In Friends Life Ltd v Siemens Hearing Instruments Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ 382, the Court of Appeal considered an appeal which concerned a break clause in a lease. According to Lord Justice Lewison, ‘The clear moral is: if you want to avoid expensive litigation, and the possible loss of a valuable right to break, you must pay close attention to all the requirements of the clause, including the formal requirements, and follow them precisely.’
In accordance with the provisions of the Remedies Directive, one of the three grounds for the declaration of ineffectiveness of a contract (a mandatory post contractual remedy) is failure to advertise in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) where such a contract notice was required i.e. illegal direct award. This ground is subject to specific exceptions in Article 2d(4).
On 14 April 2014, the Council of the European Union approved a Directive on e-invoicing, the implications of which are that any e-invoices that comply with the EU standards must be accepted by all European public authorities.
On 7 April 2014, HMRC announced revised transitional rules relating to the withdrawal of VAT concessions affecting the construction of new student accommodation. As reported last month in this newsletter, on 31 January 2014, HMRC announced the withdrawal from 1 April 2015 of a number of extra statutory concessions, including one which allows HEIs to ignore vacation use when determining how new student accommodation is intended to be used. Read Full Article…
Generally, a TUPE transfer will not occur in a share acquisition, because there is no change in the identity of the employer. This case demonstrates that, where there is a subsequent transfer of a business to an immediate or other holding company, the courts are prepared to recognise that a TUPE transfer has occurred.