It is never too late to sort things out. First published in 2018, this note, now updated, addresses how you may protect your business through your contracts, where border issues cause delays or prices need to be adjusted, and explains the new UKCA Mark.
Some questions you may ask yourself:
What happens if the borders are clogged up and I cannot deliver or receive goods
Who will be liable for tariffs in the event of a hard Brexit
Should I look at amending existing contracts or terminating contracts with a view to issuing new contracts
Will you have to register with a UK authority in place of an EU one?
10 tips for reviewing and implementing your credit control procedures: Revisited
The impact of COVID-19 on businesses continues to be severe, as recent statistics show.
In the UK as a whole the most recent ONS statistics show that nearly 30% of businesses, which have not closed permanently, continue to regard themselves as at moderate or severe risk of insolvency.
Following Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement on 5th of November that the CJRS will be extended until 31st March 2021, HMRC has now published updated guidance on the extended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).
HM Treasury (HMT) has just published The Consumer Credit (Enforcement, Default and Termination Notices) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 which make changes to the content and form of Default Notices set out in the 1983 Regulations.
These come into effect on 2 December 2020. Firms will have 6 months thereafter to implement them.
The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) came into force on 26 June 2020 and introduced some permanent reforms to corporate insolvency law together with some temporary provisions required as a result of COVID-19.
The reforms have been described as “the most significant change in English insolvency laws for commercial lawyers in a generation”.
We will focus on the impact of the new legislation on invoice financiers both in terms of their relationships with clients and in enforcing debts against clients’ debtors.
We will firstly examine the permanent changes before reviewing the temporary changes and ending with some thoughts on the overall effect of the reforms on the invoice finance sector.
Back in 2004, Porter Capital Corporation (“Porter”), a US finance Company based in Birmingham, Alabama, financed a US corporation (“Corporation”) via an invoice finance facility. To secure the finance, they took guarantees from three guarantors, one of whom lived in London and was a co-owner of a valuable Knightsbridge apartment on Hyde Park in London and shares in a family company. The finance documentation was expressed to be under Connecticut law.
By 2008, things were going wrong for the Corporation and by March 2010 just prior to the Corporation’s Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in the US, Porter wrote making its demand for the account shortfall against the finance agreement’s three guarantors.
Christopher joined Bermans in September 2020 and is a Solicitor in the Insolvency team, having qualified following completion of his training contract with Bermans in 2022. He previously studied Law at the University of Liverpool.
Christopher has experience with assisting in contentious and non-contentious matters, acting for individuals, companies and IP’s.
The matters that Christopher has experience with include, but are not limited to, the following:
Advising Administrators in respect of validity of security and appointment advice;
Acting for Administrators in respect of applications to extend the term of Administration;
Acting for Trustees in Bankruptcy in respect of applications for possession and sale;
Acting for individuals in respect of disputed Bankruptcy petitions; and
Acting for Liquidators in respect of applications such as Block Transfer orders and release orders.
He lives in Cheshire and plays 7-a-side football and likes to spend time with his friends and family.
For a dismissal to be fair, an employer needs to have a potentially fair reason to dismiss – such as misconduct, redundancy or ‘some other substantial reason’ (SOSR) – and the decision to dismiss must be within the range of reasonable responses. In cases where an employer’s reputation may be at risk, conduct and SOSR can overlap. The Employment Appeal Tribunal has looked at this issue recently in K v L.
A teacher was charged with possessing indecent images of children, but he denied being responsible for them. He was suspended from work pending investigation. The Procurator Fiscal (the Scottish equivalent of the CPS) decided not to prosecute. The police evidence provided to the employer was redacted beyond use, so it wasn’t given to the disciplining officer. The employer concluded that there wasn’t enough evidence to show the employee was responsible for downloading the images. However, he was dismissed for misconduct and the potential risk he posed to children. The dismissal letter also cited the risk of reputational damage which hadn’t been part of the hearing.
In order to qualify as a disability under the Equality Act 2010, an impairment must have a substantial and long-term adverse effect on an individual’s ability to do day to day activities. In order to be long term, a substantial adverse effect must have lasted, or be likely to last, at least 12 months, or be likely to recur.
A tribunal will look at medical evidence and the employee’s own witness evidence about the effects of their impairment. But they will also look at other evidence, including the employer’s, if that is relevant.
The current uncertainty around jobs can cause friction between employers and their employees. In such times, many employees call on their trade unions for support. Unions are keen to stamp their mark, not only to protect existing members but to capitalise on an industrial crisis and turn it into a recruitment drive. Section 161 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act 1992 allows an employee to claim interim relief if they believe they have been automatically unfairly dismissed due to trade union membership or activities. If an employee can show they are likely to succeed in a claim for unfair dismissal due to trade union activities, then a tribunal will reinstate them pending a full hearing of the case.
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Following Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement on 5th of November that the CJRS will be extended until 31st March 2021, HMRC has now published updated guidance on the extended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).
HM Treasury (HMT) has just published The Consumer Credit (Enforcement, Default and Termination Notices) (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 which make changes to the content and form of Default Notices set out in the 1983 Regulations.
