Last year saw a wave of insolvency-related legislation introduced which was largely in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic but which also saw permanent reforms which have, and will continue to have, an impact on the logistics industry as well as supply-chains generally.

Commercial aviation has been one of the sectors most heavily impacted by COVID-19, but thanks to the strong controlling measures to weather the impact of the pandemic, the People’s Republic of China (the “PRC”) has been a market in which some form of aviation recovery is happening. Unfortunately, the recovery has not come soon enough for the Chinese conglomerate HNA.

In spring 2020, the Czech Republic, like the rest of the world, was severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The spread of COVID-19 outbreaks led to drastic shutdowns and reduced operations in almost all sectors of the economy. The loss of income and suspension of payments threatened to lead to the insolvency of thousands of businesses. So in spring 2020 the Czech Parliament approved temporary statutory measures to prevent the collapse of the business sector due to formal insolvency proceedings (the so-called Lex COVID).

Was bringt 2021 aus arbeitsrechtlicher Sicht? Wir fassen die arbeitsrechtlichen Neuerungen in 2021 für Sie zusammen:

Erhöhung des Mindestlohns

Der Mindestlohn beträgt ab dem 1. Januar 2021 9,50 Euro brutto je Stunde. Ab dem 1. Juli 2021 steigt er weiter auf 9,60 Euro, ab dem 1. Januar 2022 beträgt er 9,82 Euro und ab dem 1. Juli 2022 10,45 Euro; jeweils brutto je Stunde. Die Minijob-Grenze bleibt jedoch bei 450 Euro im Monatbestehen.

Verlängerung des Corona-Bonus

On 3 December 2020, the UK Government (HM Treasury) issued a consultation paper (the Consultation) setting out a proposal to implement a new “special administration regime” (the SAR) which it is proposed would apply to any insolvency of an authorised payment institution (a PI) or electronic money institution (an EMI).

On 3 December 2020, HM Treasury published the Government's proposal to implement a new special administration regime for PIs and EMIs (PI and EMI SAR), a copy of which can be seen here.

The UK Government announced on 24 September 2020 that some of the temporary COVID-19 measures within the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (CIGA) will be extended.

The effect of the extension is as follows:

In the second part of our coverage of the Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Covid-19) Act 2020 (the Act), we consider amendments made to certain insolvency provisions of the Companies Act 2014 (the 2014 Act). All of these measures apply for an "interim period", expiring on 31 December 2020 (unless extended by Government).

Dividends

On 21 July 2020 the Irish High Court approved a scheme of arrangement for the world's largest regional aircraft lessor Nordic Aviation Capital DAC (Nordic).

The scheme, which included a 12-month standstill and deferral of c. US$5 billion of secured and unsecured debt, was a market-first for the aircraft leasing industry and has been watched closely by others in the sector.

The Irish scheme had a number of innovative features:

On 25 June 2020, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (the Act) received Royal Assent and it now forms part of UK law. Among other provisions, the Act addresses the difficulties faced by UK companies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when it comes to holding meetings of shareholders and filing documents with the UK Registrar of Companies (Companies House).

The Act includes the following in relation to company meetings and filings:

Meetings