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This briefing was updated on 26 March 2021.

This briefing was updated on 26 March 2021.

The economic impact of COVID-19 is expected to be unprecedented, but so are government promises to help economies recover from that impact.

This page was last updated on 28 July 2020. 

At a time when restrictive measures are being implemented by governments across the globe in response to COVID-19, we understand it is difficult for organisations to keep abreast of these developments.

On 20 April 2020, the Government announced a new scheme to issue convertible loans to innovative companies which are facing financial difficulties due to COVID-19, provided that funding is matched by at least an equivalent amount of funding from private investors (the "Future Fund Scheme").

The Pensions Regulator has published several pieces of guidance for trustees, employers and administrators on coronavirus related issues. Our updated summaries of the guidance are published here.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is a government-funded scheme that provides a contribution towards wage costs for employers who stand staff down as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Where, by reason of circumstances arising as a result of the coronavirus, the employer instructs an employee to cease all work in relation to their employment for 21 days or more, the employer can make them a "furloughed worker".

The Pensions Regulator has launched its consultation on a new framework for the regulation of DB scheme funding

The Pensions Climate Risk Industry Group (PCRIG) has published a consultation for occupational pension scheme trustees on "Aligning your Pension Scheme with the TCFD Recommendations". The consultation is on non-statutory guidance on assessing, managing and reporting climate-related risks.

The PPF has broadly confirmed changes to the calculation of insolvency risk scores for the purposes of calculating the pension protection levy for the 2021/22 levy year onwards. This affects scores starting from April 2020.

The Value Added Tax (Finance) Order 2020 aligns UK law with EU law regarding VAT on the supply of fund management services to DC occupational pension schemes, following the 2014 CJEU decision in the ATP case. It provides that such services are exempt from VAT from 1 April 2020.

This briefing was last updated on 21 January 2021.

Over a year after its initial formation, on 31 March 2020 France, Germany and the United Kingdom (the "E3") confirmed that the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges ("INSTEX") had successfully concluded its first transaction; facilitating the export of medical goods from Europe to Iran to assist with Iran's response to COVID-19.

Developers, pre-let tenants and funders are all looking hard at their development agreements, development funding agreements, agreements for leases and building contracts to assess what impact the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Government's response to it, will have on their current construction works in England. We outline in this note some of the key information and issues for such parties to consider before deciding whether or not to suspend or continue their works.

• Phase I probes becoming increasingly thorough – lawyer
• Expected market entries have not always materialised – CMA

Increased number of mergers in 2018/2019 referred to Phase II compared to previous years – analytics The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) appears to be unafraid to take an expansive approach to jurisdiction in merger control, as signalled by recent reviews of deals in dynamic markets, according to competition lawyers.

Published government guidance and public announcements in light of COVID-19 state that businesses and workplaces should encourage their employees to work at home, wherever possible. As a result, remote working arrangements are now widespread due to the UK COVID-19 management strategy.

This briefing was updated on 30 June 2020.

The Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) framework is designed to simplify organisations' reporting of energy use and carbon emissions. It aims to improve on the various mandatory energy and carbon schemes: the recently closed Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) was criticised as administratively burdensome and complex; the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS), which remains in force, is generally regarded as being too limited in scope and crucially does not involve public disclosure.

Companies with an international footprint will need to ensure that their tax residence (and other taxable presence) is not affected by travel restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. HMRC has published guidance on these issues, which is somewhat helpful if less definitive than the approach of a number of other jurisdictions.