Retailers BHS and Austin Reed have recently gone into administration, leaving 11,000 and 1,200 jobs respectively at risk. In such uncertain times, what rights do affected employees have?

What is administration?

In the recent case of Bank of Cyprus UK Limited v Menelaou, the Supreme Court showed the flexibility of the equitable remedy of unpaid vendor's lien.

Facts of the case

When a business is on the receiving end of a claim, it is faced with the prospect of having to incur significant costs to defend the action.

A defendant in that situation will usually be protected by the general rule that 'the loser pays the winner's costs'.

This means that if the defendant successfully defends the claim, the defendant can expect to recover a percentage of its costs from the claimant as ordered by the court if not agreed.

But what if happens if the claimant is unable to pay the defendant's costs?

On March 22, 2010, a three judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a highly anticipated decision in the matter of In re Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, 2010 WL 1006647, (3rd Cir. Case No.

In 2009, there were 140 failed banks. So far this year, 16 more banks have been seized by the FDIC. There are 702 banks currently on the FDIC's troubled banks list, and regulators and analysts predict that several hundred of those likely will fail over the next two years.