An address is an ‘appropriate address’ if, in the ordinary course of events, a document addressed to the company – and delivered there by hand or by post – would be expected to come to the attention of a person acting on behalf of the company. The rule also applies if the delivery of documents to the address is capable of being recorded by obtaining an acknowledgement of delivery.
If the company’s registered office address does not meet these requirements, the address is not appropriate. It is important to get this right, as Companies House may take action against the company and its officers as they’re committing an offence.
If Companies House decides a company’s registered office is not appropriate, it will change the registered office address to a default address, held at Companies House. If a company’s registered office is moved to the default address, they must provide an appropriate address with evidence of proprietary ownership within 28 days. Otherwise, Companies House may start the process to strike the company off the register of companies.
Businesses using an agent’s address or another third-party provider’s address as their registered office must make sure the address service they provide meets the requirements for an appropriate registered office address.
Companies can no longer use a Royal Mail PO Box, or equivalent services offered by other parties, as their registered office address.
BOX: CALL FOR EVIDENCE
The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) has begun an inspection of the Border Force operations to deter and detect clandestine entrants to the UK. As part of this, it issued a call for evidence, which included a review of the efficiency and effectiveness of the Clandestine Entrant Civil Penalty Scheme and the Civil Penalty Accreditation Scheme. There is a specialised team at Backhouse Jones, headed up by Libby Pritchard, that deals with this area of law. The team has met with the ICIBI and put forward a number of suggestions and concerns. BackhouseJones says it will issue updates as soon as it sees any communications from the ICIBI about the results.
BOX: THE FIGHT FOR MORE PREDICTABLE WORKING CONDITIONS
Last September, the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 (WPTCA) received royal assent and was expected to be brought into force in September 2024, but this is not the case yet. One of the aims of the WPTCA was to give workers and agency workers the right to request more predictable terms and conditions of work. It is now understood that instead of bringing the WPTCA into force, these matters will be dealt with through strengthened rights for workers in the Employment Rights Bill. According to the Labour manifesto, the Employment Rights Bill is expected to be published by 13 October 2024.
BOX: BUSINESS FINANCE WEEK
On Monday 4 September, British Business Bank launched its Business Finance Week. The aim was to help smaller businesses to learn about the different finance options available to them to support their individual needs and grow their businesses. There are many useful resources that businesses can use on the website at: www.tinyurl.com/3v6mecbn.
As part of Business Finance Week, Companies House and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) held a live webinar on 1 October 2024 ‘Starting and growing a company with confidence” Within the webinar, they discussed:
• Starting a company – understanding changes to UK company law
• Directors’ responsibilities – annual filings and the importance of staying compliant
• Interaction with competitors and customers – dos and don’ts
• How to raise concerns about competitor conduct
• Helpful resources.
This page is brought to you by Backhouse Jones Solicitors, which runs a frequent series of podcasts – see www.tinyurl.com/2xbv3jzv
