] (the Tenant)

Commercial analysis: The UK government has confirmed its intention to introduce secondary legislation under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA 2024), to regulate subscription contracts, a £26 billion annual market. The new regime, anticipated in Spring 2027, will introduce enhanced pre-contract disclosure requirements, dual 14-day cooling-off periods (at sign-up and upon auto-renewal), and streamlined cancellation processes. From a competition law perspective, the reforms target practices that impede consumer switching, thereby aiming to encourage higher levels of competition within the markets where subscription contracts are used. Businesses face substantial compliance costs in order to ensure their practices are compliant with the new regime. While the regime aims to foster market competition and address cost-of-living pressures, its ultimate impact on market structure and consumer welfare will only become evident following the government’s five-year post-implementation review. Written by Neil Baylis, co-head of the CMS antitrust, competition and trade group in the UK.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA 2015) contains provisions about unfair terms in contracts between traders and consumers for goods, services and digital content. The CRA 2015 re-implemented Directive 93/13/EEC, the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Directive, into UK law. It provides that a term or notice is unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations under the contract to the detriment of the consumer (CRA 2015, s 62). The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published guidance on unfair contract terms. The CMA guidance helps businesses understand what makes terms and notices unfair in business-to-consumer (B2C) contracts, and what the

This Q&A refers to a contract to provide services to a consumer where the trial period forms part of the contract entered into with the consumer. It is also assumed that an enforceable contract has been entered into between the parties in writing. If the relevant contract falls within the scope of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/3134 (CCR 2013), the cancellation rights are provided in CCR 2013, SI 2013/3134, Pt 3. These apply where: • cancellation occurs within the ‘cancellation period’ • the consumer has informed the trader of their intent to cancel the contract There is no requirement to give the trader a

This Q&A relates to a general commercial contract between business entities which is governed by the laws of England and Wales. Consent to assign Assignment provisions in a contract are interpreted strictly. If an agreement permits assignment subject to the prior written consent of the other party, lack of that consent will render an attempted assignment invalid (see Graham v British Gas. An assignment will fail if it is expressly prohibited in the contract (see Linden Gardens Trust v Lenesta Sludge Disposals, Darlington Borough Council v Wiltshier Northern, Alfred McAlpine Construction v Panatown ). See Practice Note: What constitutes a valid assignment

Commercial analysis: The Court of Appeal has confirmed that DAZN, the global rights-holder for the FIFA Club World Cup, agreed to sub-license the rights in South Korea in a binding contract concluded by email and WhatsApp. Following an expedited hearing, the Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge’s decision that the parties’ informal exchanges gave rise to such a contract, notwithstanding that they had not signed any documentation (or even agreed formal heads of terms). The Court of Appeal confirmed that DAZN was required to give specific performance of the contract by making the broadcast feed available to Coupang. It further upheld an injunction prohibiting DAZN from broadcasting the competition in South Korea through any third party platforms. In doing so, it agreed with the trial judge’s assessment that DAZN’s own YouTube channel would constitute a ‘third party platform’ for the purposes of the injunction. Written by Craig Morrison KC and Firdaus Mohandas, barristers at Brick Court Chambers, who acted for Coupang in the Court of Appeal.

Any purported variation of a contract of employment that is, or will be, transferred is void 'if the sole or principal reason for the variation is the transfer'. However, a variation to the contract of employment of a transferring employee will not be void: • if the sole or principal reason for the variation is an economic, technical or organisational reason entailing changes in the workforce (ETO reason) provided that the employer and employee agree that variation, or • the terms of that contract permit the employer to make such a variation For further information, see Practice Note: TUPE—variation of contract terms under the headings Contractual variations which are void, even with employee consent and Contractual variations which may be valid, with employee consent. There

The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) has announced that the Target Cost Contract 2024—a new addition to its contract suite—will be released on 25 June 2025. The release will also include several supporting documents: the Target Cost Sub-Contract Agreement 2024, Target Cost Sub-Contract Conditions 2024, Target Cost Contract Guide 2024, Target Cost Sub-Contract Guide 2024 and the Tendering Practice Note 2024. These documents incorporate changes resulting from the implementation of the Procurement Act 2023 (PA 2023), which came into force on 24 February 2025.

The Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT), acting on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), has awarded a contract for the development of an AI-augmented planning decisions tool aimed at reducing processing times for planning applications. Five companies tendered, and Google Cloud EMEA has been selected as the supplier. The contract is worth just over £6.9 m and will run until at least May 2028.