1. Wood 1
Madeline Wood
HRONE| SUITE 603, ORIENTAL CENTER,
699 WEST NANJING RD/ 31 WUJIANG
ROAD, JINGAN DISTRICT, SHANGHAI,
CHINA 200041
United Kingdom
CONTRACT
LAW
3. Wood 3
UK
Contract
Laws
Non-
Disclosure
Agreements
NDA’s are restricted to
the use of ideas and
information to a specific
permitted purpose
1. Must be for a specific
purpose
2. Can be one way or
mutual
3. If agreement is between
different countries
(including Wales and
Scotland) the NDA will
need to state which
courts of one country
will be used to enforce
disputes.
4. Required to reveal
information to public
authorities and legal
bodies if requested
2000 (RIPA)
o Regulates the
interception of
communications data
and use of
surveillance
• “Misuse of Private
Information”
o developed out of the
duty of
confidentiality
Jurisdiction
• Ordinarily resident
individuals
• UK registered companies
• Partnerships and
unincorporated
associations governed by
UK law
• Bodies that maintain an
office, branch, agency, or
regular practice in UK
• Data controllers who are
not established iwthin
the European Economic
Area (EEA), but sue
equipment in UK to
process the data
Exemptions
• Purposes of detecting
crime, the
capture/prosecution of
offenders and for the
assessment/collection of
tax
• Purposes of national
security
• Regulatory activies
• Freedom of Information
Act
Below are the
requirements for non-
solicitation clauses in
Singapore.
• Designed to protect his
legitimate business
interests
• Cannot extend no further
than is reasonably
necessary to protect
those interests
• Void on the grounds that
it is a restraint of trade
and contrary to public
policy
• Must be specific and not
broad
Non-
Competition
Laws
Data
Protection
The Data Protection Act
1998 (DPA) and Directive
95/46/EC on data
protection are the
general laws.
Applicable Sectoral Laws
• The Privacy and Electronic
Communications
Regulations 2003
oElectronic
communications
• The Regulation of
Investigatory Powers Act
Non-
Solicitation
Laws
Below are the
requirements for non-
solicitation clauses in
Singapore.
• Can be used as a stand-
alone provision or
incorporated into a
written agreement
4. Wood 4
UK
Contract
Laws
Registration
• Required to file specific
information:
oData controller’s name
and address
oA description of the
relevant personal data
oThe purposes for which
the data will be
processed
Instigate the disciplinary
procedure
• Informing the employee
of the allegations against
him
• Holding a disciplinary
hearing
• Providing an opportunity
to appeal
Protection Against
Dismissal
• An employee is unfairly
dismissed unless an
employer can establish
that both:
oOne of these 5:
§ Conduct
§ Capability
§ Redundancy
§ Breach of statutory
restriction
§ Some other
substantial reason of
a kind such as to
justify the dismissal
of that employee
oIt acted reasonably in
treating that reason as
sufficient to justify
dismissal of that
employee
oProtected Employees
§ If dismissal relates to:
§ Political beliefs or
affiliations
§ His membership or
non-membership of
a trade union or
participation in
union related
activity
Repudiatory breach of the
employment contract that
would be justifiable.
Severance Payments
• Calculated in accordance
with a statutory formula
based on the employee’s
age, salary, and length of
service
• On termination
employee is entitled to
any amounts he has
accrued under the
contract that have not
yet been paid
• An employee who has
the required length of
service and brings a
successful claim for
unfair dismissal may also
be awarded a
compensation payment
oA basic award
oA possible
compensatory award
based on an
employee’s actual
and/or potential
future financial loss
Procedural Requirements
for Dismissal
• Employers should
comply with the ACAS
Code of Practice on
Disciplinary and
Grievance Procedures
oConducting a
reasonable
investigation
oDetermining whether it
is appropriate to
Contract
Termination
The termination process
used in the UK.
• Can be used as a stand-
alone provision or
incorporated into a
written agreement
Notice Periods
• Right of all employees to
receive a minimum
notice
oAn employee who has
been continuously
employed for more
than one month but
less than two years
must receive at least
one week’s notice
oEach year after an
employee must receive
an additional week’s
notice for each
complete year of
service (max 12 weeks)
oAn employee may be
dismissed summarily if
he commits a
5. Wood 5
UK
Contract
Laws
§ Participation in
health and safety
related activities
§ Status as an
employee
representative
§ Status as a fixed-
term employee or
part-time worker
§ Protected
characteristic
possessed by the
employee or a claim
of discrimination
previously made by
the employee
§ Protected disclosure
made by the
employee
§ The employee:
oTaking maternity,
paternity,
adoption, parental
or shared parental
leave
oTaking time off to
care for
dependents or to
study or train
oExercising a
statutory right to
request a flexible
working
arrangement
Layoff
• Employer’s may claim:
oBusiness closure
oSite closure
oHeadcount reduction
• Laid off when his
Employer exercises a
contractual right not to
• The Arbitration Act
(1996) offers a coherent
and modern framework
for domestic and
international arbitrations
seated in UK
oInfluenced by the
UNCITRAL Model Law,
but differs:
§ AA is a single
legislative framework
governing all
arbitrations seated in
England, Wales, and
Northern Ireland
Mandatory Provisions
• The court’s power to stay
court proceedings
brought in breach of an
arbitration agreement
and related provisions
• The court’s power to
extend agreed time limits
and to apply limitation
acts
• Provisions dealing with
the arbitrator’s position
oPower of the court to
remove the arbitrator
oEffect of the
contractual right not to
provide him with work, or
therefore, pay during a
given period.
Contract
Invalidity
Generally, without
consideration a contract
shall be deemed invalid
or, to be more precise,
there will be no contract
concluded at all
Doctrine of
Consideration: is a
traditional notion which
has existed in English and
common law for centuries
• Represents one of the
main pillars of the Law
of Contract
• Important that the
requirement of
consideration has come
under constant and
strong criticism
• Accepting as a postulate
that any significant
changes in law should
only be initiated when
there is a strong case for
them we need to
investigate the reasons
for that criticism
• Not present in Scotland,
Germany, France, Italy,
Spain, Switzerland,
Japan, and Russia.
Commercial
Arbitration
UK arbitration has a
neutral forum for
international disputes
and clear legislative
framework and judicial
support for arbitration.
6. Wood 6
UK
Contract
Laws
Arbitrator’s death
oParties liability for the
fees and expenses of
the arbitrator
oArbitrator’s immunity
• General duty of the
tribunal to act fairly and
impartially
• The tribunal’s power to
withhold an award for
non-payment of the
arbitrator’s fees and
expenses
• The enforcement of an
award
• Ground for challenging
an award
Remedies
• Make a declaration as to
any matter to be
determined in the
proceedings
• Order a payment of a
sum of money
• Order a party to do or
refrain from doing
something
• Order specific
performance of a
contract
• Order the rectification
and set aside or cancel a
deed or other document
• Award a simple or
compound interest
• Award punitive or
exemplary damages
• Allocate the arbitration
costs between the
parties.
Governing
Bodies
Appeals can be done via
local courts, but that
route is difficult and
costly
• London Court of
Internationa Arbitration
owww.Icia.org
• The Chartered Institute
of Arbitrators
owww.ciarb.org
• London Maritime
Arbitrators’ Association
owww.Imaa.org.uk
