Business Diary: UK Regulations - February 2016
Currently, two to three new Regulation entries are added to the Archive each day. Regulation Watch covers business related topics such as new legislation, changes in legislation, consultations and regulatory body announcements.
1st
Legal Statistics - Risks
Landlord Statistics: Around 72% of landlords do not understand their legal duties under the new "right to rent" policy, leaving them at risk of discrimination accusations, according to the Residential Landlords Association.
Published Date: 1st February 2016
Regulation Consultations
Consultation Report: The UK government has published the outcome of its consultation on draft plans setting out actions to improve air quality at local, regional and national levels.
Published Date: 1st February 2016
2nd
Regulation Consultations
Consultation Report: The UK government has published the outcome of the consultation on whether protections for small and micro firms when purchasing goods and services are adequate.
Published Date: 2nd February 2016
Business Laws
New Regulation: Employees of large shops will be able to give just one month's notice, down from three previously, if they do not wish to work on Sundays and will be given a new right to opt-out of working additional hours under government plans to devolve Sunday trading laws.
Published Date: 2nd February 2016
3rd
Court Rulings
UK Ruling: The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has ruled that a company or individual must expressly consent to the jurisdiction of a foreign court.
Ruling Date: 3rd February 2016
Regulation Consultations
Consultation Report: The government has published the outcome of the consultation on draft regulations to transpose the EU Procurement Directives: Concession Contracts Regulations into UK law.
Published Date: 3rd February 2016
4th
Court Rulings
EU Ruling: The Court of Justice of the EU has ruled that community trade mark licensees do not need to register those licences in order to take enforcement action against infringers.
Ruling Date: 4th February 2016
5th
Rates & Reliefs
Government Activity: The Northern Ireland Executive has announced a proposal to close the domestic and non domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) schemes.
Published Date: 5th February 2016
Crackdowns & Amnesty
Minimum Wage Crackdown: The government has named and shamed 92 employers as part of its enforcement activity against violators of the National Minimum Wage rules.
Published Date: 5th February 2016
8th
Legal Statistics
Fraud Statistics: The number of whistleblowing reports made to the Serious Fraud Office rose by 13% to 2,832 in 2014/15, according to Pinsent Masons.
Published Date: 8th February 2016
9th
Business Laws
Regulation Update: On 9 February 2015, the UK government announced that it is introducing amendments to the Enterprise Bill to give local authorities the power to extend Sunday trading hours.
Published Date: 9th February 2016
10th
Court Rulings
UK Ruling: The UK Supreme Court has ruled that an employer was at fault for an employee's accident as they failed to provide protective footwear.
Ruling Date: 10th February 2016
Court Rulings
UK Ruling: The Upper tribunal has ruled that the Gambling Commission has the authority to refuse gambling operating licence applications, even where applicants meet the criteria for obtaining those licences, if approving them would be inconsistent with the Gambling Act's licensing objectives.
Ruling Date: 10th February 2016
11th
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The UK government has launched a call for views on the scope of the business impact target, growth duty and Small Business Appeals Champion as well as the associated draft statutory guidance.
Published Date: 11th February 2016
EU Laws
EU Regulation: The EU Parliament and EU Council have approved and published a Delegated Regulation to introduce new rules requiring safety features on the packaging of medicines at risk of falsification.
Published Date: 11th February 2016
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: Companies facing prosecution for health and safety, environmental and other offences could avoid higher fines if they enter a guilty plea at an earlier stage under new proposals being consulted on by the Sentencing Council.
Response Deadline: 5th May 2016
15th
Business Laws
Regulator Activity: The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency has handed down a £345,558.43 confiscation order to a recycling company for waste management offences, the largest ever issued in Scotland under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Published Date: 15th February 2016
16th
Legal Statistics
HR Statistics: New research from SterlingBackcheck reveals that 38% of UK employers don’t check whether their potential staff have the ‘right to work’ in the UK, and a quarter of those who do not run checks are planning to do so this year.
Published Date: 16th February 2016
17th
Business Laws
Regulator Activity: The European Patent Office and Rospatent have signed a Biennial Cooperation Plan, which includes harmonisation of legal and administrative frameworks, sharing information on the IT used to develop search tools and statistics and improvements in data exchange.
Published Date: 17th February 2016
18th
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The UK government has launched a consultation on the implementation of proposals contained in the Housing and Planning Bill including enabling councils to offer fast track application services.
Response Deadline: 15th April 2016
Business Laws
Government Activity: The UK government has announced its commitment to supporting the development of a business-led online ‘centre of excellence’ as well as a comprehensive review of guidance for businesses and enforcers following a review into the current system for product safety recalls.
Published Date: 18th February 2016
23rd
Court Rulings
UK Ruling: Scotland's Court of Session has ruled that a claim letter sent by a company using the DX business to business delivery service was invalid as the contract specified that the notice had to be served either in person or by Royal Mail recorded delivery.
Ruling Date: 23rd February 2016
25th
Business Laws
Legal Alert: The wording in some employees' contracts could result in a breach of their annual leave rights due to the way that Easter bank holidays fall in 2016/17, an expert from XpertHR is warning.
Deadline: 25th February 2016
Regulation Consultations
Consultation Report: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has published the outcome of the consultation a proposal to ban employment agencies and businesses from recruiting solely from other European Economic Area (EEA) countries without advertising in the UK.
Published Date: 25th February 2016
Business Laws
Government Activity: Scotland's government has announced new measures aimed at ensuring fairer workplaces for women and clamping down on discrimination against pregnant workers and new mothers.
Published Date: 25th February 2016
Regulator Services
Regulator Activity: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has announced a number of changes it is making to the change of ownership application process for medicines marketing authorisations in order to provide a quicker and more efficient service for applicants.
Published Date: 25th February 2016
Regulation Consultations
Property Consultation: The Scottish government is consulting on a proposed new rental income guarantee scheme which could accelerate growth in the private rented sector and boost the construction of new homes.
Response Deadline: 22nd April 2016
29th
Regulator Services
IP Services: The Preparatory Committee has agreed on a zero opt-out fee for the Unified Patent Court, meaning that holders of existing European Patents will not be charged to use the system.
Published Date: 29th February 2016
Regulation Consultations
IP Consultation: The Intellectual Property Office is consulting on proposed amendments to the Patents Rules 2007 aimed at simplifying processes for customers, increasing legal certainty, and taking account of modern ways of working.
Response Deadline: 22nd April 2016
Business Laws
Regulator Activity: The Information Commissioner's Office issued a £350,000 fine, the largest ever issued by the regulator, to a company found to be responsible for over 46 million automated nuisance calls.
Published Date: 29th February 2016
