Legal Jargon

A Company Voluntary Arrangement, often called a CVA, is a formal way for a company in financial difficulty to make a legally binding agreement with its creditors about how to repay its debts. It can help a business avoid insolvency and continue trading while dealing with what it owes.

A CVA is open to limited companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) that cannot pay their debts as they fall due. It is overseen by a licensed insolvency practitioner, who works with the directors to prepare a proposal and then puts it to the company’s creditors for a vote.

For a CVA to go ahead, at least 75% (by value) of the creditors who vote must agree to the proposal. If approved, the arrangement becomes binding on all eligible creditors, even those who voted against it or did not vote at all.

A CVA usually involves the company agreeing to pay creditors over a fixed period, often on reduced terms, based on what the business can afford. The aim is to give the company breathing space to recover while providing creditors with a better return than they might receive through liquidation.

In simple terms, a CVA is a debt repayment plan agreed with creditors, which allows the company to carry on trading and manage its debts in a structured way rather than shutting down immediately.

A joint venture agreement is a legally binding contract between two or more parties who agree to work together on a specific commercial project or business objective. Rather than merging entirely, each party remains a separate entity but collaborates by pooling resources, expertise or capital to pursue shared goals.

The agreement sets out the terms of the collaboration, including each party’s contributions, rights and responsibilities, how profits and risks are shared, management and decision-making arrangements, and what happens if the venture ends or disputes arise. These agreements help provide certainty and protect each party’s interests, whether the venture operates under a simple contractual arrangement or through a jointly owned company or partnership. This helps avoid misunderstandings and protects everyone involved if circumstances change.

A deadlock provision is a clause in a contract, usually found in a shareholders’ agreement or joint venture agreement, that sets out what happens if the parties cannot agree on an important decision.

In many joint ventures and companies with multiple owners, certain key matters require unanimous or majority approval. Problems can arise where those owners are split evenly, or where agreement is required but cannot be reached. When this happens, the business can become stuck and unable to move forward. This situation is known as a “deadlock”.

A deadlock provision provides a pre-agreed mechanism for resolving that impasse. Rather than allowing the dispute to escalate or stall the business indefinitely, the agreement sets out a clear process to follow.

Depending on the structure of the business, a deadlock clause might require the issue to be escalated to senior representatives of each party, referred to mediation, or determined by an independent expert. In some cases, particularly in 50:50 joint ventures, the clause may allow one party to buy out the other, or even require the company to be wound up if no resolution can be reached.

Deadlock provisions are not about anticipating failure. They are about sensible planning. By agreeing in advance how disagreements will be handled, the parties reduce uncertainty, protect the value of the business, and minimise the risk of costly disputes.

If you are entering into a joint venture or shareholders’ agreement, taking advice at the outset can help ensure any deadlock mechanism is fair, workable and aligned with your commercial objectives.

Your Settlement Agreement will detail the full breakdown of payments due to you, including whether any sums will be subject to tax or not. Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to secure a compensation payment as well as your contractual benefits, such as notice pay and holiday. If the compensation payment is under the £30,000 tax threshold, then it should be paid ex-gratia and free of tax.

Other financial benefits, such as pension payments and medical and life insurance will also be considered on a case-by-case basis. Non-financial compensation can include agreed references and the ability to retain certain items of company property, such as phones and laptops.

We aim to deliver a fast and efficient Settlement Agreement service to employees around the UK. Your legal fees – the money that we charge to provide advice and develop the agreement – will usually be paid by your employer, as it is a legal requirement that you obtain independent legal advice. We will advise you in detail about this before we begin work for you.

Settlement Agreements are often used as a means of resolving unhappy or unsuccessful employment or where employers agree or decide to terminate the employment of an individual. They may also be used as an alternative to a formal redundancy process.

Employees who feel they have been unfairly treated or subjected to abuse, particularly in relation to any protected characteristics – race, gender, religion, disability, age, maternity, ill health etc. – may choose to accept a Settlement Agreement. However, in these conditions our expert employment lawyers will ensure that you understand your rights and the other courses of action that are open to you, which, in these cases, may lead to substantially larger settlements.

Where an owner chooses to register unregistered land. There is no compulsory requirement to register unregistered land at the Land Registry unless a “trigger event” such as a sale, mortgage or other transaction occurs. There can be benefits of having your land registered, such as a state-backed guarantee, protection against fire and lost Title Deeds. The Land Registry offers a reduced fee for voluntary registrations.

Someone who has agreed to stay in hospital of their own free will. They are free to discharge themselves and decide whether or not to follow a treatment plan.

A contract term that, if breached, gives the aggrieved party the opportunity to terminate the contract and/or make a claim for damages or losses.

A search of the local water authority to confirm whether the property connects to the public sewer and water main and the route of these to ensure that there are proper arrangements to deal with any private sections.

A written agreement between an owner and a service provider such as an electricity or telephone company to give the company a right for cables or pipes to pass over or under the property.

Disclosing or reporting a wrongdoing at work which affects others. Employees gain protection when disclosing certain information, which means that they cannot suffer a detriment or be dismissed because of the disclosure. This is sometimes referred to as “making a protected disclosure”.

The legal document in which a person sets out how they wish to leave their estate (assets such as house and bank accounts) when they die. A will may also appoint named guardians for the deceased’s children.

The ‘without prejudice’ rule means that statements made in discussions or communications as part of a genuine attempt to settle a dispute are private and cannot later be put before the Court as evidence of admissions against the interests of the party that made them. For example, a suggestion of a way to settle a dispute made by one party during mediation cannot later be used to indicate that the party had accepted responsibility or to frame any compensation or damages. ‘Without prejudice’ exists to encourage parties to negotiate an agreement rather than depend on the court to make a judgement, both to save cost and reduce pressure on Court. The contents of ‘without prejudice’ communications cannot be divulged to the Court unless it is “without prejudice save as to costs”, when it can then be divulged after the final hearing has been dealt with or the case has been settled.

In the context of an employment dispute, ‘without prejudice’ refers to private settlement discussions that should not be referred to in regular correspondence or to the Employment Tribunal. These can be to settle the dispute, or sometimes employers use this term to discuss possible exit packages with an employee.

A witness statement is a formal document, addressed to the Court, in which a witness sets out all the facts that they are aware of that apply to the case. They are normally treated as ‘evidence in chief’.

Legally binding rules that, among other things, set out the minimum rest and break periods to which employees are entitled each day/week, and the maximum working hours. Typically, working time should not exceed 48 hours per week.

Usually this occurs when an employee is dismissed without any, or the correct, period of notice that is required either in their contract of employment or by statute. Wrongful dismissal is not the same as unfair dismissal, although both may apply to the same case.

This is generally for lower value and less complicated claims. It is usually not cost-effective to obtain legal advice.

The statutory time limit for making a claim. This varies depending on the case type.

An offence that can only be tried in the Crown Court, (although all cases have to commence in the Magistrates Court).