Directors Warning: New Disqualification and Compensation Rules Introduced

The Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, which received Royal Assent on March 2015 has now introduced new concepts into Director’s disqualification proceedings and creditor compensation claims.

The aims of the Act are three fold:

• To modernise and strengthen the director disqualification regime to give the business community and consumers’ more confidence that wrongdoers will be banned as directors;
• To simplify the procedure whereby insolvency practitioners (liquidators, administrators and administrative receivers) and official receivers report on the conduct of the Directors of insolvent companies;
• To strengthen the mechanism that compensates creditors for director misconduct.
• These new measures strengthen the Government’s power to disqualify Directors in certain circumstances to create a healthier and more sustained business economy.

Further changes to the law as well as specific changes to the Companies Act 2006 are scheduled for December 2015 and early 2016 including the increase in time between a company being declared insolvent and the Government seeking the disqualification of a Director from two to three years.

If you need any assistance regarding the changes proposed to this Act, please get in touch with one of the Commercial team on 0161 930 5117 or fill in our online form and we will contact you back.