Rod Lambert & Christopher Reekie revisit Directors’ Disqualification Orders
Where a company is alleged to have breached competition law rules, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) may bring an action seeking to disqualify directors of that company from acting as a director for a period of up to 15 years, if their actions, either by act or omission, have in some way contributed to the alleged breach. In recently published guidance, the OFT has further explained how it will approach director disqualification proceedings. Companies and directors should pay close attention to this latest clarification of the UK competition regulator’s armoury. Failure to take note could have serious consequences.
Background
On 29 June 2010, the OFT published new guidance, which clarifies the powers of the OFT under the Competition Disqualification Order (CDO) provisions of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, as amended by the Enterprise Act 2002 (CDDA). The Guidance sets out the general approach that the OFT will adopt in seeking CDOs against individual directors, their professional advisors and professional associations.
Where a company is found to be in breach
