When an employer is insolvent and administrators appointed, job losses are often an inevitable consequence. In this blog we look at the legal obligations arising where redundancies meet the threshold for collective consultation, and the implications for administrators arising out of the recent Supreme Court in the case of R (on the application of Palmer) v Northern Derbyshire Magistrates Court and another.

When does the legal obligation to collectively consult apply?

On 24 February, the Government published draft regulations that, if implemented, will impose new restrictions on pre-pack administration sales to connected parties. For all `substantial disposals' (which will include `pre-pack' sales) to connected parties, taking place within eight weeks of the administrators' appointment, the administrators will either need creditor consent or a report from an independent `evaluator'.

Context

With its judgment of November 28, 2016, the German Supreme Tax Court (Bundesfinanzhof; “BFH”) dismissed the application of the tax administration’s so-called restructuring decree (Sanierungserlass). The restructuring decree allowed, subject to certain conditions, a suspension and abatement of taxes on so-called cancellation-of-debt income (“COD-Income”) otherwise resulting from certain recapitalization measures such as the waiver of debt and “debt-to-equity swaps”.

With its judgment of 28 November 2016, the German Supreme Tax Court (Bundesfinanzhof; BFH) dismissed the application of the tax administration's so-called restructuring decree (Sanierungserlass). The restructuring decree allowed, subject to certain conditions, a suspension and abatement of taxes on so-called cancellation of debt income (COD Income) otherwise resulting from certain recapitalization measures such as the waiver of debt and debt-to-equity swaps.