HomeSMEs, directors & shareholdersDirector disqualificationCommon allegations of misconduct

There are many different allegations of misconduct that the Insolvency Service rely on to secure a director ban. Our team has been successfully defending director claims since 2002 and since that time has dealt with every type of allegation.

Common types of misconduct

A disqualification claim will only be brought where a company has been placed into an insolvency process and there is evidence of misconduct by one or more of its directors.  

Examples of the types of misconduct allegations we have dealt with include

  • non-payment of HMRC
  • Bounce back loan abuse
  • trading to the detriment of a creditors
  • conducting a policy of deliberately not paying HMRC
  • acting whilst disqualified
  • paying one creditor in priority to other creditors in the face of imminent insolvency
  • failing to delivery up company property and documentation
  • abuse of director loan account
  • excessive pay / remuneration
  • acting contrary to the public interest
  • breach of fiduciary (director) duties
  • drawing illegal dividends
  • fraud and misappropriation of company assets
  • acting in breach of financial service regulations
  • incompetence
  • inactivity or failure to act
  • failure to supervise or keep informed
  • improperly delegating director functions
  • continuing a failed business model;

How we can help you

For each of these allegations there are legal and evidential arguments which we can put forward to defend the claim and get the allegations dropped. We have built this experience up over 20+ years of working on these claims.

  • it should be remembered too that even though there might have been misconduct at the company, it still might not reach the threshold required under the Company Director Disqualification Act 1986.
  • the misconduct must be serious enough to give rise to a finding of unfitness to merit a disqualification. 
  • as a disqualification claim is issued purely to protect the public (rather than punish the wrongdoer) there is no consideration of any contract or trust arrangement, or indeed any loss suffered, but it exists purely on policy grounds to ensure the integrity of the business in the UK and prevent such behaviour being repeated.

This is a complex area of the law. Whilst many law firms out there now say they specialise in it – very few actually do. We have a track record stretching back 20+ years. We genuinely are the leading experts in this area of the law.


At Francis Wilks & Jones we deal with all types of director disqualification claims and are experts in looking at allegations of misconduct and whether they merit a disqualification order. Please call any member of our disqualification team for a consultation today.

I was greatly impressed with the commercial, tactical and technical ability of the team at FWJ. They quickly got to grips with a complex set of facts and, through their hard work, had the proceedings against me dropped and a significant proportion of my legal fees repaid. I couldn’t recommend them highly enough.

A director we defended against a disqualification claim and other claims brought by a liquidator

Key contacts

Douglas McEvoy

Douglas McEvoy

Associate

Lefteris Kallou

Lefteris Kallou

Associate

Stephen Downie

Stephen Downie

Partner

View full team

Case studies

View all case studies

Contact us in confidence