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A geographical term generally referring to the mainland nations of the UK and certain smaller islands.
Great Britain is made up of England, Wales and Scotland. It does not include Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, but does include the Orkney and Shetland Islands as well as other islands such as the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Scilly. The term should be distinguished from the 'United Kingdom' which the Schedule to the Interpretation Act 1978 defines as 'Great Britain and Northern Ireland'.
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FORTHCOMING CHANGES: In measures expected to come into force on 1 October 2026, time limits for making certain claims in employment tribunals in Great Britain (and, in certain cases, industrial tribunals in Northern Ireland) will be increased from three months to six months. The changes are set out in section 152 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) and ERA 2025, Schedule 12 (not yet in force), and in The Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) (Amendment) Order 2026 (draft), The Employment Tribunal (Extension of Time Limits) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026 (draft) and The Employee Study and Training (Procedural Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/473. This Checklist will be updated as soon as the relevant statutory instruments are made. For more information, see Practice Note: Employment Rights Act 2025—tracker. Both parties • Was the Claimant an employee? See Practice Notes: Entitlement to claim unfair dismissal—Eligibility and Employee status • Did the Claimant have requisite qualifying service, or does an...
This Checklist provides an overview of the UK regulatory framework for cosmetics. It sets out the key issues that a compliance team should consider to adhere with the requirements for placing a cosmetic product on the market in Great Britain (GB). The GB cosmetics regime is based on Assimilated Regulation (EC) 1223/2009 (the UK Cosmetic Products Regulation (UK CPR)), which derives from Regulation (EC) 1223/2009 (the EU Cosmetics Regulation). It also considers the position in Northern Ireland (NI), which remains subject to applicable EU cosmetics rules under the Windsor Framework, and highlights the overlap between the GB and NI regimes. The Checklist is split into 12 sections, covering various aspects of the UK regulation of cosmetic products, including: • the definition of a cosmetic product • obligations of the ‘responsible person’ • safety assessments • a product information file (PIF) • notification • ingredients • animal testing • labelling requirements • product claims • market surveillance • enforcement • regulatory developments This Checklist is intended to be used alongside Practice...
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This Flowchart illustrates the process for obtaining an electricity grid connection in the TMO4+ enduring regime in Great Britain (GB), whether through a Gate 1 indicative offer or a Gate 2 firm offer. This Flowchart does not cover alternative processes for obtaining a grid connection in GB, such as: • the one-off retrospective ‘Gate 2 to
This Flowchart provides an overview of the questions to be asked when determining the territorial application or scope of statutory employment rights, ie what statutory rights, if any, an employee who works abroad and/or has a foreign employer has. For information on territorial application or scope generally, see Practice Note: The territorial scope of statutory employment rights. For Flowcharts on determining applicable law and jurisdiction, see: Determining applicable law in employment disputes—flowchart and Determining jurisdiction in employment disputes (1 January 2021 onwards)—flowchart. For a Checklist that provides an overview of the questions
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Background This Practice Note provides a high-level summary of key themes of comparison between the UK and EU in relation to trade marks that have arisen since the UK exited the EU on 31 December 2020 (IP completion day). It also analyses the impact of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (REUL(RR)A 2023) on trade mark law and compares the UK and EU regimes for the protection of geographical indications (GIs), and exhaustion of rights. For a comparison of other IP rights in the UK and EU, see Practice Notes: Patents and SPCs—UK/EU comparison, Designs—UK/EU comparison and Copyright and databases—UK/EU comparison. IP law is significantly harmonised across the EU. Prior to Brexit, many aspects of UK IP law were harmonised with the EU regime, and certain unitary EU IP rights (such as EU trade marks (EUTMs) and EU designs) were applicable and enforceable in the UK. As of 31 January 2020, the UK ceased to be an EU Member State. In accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement, the...
This Practice Note examines the right to ‘disconnect’ (or to ‘switch off’) which, generally speaking, refers to the right of workers not to engage in work-related activities outside of their normal contracted working hours. Any right to disconnect varies between jurisdictions and, while it can cover any form of work-related task, it most commonly refers to workers receiving electronic communications (eg emails and telephone calls) outside of their normal working hours. The number of workers carrying out their duties flexibly and remotely has increased significantly in the last decade, particularly following the Covid pandemic which required many workers to shift to remote working for the first time. While this flexibility has benefited many workers, the blurring of the line between workplace and home has made it more difficult for them to properly ‘switch off’ from work. The Acas guide on health, safety and wellbeing when working from home specifically notes that staff can find it harder to switch off from work and work longer hours when
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FORTHCOMING CHANGE: Potential changes to Wills Act 1837 The Law Commission review of Wills has issued a final report on 16 May 2025 which includes in volume II a draft bill to replace the Wills Act 1837. For information on these changes, including draft legislation published, see Practice Note: Hot topic—modernising Wills and Modernising wills: Final Report Volume II: draft Bill for a new Wills Act. 1 Revocation I [full name of testator] of [address of testator] revoke all former testamentary dispositions made by me [to the extent that and so far only as they affect my property of every kind in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland] and declare this to be my last Will. [I also revoke all previous appointments of guardians of my minor children made by me before the date of this Will]. 2 [ Territorial scope, declaration of domicile and choice of law 2.1 [This Will shall affect only my property of every kind in the United...
