SECTOR FOCUS: LEGAL


Company responsibilities during lockdown


By Liam Arrowsmith, Solicitor, Wolferstans


Company directors will be focused on the bottom line and corporate governance as they continue to navigate their way through the pandemic lockdown and the Government’s route map towards business as usual. Many will be worried at the


the workplace. Managing the return and preparing the building for


Back to work - safely O


David Scarrott (pictured), Associate Solicitor at Wolferstans, on what employers need to know when going back to work


ffice spaces with communal areas and shared facilities will be in the frontline when the next stage of lockdown is lifted, and staff return to


what is being called the ‘new normal’ will demand collaboration and co-operation between landlords and tenants, staff and visitors.


Watch your ‘traffic flow’ The shift in recent years towards communal, shared working spaces, where open plan offices are shared by multiple organisations using group desk arrangements, brings added pressures for co-existence. Different micro businesses may


have wildly differing attitudes towards sharing their immediate space while Covid-19 remains a threat, and here landlords will need to have a clear strategy. Considering traffic flows and identifying


Consider PPE Equally, where landlords employ staff for common areas, they will need to consider how they fulfil their obligations to keep these employees safe as they will be on the front line in the number of physical interactions they have each day and may include some form of PPE for reception and security staff. Where buildings have been closed during the


‘Preparing for the re-opening of


offices is likely to demand intensive planning’


the spaces likely to provide the highest risk of contamination is the starting point for a ‘new normal’ building management strategy. This should identify ways in which staff and visitors


can best be protected, and how to reduce surface transmission through increased cleaning alongside these new behaviour protocols.


Timetabling will be key Discussions between landlords and tenants can help towards creating a staggered timetable for workers to arrive and leave a building to avoid over-busy common areas and also to consider how to meet social distancing standards when moving around or working in the building, which could include one-way systems and categorising how and when lifts or stairs may be used, as well as protective screens where appropriate. For tenants, preparing for the re-opening of offices is


likely to demand intensive planning around which staff are going to be returning, if the necessary social distancing is to be achieved within existing office space. While a properly planned risk assessment (ideally agreed in consultation with staff) will be essential.


lockdown, building managers will need to ensure safety checks are carried out on all equipment, and servicing undertaken where necessary. Throughout, it’s important to ensure that decisions are made based on the latest guidance, such as the latest information from the Government, Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive. Also, insurance should be checked as the building’s insurers may have special


requirements on keeping the building safe as it is brought back to active use.


Stay in touch


Close liaison between the landlord, building management staff and tenants is essential to


address building management issues such as these, but equally important is facing up to any lease or service charge-related problems. The Government has already provided some


protection for commercial tenants, saying that anyone who cannot pay their rent because of coronavirus will be protected from eviction if they miss a rental payment in the three months from March. But this safeguard is not an alternative to discussing the situation with the landlord. While many tenants will have agreed a payment holiday during the lockdown, it’s likely that full rent will be due, including the backlog, once offices re-open, so if a payment plan needs to be in place, this should be discussed sooner rather than later so both sides know where they stand. Where landlords incur additional costs, such as specialist cleaning, measures to support social distancing or extra security, this may be recoverable from tenants through service charges, but leases need to be checked carefully to be sure any potential charges are in line with what is set out there, as well as being ‘reasonable’. Again, up-front discussions with tenants will help avoid arguments later.


risk of straying into territory where they cannot pay their bills, or in meeting reporting requirements. Companies Act 2006


requires directors to exercise reasonable care, which includes ensuring that the company does not trade while insolvent. The UK Business Secretary announced a temporary three- month suspension of wrongful trading provisions early in the lockdown effective from 1 March, so company directors could continue to trade and pay staff without the threat of personal liability. However other duties remain unchanged, and a director will be liable for any other breach, including the duty towards the company’s creditors if there is a question of insolvency.


Changes to filings with Companies House: • A three-month extension for filing year-end accounts.


• Where late filing has already occurred and is due to the pandemic, there will be a sympathetic response.


• Temporary changes to strike-off policy. Where an application has been made for voluntary strike-off this will be published in the Gazette, but further action delayed to protect those who may have objections. Where strike-off is due to failure to file, Companies House will continue to write to companies but will not publish a Gazette notice.


• Emergency filing service. This will enable a number of paper-only registrar’s powers forms to be uploaded for submission.


These policy changes are temporary and will be reviewed as the pandemic develops.


Summer 2020 Chamber Profile 31


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