Business Diary: UK Regulations - July 2015
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
Business Laws
New Regulation: Rule changes allowing parties to contractual documents governed by Scottish Law to sign identical copies in separate locations will come into force from 1 July 2015.
Start Date: 1st July 2015
Business Laws
New Regulation: Changes to the way in which companies can comply with requirements under the Companies Act 2006 in regard to the provision of information on related undertakings came into force on 1 July 2015.
Start Date: 1st July 2015
Business Laws
New Regulation: From 1 July 2015, online sellers of medicines must be registered with the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and will be required to display the new European common logo on their website
Start Date: 1st July 2015
Business Laws
New Regulation: From 1 July 2015, employees bringing claims for unpaid holiday pay will only be allowed to claim for up to two years.
Start Date: 1st July 2015
2nd
Compliance Guidance
Legal Guide: Acas has published new guidance for small businesses on the regulatory requirements surrounding employee remuneration.
Published Date: 1st July 2015
Regulation Consultations
Immigration Consultation: The Migration Advisory Committee has launched a call for evidence in relation to its review of the Tier 2 route.
Published Date: 2nd July 2015
7th
Legal Statistics - Risks
Law Statistics: According to the Information Commissioner's Office's annual report, 46% of all data protection complaints recorded by the regulator in 2014/15 were regarding subject access requests.
Published Date: 6th July 2015
Legal Statistics - Risks
Law Statistics: According to a government report, 34% of UK SMEs that export have either never heard of the Bribery Act 2010 or are unaware of their corporate liabilities under the legislation.
Published Date: 1st July 2015
8th
Legal Statistics
Law Statistics: According to official data, ACAS's Early Conciliation service has dealt with over 83,000 cases between April 2014 and March 2015.
Published Date: 7th July 2015
9th
EU Laws
EU Regulation: Pinsent Masons is urging companies to carefully consider whether and how to opt-in to a new ADR framework which came into force in the EU on 9 July 2015 and is set to come into force in the UK in October 2015.
Start Date: 9th July 2015
14th
EU Laws
Regulator Activity: The US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany have reached an agreement with Iran to restrict nuclear activity in Iran in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
Published Date: 14th July 2015
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The EU Commission has launched a public consultation on the future of trade and economic ties between Mexico and the EU.
Published Date: 2nd July 2015
15th
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The government has launched a consultation on measures to safeguard non-striking workers from intimidation.
Published Date: 15th July 2015
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The government has launched a consultation on revoking legislation banning employers from hiring temporary workers during strike action.
Published Date: 15th July 2015
16th
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The Welsh government has launched a consultation on draft legislation introducing a minimum unit price for the sale and supply of alcohol.
Published Date: 15th July 2015
Business Laws
Regulator Activity: The government has announced that standard export licensing procedures may be applied without any additional measures to military and dual use equipment exports to Israel.
Published Date: 14th July 2015
17th
Business Laws
Regulator Activity: The Government has announced the launch of reviews into burdensome regulations in the energy, waste, agriculture, care homes and mineral extraction sectors.
Published Date: 16th July 2015
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The government has launched a consultation on proposed new measures to help designers enforce their intellectual property rights.
Published Date: 17th July 2015
19th
Business Laws
New Regulation: New health and safety legislation regarding offshore oil and gas operations came into force on 19 July 2015.
Start Date: 19th July 2015
20th
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The government has launched a consultation on a proposal to increase the maximum sentence for commercial-scale online copyright infringement from 2 to 10 years.
Published Date: 18th July 2015
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The EU Commission has launched a consultation on proposals to overhaul the electricity market, update energy efficiency labelling and amend the the EU Emissions Trading System.
Published Date: 15th July 2015
21st
Court Rulings
EU Ruling: The EU Court of Justice has ruled that EU member states should ensure that unsuccessful parties to cross-border intellectual property disputes are liable to pay the legal costs of the successful party.
Ruling Date: 16th July 2015
Compliance Guidance
Code of Practice: The government has published a new Code of Practice for the testing of automated vehicle technologies on public roads and in other public places.
Published Date: 19th July 2015
23rd
Crackdowns & Amnesty
New Scheme: HMRC is urging alcohol wholesalers to prepare to apply for the new Alcohol Wholesaler Registration Scheme aimed at tackling alcohol duty fraud.
Published Date: 22nd July 2015
24th
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The government has launched a consultation on proposed approaches to how it will implement new EU rules to strengthen the rights of posted employees while promoting fair competition for businesses.
Published Date: 23rd July 2015
27th
Compliance Guidance
Law Guide: Acas has published new guidance on pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the workplace in response to research from the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Published Date: 24th July 2015
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The government has launched a consultation on proposals to establish a Small Business Commissioner aimed at resolving supply chain disputes between SMEs and large businesses.
Published Date: 26th July 2015
28th
Compliance Guidance
Law Guide: Acas has published new online guidance to help employers manage summer holiday leave requests from staff.
Published Date: 17th July 2015
29th
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The EU Commission is consulting on the main issues surrounding cross-border delivery services for goods purchased online and options for improvement.
Response Deadline: 29th July 2015
Compliance Guidance
Law Guide: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is inviting comments on draft guidance on the re-manufacture of single use medical devices.
Published Date: 20th July 2015
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The government has launched a consultation on legislation to tackle misuse of the term ‘apprenticeship’.
Published Date: 29th July 2015
30th
Legal Statistics - Risks
Legal Statistics: The Forum of Private Business has found that compliance issues are costing small businesses £20 billion a year, with employment law compliance costing the most at £5.9 billion.
Published Date: 17th July 2015
Court Rulings
UK Ruling: The High Court has ruled that businesses and individuals bringing libel action require proof that published comments made about them have caused or are likely to cause damage to their reputation.
Ruling Date: 30th July 2015
EU Laws
EU Regulation: An expert has said that UK-based payment service providers serving EU customers will be required to comply with the new internet payment security guidelines coming into effect from 1 August 2015.
Published Date: 30th July 2015
Legal Statistics
IP Statistics: A new report from the Intellectual Property Office has found that Intellectual Property Enterprise Court reforms have improved access to justice for SMEs and entrepreneurs.
Published Date: 29th July 2015
31st
Crackdowns & Amnesty
Government Crackdown: The government has named 75 employers as part of its crackdown on violations of the National Minimum Wage rules.
Published Date: 30th July 2015
EU Laws
EU Regulation: The EU Commission has adopted a regulation to create a simplified, modernised integrated customs system aimed at supporting cross-border trade.
Published Date: 28th July 2015
Regulation Consultations
Government Feedback: Responses were received from 78 organisations and individuals on consultation on the pre-licensing register of arms brokers. The government will not take any further action in this area and will maintain the current policy of issuing trade control licences for military goods, assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Published Date: 31st July 2015
Court Rulings
UK Ruling: Two policies making provision for exemptions from affordable housing contributions for small developments have been withdrawn as a result of a high court challenge.
Ruling Date: 31st July 2015
Regulatory Deadlines
Return Deadline: Operators with environmental permits submitting waste returns for Q2 2015 must do so by 31 July 2015.
Submission Deadline: 31st July 2015
Regulator Services
Compliance Support: The Committee of Advertising Practice has launched a new e-learning module to help marketers understand the rules surrounding alcohol advertising.
Published Date: 31st July 2015
Compliance Guidance
Law Guide: The Competition and Markets Authority has said in new guidance that consumer rights will not apply where consumers allow businesses access to their personal data in return for access to digital content.
Published Date: 31st July 2015
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The EU Commission is consulting on the impacts and issues surrounding ecolabels for fisheries and aquaculture products.
Submission Deadline: 31st July 2015