FORTHCOMING CHANGE: Potential changes to Wills Act 1837 The Law Commission review of Wills has issued a final report on 16 May 2025 which includes in volume II a draft bill to replace the Wills Act 1837.The government are considering the proposals. For information on these proposed changes, including draft legislation published, see Practice Note: Hot topic—modernising Wills and Modernising wills: Final Report Volume II: draft Bill for a new Wills Act. 1 Revocation I [full name of testator] of [address of testator] revoke all former testamentary dispositions made by me[ to the extent that and so far only as they affect my property of every kind in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland] and declare this to be my last Will.[I also revoke all previous appointments of guardians of my minor children made by me before the date of this Will] 2 [ Territorial scope, declaration of domicile and choice of law 2.1 [This Will shall affect only my property of every kind in...
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Scotland Scotch Whisky Association (Appellants) v The Lord Advocate (Respondents) (Scotland) appeals the First Division, Inner House, Court of Session decision of The Scotch Whisky Association v Lord advocate. The Scotch Whisky Association was granted leave to appeal to the UK Supreme Court over the Scottish government's plan to set a minimum unit price (MUP) for alcohol. The Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012 (A(MP)(S)A 2012) would amend the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 by introducing a new paragraph 6A(1) to Schedule 3 (A(MP)(S)A 2012, s 1). This states: ‘6A Alcohol must not be sold on the premises at a price below its minimum
For the purposes of this Q&A, we have assumed that the company is a company limited by guarantee without a share capital (although a company limited by guarantee and with a share capital may exist, it has not been possible to form such a company or re-register as such a company since 22 December 1980 in Great Britain and since 1 July 1983 in Northern Ireland, see section 5 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006)). We have further assumed that the company is not a charity and not regulated by any regulatory body. The ordinary meaning of 'dividend' is a share of profits, whether at a fixed rate or otherwise, allocated to the holders of shares in a company (see Henry v Great Northern Rly Co). Therefore, a company limited by guarantee without a share capital is unable to pay dividends in that sense. However, a dividend is just one category of distribution that may be made by a company.
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The Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain have published a regulatory decision curtailing Kingpin Recycling Ltd’s HGV operator licence from 12 vehicles to 6 indefinitely after Deputy Traffic Commissioner, Dr Paul Stookes, found serious breaches of its operator licence undertakings relating to drivers’ hours, tachograph compliance and operational oversight. The decision followed a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency investigation, prompted by a roadside encounter in July 2025, which identified 28 instances of vehicles being driven without a driver card inserted, failures to retain complete tachograph and driver card records, and significant weaknesses in driver management and record-keeping. The Commissioner acknowledged that Kingpin Recycling Ltd had strengthened management, increased driver training, improved operational oversight and appointed a dedicated transport manager. However, he concluded that indefinitely curtailing the licence was a proportionate response to help the company maintain compliance with a smaller fleet. Kingpin Recycling Ltd must also commission an independent audit of its transport compliance systems and continue to engage specialist transport consultants until at least June 2027.
NESO has published its first Gas Market Roadmap under its gas system planner licence, setting out how gas market arrangements in Great Britain may need to evolve through the energy transition to 2050. Informed by Future Energy Scenarios 2025 pathways and structured stakeholder engagement, the roadmap identifies three central challenges: gas market transition, market resilience and emerging markets. The gas market transition challenge examines how charging, cost recovery and regulation must adapt as gas demand declines and the consumer base changes, with approximately £3.7–4.3 billion in regulatory asset value potentially remaining across gas networks by 2050. The market resilience challenge focuses on maintaining security of supply as UK Continental Shelf production declines and Great Britain becomes more reliant on imported gas and liquefied natural gas, with existing capacity access and balancing arrangements needing to evolve as gas-fired generation shifts to a flexible peaking role supporting the electricity system. The emerging markets challenge covers biomethane, hydrogen and carbon capture, utilisation and storage, examining how gas markets must adapt as these technologies...
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