NEWS & ANALYSIS FMJ.CO.UK
LEGAL VIEW - CONTRACTS
6 MARCH 2020
CIBSE BUILDING PERFORMANCE AWARDS 2020
The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) revealed the 2020
Building Performance Award winners in a recent ceremony held at the at the Grosvenor
House Hotel, London.
A new focus on renovation and renewal emerged at the 2020 CIBSE Building
Performance Awards: dramatic building performance achievements in existing and remodelled
buildings were celebrated, alongside ground-breaking new build projects and
industry-leading teams.
The Awards showcase the highest achievements in building performance across the
construction and property industry, and are the only awards in the built environment
sector that are judged on actual, in-use performance.
The Facilities Management Award is presented to an FM team or project, whether inhouse
or outsourced, that delivers outstanding building performance from an individual
building, a site with several buildings or a portfolio of assets. A clear focus on improving
the user experience and quality of service made Singapore-based Yale-NUS College the
judges’ choice for this award.
The 14-strong Infrastructure, Safety and Security O ice – supported by outsourcing
partners – is responsible for FM at the college, which has about 1,200 sta and students.
The judges were particularly struck by how it adopted “e ective tools and upskilling of its
team” to deliver good results.
The Engine Shed, at the heart of Scotland’s new
Building Conservation Centre, was named Building
Performance Champion for 2020. Transforming
redundant Ministry of Defence buildings, this
project, entered by engineering firm Max Fordham,
also won the Public Use project category.
The new Retrofit category was won by the Bartlett
School of Architecture building, 22 Gordon Street.
Entered by BuroHappold this project demonstrates
the potential for huge improvement in existing buildings. Other winners included the
Institute of Physics headquarters entered by AECOM, and Elementa Consulting and
BuroHappold Engineering in the consultancy categories. The Victoria-based HVAC
Centre of Excellence – established to address the chronic shortage of building services
professionals in Australia – won the Learning and Development category.
For a full list of the 2020 winners visit https://www.cibse.org/building-performanceawards/
2020-winners
MIND FORMS CHARITY PARTNERSHIP
FOR WORKPLACE WELLBEING SHOW
Workplace Wellbeing Show has announced Mind, the leading mental health
charity, as its o icial Charity Partner.
Mind is the ideal partner for
Workplace Wellbeing Show
owing to the significant shared
values between the charity and
the event, including a desire to
promote wellbeing best practice and level the playing field for mental health. Workplace
Wellbeing Show, which hosts a full programme of seminars and presentations, will work
with Mind to broaden its reach and impact for professionals, including HR leaders who
wish to foster better wellbeing in the workplace.
Mind provides advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health
problem. The organisation campaigns to improve services, raise awareness and
promote understanding. The charity also o ers a comprehensive Workplace Wellbeing
programme which aims to help people understand and start talking about the costs of
neglecting mental wellbeing in the workplace. Mind o ers free resources for employers
to help improve mental wellbeing and employee engagement.
Taking place on 19-21 May 2020 at ExCeL London, Workplace Wellbeing Show
hosted by Informa Markets, will explore the link between workplace wellbeing and
productivity. The event will showcase the latest thinking and solutions to improve the
mental, physical and financial wellbeing of sta across all sectors with three days of
free seminars and panel discussions led by industry leaders, solutions and products
from key suppliers, and unrivalled insights and networking opportunities. Attendance
certificates for CPD will be provided for visitors across all sessions.
BREXIT PLANNING:
CONSIDER YOUR
COMMERCIAL
CONTRACTS
By Karen Holden Solicitor and
Founder of A City Law Firm
The UK offi cially left the European Union at 23:00 GMT on
Friday 31st January. However, the exact manner of the UK’s
exit from the EU is still under discussion as Prime Minister
Boris Johnson has mooted the idea of the UK reverting to
World Trade Organisation (WTO) terms if EU chiefs refuse to
sign off on a Canada-style free trade agreement.
Whatever happens, businesses will benefi t from thinking
ahead to the possible eff ects and implications of Brexit on
their commercial contracts and should consider the insertion
of Brexit clauses into their commercial contracts.
CONSIDER YOUR COMMERCIAL CONTRACTS
There are relevant concerns that you should have as a
contracting party for both pre-existing contracts and contract
arrangements that are upcoming. In order to safeguard your
position, you should have regard of the following issues,
particularly if:
• The contract has a cross UK-EU border element to it
for example for business-to-business supply of goods or
services;
• The contract term will end after the UK’s expected
departure
from the EU of 31 January 2020 and as such that contract
will be up for renegotiation; and
• Do you have a commercial contract with a business in the
EU which will be aff ected by Brexit? And need to have this
reviewed.
If any of the above applies, you should consider inserting a
Brexit clause or contractual Brexit Addendum contract into
your existing or future contracts as failing to do so could have
serious implications.
WHAT WOULD A “BREXIT CLAUSE” ACHIEVE?
A “Brexit clause” or a “Brexit Addendum” is a contractual
clause or document that triggers some change in the parties’
rights and obligations as a result of a defi ned event occurring
i.e. Brexit itself, this would state that for example Brexit
would not act as a force majeure event and would not be
able to end or frustrate a contract. The eff ect of such a
clause or agreement is very similar to any other “if/then” or
force majeure clause that may attempt to govern what will
happen should the legal and business environment change in
the future.
Although Brexit could aff ect almost every aspect of doing
business, its actual impact is still unknown and uncertain for
businesses. For some contracts the most a Brexit clause may
off er is a binding requirement that the parties will attempt to
renegotiate relevant aspects of the contract and that business
will continue as normal between the parties. For other
contracts, where it may be possible to specify consequences
of certain events, the risk remains that events may occur for
which the parties have not made a provision.
A Brexit clause is not a ‘silver bullet’ which will solve
all Brexit-related issues and problems, but it at the very
least provides parties with certainty that the other party
will not hold it to onerous terms without the possibility of
negotiation.
/2020-winners
