As the Covid threat appears to recede now is a good time to take stock of your business documents, in particular your terms and conditions.  Most T&Cs will contain standard clauses such as what happens if there is a “force majeure” event, ie something happens which is outside your control.  Whilst there may be an element of bolting the stable door in carrying out this exercise now, there is little doubt that there may be future events which can disrupt any business – can you predict the outcome of the events that are currently going on in Europe and around the world?  Businesses should be looking to review their T&Cs to see how they may need to be updated to cope with unexpected events.  You will be unable to suspend your contractual obligations if your T&Cs do not specifically say so.

What to include in Terms and Conditions

You should also consider a review of any exclusions or limitations of liability in your T&Cs. This is an area being looked at by the Courts on a regular basis.  Recent decisions make it clear that if such terms are to be properly incorporated in your terms, then they must be properly flagged, not hidden in the depths of the document in the smallest possible print.  In addition, enforceability is more likely if the terms explain why it is reasonable for the exclusions or limitations to be included, for example that the price is based on being able to limit liability or that the cost of insuring against the risk is too high.

Finally, as a result of Brexit you may need to review your privacy policy about the transfer of personal data.  This can be an issue, particularly if you use the Cloud to store personal data – who is your Cloud service provider and where in the world do they store your data?  At the least you should keep an eye on the ICO website and the definition of “restricted transfers”.