The interaction between the principles of insolvency law and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (JRS) have come into sharp focus in recent weeks, with the administrators of Carluccio's and Debenhams seeking guidance from the English courts about how the scheme impacts on their obligations to employees.

This update explains the key changes in cross-border insolvency proceedings if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 31 October 2019 (or at a later date). Importantly, a no-deal exit will impact how and where such insolvency proceedings can be raised in a post-Brexit future.

A bit of background

While the UK is still an EU Member State, EU Regulations provide a clear framework for conducting cross-border insolvency proceedings. The EU Insolvency Regulations (the 2000 Insolvency Regulation and the 2015 Recast Insolvency Regulation) include provisions which: