This article considers the impact of COVID-19 on relations between corporate employer groups and defined benefit (DB) pension scheme trustees, outlining the key factors that may influence negotiations regarding the "employer covenant" (broadly, an employer's legal duties and financial ability to fund a pension scheme). Issues covered include the types of negotiation triggered by COVID-19, the management of information flow, directors' duties, the balance of negotiating power, forms of mitigation and the roles of the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).