Insights: Coronavirus (COVID-19) - June 2020

Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (“the Act”) A tenant under a business lease will have a statutory right to a lease renewal (provided that certain qualifying criteria are met and the lease has not been contracted out of the Act). A tenant who wants to terminate its current lease and put forward proposals for a […]

While the full impact of the Covid-19 crisis on commercial rental levels is not yet known, landlords and tenants may be able to capitalise on the market fluctuations caused by the pandemic by making use of the interim rent mechanism under the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 (the Act). In broad terms, interim rent is […]

Over the past few years, there has been a desire in Government to encourage the property industry to regulate itself under the veiled threat that it would legislate if this was not done.  In response, RICS have introduced a number of different codes and the most recent are the 2007 ‘Code for Leasing Business Premises’ […]

In March 2020, as part of the Cabinet Office-led Ventilator Challenge, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published a specification[1] for a “Rapidly Manufactured Ventilator System” setting out the clinical requirements for a ‘minimally acceptable’ ventilator for use in hospitals during the COVID-19 outbreak (the RMVS Specification). The RMVS Specification is designed to enable […]

On 12 June 2020, the government published new and updated guidance on its Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), implementing changes that were first announced by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak in late May. We summarise the latest changes and consider their implications and consequences below. Flexible furlough With effect from 1 July 2020, employers will be […]

Didier Reynders, the European Commissioner for Justice, recently announced plans for new laws requiring EU companies to carry out mandatory cross sectoral corporate due diligence on their operations and global supply chains for all environmental, human rights and governance impacts. Speaking at a European Parliament webinar[1] hosted by the European Parliament’s Responsible Business Conduct Working Group […]

The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) has, on 5 June 2020, published new guidance[1] on the regulatory status of software, including apps, used during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new guidance builds on specific MHRA guidance[2] manufacturers and developers on medical device stand-alone software including apps. Software classed as medical devices ‘Software’ refers […]

The fact that travel including international travel has been heavily restricted by the Covid-19 pandemic means that individuals have been unable to leave certain jurisdictions including the UK and India. Mythily Katsaris and Hamilton Forrest discuss the risk for individuals becoming tax resident in the UK or India by virtue of being stuck in one of these jurisdictions and certain measures that may be relied on to prevent this from happening.

The FCA has now completed the first stage of providing clarity regarding the cover available to businesses affected by Covid-19. The FCA’s assessment following a review of the standard types of policies confirms our view that cover will in the majority of insurance products be limited to events of physical damage to the business premises […]

Since it was announced on 20 March 2020, the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) has seen various revisions and updates.  Our previous summary of the CJRS and the Government’s guidance can be seen here. The latest CJRS factsheet published by the Government indicates that, as of 24 May 2020, 1m employers had taken advantage […]