In this issue, we look at extended liability for right to work checks, the £28 million fine on Virgin Media for mishandling customer calls and the practical lessons from recent case law on step-in rights and complex outsourcing contracts. 

Pensions Radar is a quarterly listing of expected future changes in UK law affecting work-based pension schemes.

From 1 October 2026, failures by service providers and subcontractors to carry out right to work checks could result in fines being imposed on businesses further up the supply chain. The civil penalties are significant, up to £45,000 per illegal worker for a first breach, rising up to £60,000 for repeat breaches.

Cryptoasset firms are days away from the FCA opening its authorisation gateway on 30 September 2026. In an ideal world, the regulatory perimeter – enacted by Parliament in legislation, and (where appropriate) supplemented by interpretative Perimeter Guidance from the FCA – would have been finalised some time ago, allowing such firms to make strategic decisions about their commercial and regulatory objectives in the UK.

Four "nationally significant" cyber attacks a week on average in the UK: that was the NCSC's count for the year to September 2025. Yet data centres, the backbone of the UK's digital economy, have until now remained outside the scope of cyber regulation.

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry. 

The EU AI Act is one of the most significant pieces of technology regulation to emerge in recent years and it is still taking shape. In May 2026 alone, the EU provisionally agreed material changes through the Digital Omnibus on AI (see our previous briefing on the "AI Omnibus"), postponing key compliance deadlines, and published draft guidance on high-risk system classification and transparency requirements.

A regular briefing for the alternative asset management industry.