Dorsey & Whitney LLP (JD Supra United Kingdom)

The National Security and Investment Bill (the “Bill”) received royal assent and was enacted into English law as the National Security and Investment Act (the “Act”) on 29 April 2021. As discussed in our previous Update, the Act creates a statutory regime granting to the Investment Screening Unit (the “ISU”) of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy robust powers to...

Draft legislation, which is currently being debated in the UK Parliament, will introduce a new regime granting the UK Secretary of State robust powers to review, vary or block acquisitions which may pose a risk to the national security of the UK. The proposed legislation is intended to provide the Secretary of State with powers similar to that of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United...

Following a pandemic-related delay, significant changes to the IR35 regime come into force on 6 April 2021. From then, affected businesses which engage contractors who provide services through their own limited company intermediary (often, a personal service company) will be responsible for determining if the individual contractor is employed or self-employed for tax purposes and, if the...

The European Union (“EU”) has shaped and developed Intellectual property (“IP”) policy extensively over the years. IP law in EU member states is today largely a matter of EU law. Key areas of IP are dominated by EU rights and institutions. Separating the United Kingdom (“UK”) out of those systems can be a complicated matter.

The Supreme Court has delivered its judgment today in the landmark business interruption insurance test case brought by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”). The ruling is important for business interruption policy holders who may have faced detrimental business effects from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and restrictions.

On 30 November 2020, the UK High Court handed down judgment in the relief phase of the case of Otello Corporation ASA v. Moore Freres & Company LLC and Last Lion Holdings Limited (BL-2018-000840). Dorsey & Whitney advised the successful Claimant, Otello.

It certainly took a while but finally a BREXIT deal has been agreed and on 1st January 2021 for the first time in 40 years the UK will be a ‘third party’ in its dealings with the EU. With the ink barely dry it is impossible at this stage to say whether the positive statements coming from both EU capitals as well as London, reflect the simple fact that a deal has been done after four years of...

Even the most hardened of commentators would have assumed that by the second week of December the UK and EU negotiators would by now have delivered a BREXIT deal, albeit one which was some way off from the original claims of hardline Brexiteers that an FTA Canada deal would be something the EU would be happy to sign up to as it was clearly in their interests to do so. Following the deep gloom...

On 11 November 2020 the draft National Security and Investment Bill, the “NSI Bill” was published. The NSI Bill would introduce a new statutory regime granting the “Secretary of State” for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy robust powers to scrutinise acquisitions which may pose a risk to the national security of the UK.

As we previously reported, the UK’s new lockdown will commence just after midnight on Monday, 2 November, and is projected to last four weeks. Emergency regulations covering the lockdown are due to come into force on 5 November.

The UK Government announced on Saturday evening (31 October) that there will be a new national lockdown from Thursday (5 November) for four weeks. Whilst not as severe as the previous lockdown, many workplaces including non-essential retailers, gyms and pubs will have to shut, whilst “everyone who can work effectively from home must do so”.

The unprecedented Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is coming to end, as scheduled, on 31 October. As covered in our previous bulletin, the CJRS is being replaced by the Job Support Scheme (JSS).

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, today announced a number of “radical interventions in the UK Labour market” with the aim of protecting UK jobs over the winter period. These include a new Job Support Scheme which will take over when the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (commonly known as the “furlough scheme”) ceases at the end of October.

On 15 September 2020, the High Court in London delivered an important judgment on liability for business interruption insurance. The ruling provides much needed clarification for policyholders, in view of the detrimental business effects from the Coronavirus pandemic lockdown and restrictions.

The Supreme Court Judgment in Sevilleja v Marex Financial Ltd [2020] UKSC 31, handed down on 15 July 2020, clarifies and substantially confines the scope of the doctrine of reflective loss. The Court, in a majority decision, has confirmed that...

On 1 June 2020, the High Court found that, by using references to their lawyers’ legal advice in support of its case that the transactions that formed the subject matter of the application were lawful, a bank had waived privilege in that advice. The recent decision in this case (PCP Capital Partners LLP and another v Barclays Bank plc [2020] EWHC 1393 (Comm)) is an important one for in-house...

At the present time, due to the global outbreak of Covid-19 and the international response to it, many otherwise economically viable UK businesses find themselves subject to considerable financial pressure. There are a variety of measures that such businesses may consider in order to mitigate this pressure.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, yesterday announced a number of significant measures with the aim of bolstering the UK economy.  These were wide-ranging and included several employment-specific proposals.

It has now been more than three months since the UK Government imposed a nationwide lockdown. Whilst certain businesses are beginning to resume operations, many still face an uncertain future.

With economic forecasters unanimously predicting huge reductions in GDP for both the UK and EU member states because of COVID-19, is there now a window of opportunity for the EU and the UK to agree a comprehensive FTA? No one could have been surprised by Michael Gove’s recent comments that there would be no extension to the transition period beyond 31 December and therefore negotiations over...

The UK Government announced yesterday that entitlement to statutory sick pay (SSP) has been extended to people who are told to isolate under the new “test and trace” system. This means that someone who self-isolates for 14 days having been notified that they have been in contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 will be entitled to receive SSP.

As the economic impacts of the pandemic continue, many businesses in the UK will be turning to their insurance providers to claim under their Business Interruption policies in respect of financial losses arising from COVID-19. Business Interruption (“BI”) Insurance - BI cover is designed to protect a business from loss of income which results from business interruption or interference...

Full details of the UK Government’s Future Fund were released on 18 May 2020. Funding applications will be accepted from 20 May 2020 until the end of September 2020.

The UK Government has released guidance on the operation of annual leave and furlough. The guidance is not legally binding, but does provide some clarity on a number of matters.

Extension of Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme - The UK government announced yesterday (Tuesday 12 May) that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will be extended for a further four months, until the end of October 2020. Furloughed employees will continue to receive 80% of their normal salary (up to the £2,500 cap) throughout the extended period, however, “new flexibility” will be...

The UK Government has made a number of further announcements in connection with initiatives designed to assist businesses and individuals during the COVID-19 crisis. These are as follows...

The online portal for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“CJRS”) opened this week and has already had a huge amount of traffic, with HMRC reporting that 67,000 claims were made within the first 30 minutes of going live. The UK Government continues to finesse the operation of the CJRS (Treasury Direction and Government guidance here).

The ability to seek noteholder instructions by holding a noteholder meeting is a fundamental protection for a corporate trustee acting on a note issuance, giving it the ability to seek instructions as a last resort, as well as a key aid to an issuer trying to navigate troubled waters. However, with the continuing COVID-19 pandemic leading to significant restrictions being imposed on people moving

The continuing COVID-19 pandemic is causing significant disruption across the globe with governments implementing a variety of measures, including travel restrictions, nationwide lockdowns and the cancellation of large-scale events, in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus. Such unprecedented measures mean that businesses around the world are now faced with the question of whether they will...

The UK government has announced more detail of the multi-billion support packages for workers. Self-Employed to be Helped Too - The self-employed, who were not covered in the previous announcements get similar aid to employees – a cash grant of 80% of earnings up to £2,500 per month, initially for three months.