Business Diary: UK Regulations - August 2017
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.
2nd
Legal Statistics
A new study from cloud-based platform, CybSafe, reveals that, amid the threat of ICO sanctions, the General Data Protection Regulation and reputation damage from data breaches, large organisations are increasingly requiring suppliers to prove cyber credentials in order to win contracts. Nearly half (44%) of respondents had been required to have a recognised cyber protection standard, including 28% in the last year alone.
Published Date: 2nd August 2017
Court Rulings
Private hire firm, Addison Lee, has become the latest gig e company to face defeat in court over its treatment of workers as “independent contractors”. An employment tribunal found that the firm had unlawfully failed to pay a cycle courier holiday pay.
Published Date: 2nd August 2017
3rd
Court Rulings
The Supreme Court has ruled that a firm which undertook the construction of an offshore wind farm should be liable for repair costs which arose soon after the project was completed. The court found that the 20-year warranty provided by the firm took precedence even though the contract contained conflicting terms.
Ruling Date: 3rd August 2017
4th
EU Laws
The EU Commission has published an amendment to new rules requiring online service providers to make their service as easily available to paid subscribers when they are in a member state other than the one in which they are resident. The amendment extends the compliance deadline to 1 April 2018.
Published Date: 4th August 2017
EU Laws
On 4 August 2017, the EU Commission adopted measures giving effect to United Nations Security Council resolutions expanding sanctions on illegal oil exports from Libya. The sanctions now apply to vessels loading, transporting, or discharging petroleum, including crude oil and refined petroleum products, for export from Libya.
Published Date: 4th August 2017
7th
Business Laws
The UK government has confirmed further details about the upcoming Data Protection Bill. The Bill will ensure that functions which are dependent on automated decision making, such as banks checking the creditworthiness of loan applicants, can continue to process data by automated means.
Published Date: 7th August 2017
8th
Regulation Consultations
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is inviting views from industry, regulators and other interested parties on how to transpose the Network and Information Systems Directive into UK law. Plans to introduce fines as high as £17 million, or 4% of global turnover, for failure to implement effective cyber security measures are being considered as part of the consultation.
Response Deadline: 30th September 2017
11th
Regulation Consultations
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is inviting views from organisations and individuals on proposed changes to the Code of Practice on the welfare of meat chickens and meat breeding chickens in England.
Response Deadline: 6th October 2017
12th
Regulation Consultations
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is inviting views from business groups, aviation and transport bodies, retailers, health bodies, and the general public on the regulation of laser pointers. The consultation seeks views on the potential value of retail licensing schemes, advertising restrictions and potential restrictions on ownership.
Response Deadline: 6th October 2017
14th
Regulation Consultations
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is inviting views from individuals and organisations on proposals to enhance protections for travellers booking package holidays online. The proposals include requiring businesses to provide better information to travellers about their rights at the point of booking.
Response Deadline: 25th September 2017
Legal Statistics
A study of mid-sized law firms by Shoppers Anonymous found that not one of the 50 firms that received a walk-in enquiry followed it up. Just 10% of telephone enquiries and 12% of website enquiries received a further follow-up after an initial response. According to the researchers, firms are potentially losing a lot of work as a result.
Published Date: 14th August 2017
15th
Court Rulings
An employment tribunal has decided that a discrimination claim which was thrown out as the claimant had failed to pay an issue fee should be revived. This is one of the first cases to be affected by the landmark Supreme Court ruling which found that employment tribunal fees are unlawful.
Published Date: 15th August 2017
16th
Business Laws
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has published a list of 233 businesses who have failed to pay the National Minimum Wage and Living Wage. Employers on the list will have to pay around £2 million in back pay to their workers as well as £1.9 million in fines.
Published Date: 16th August 2017
23rd
Regulation Consultations
The Department of Health is inviting views from all interested parties on proposed new legal requirements to provide information relating to the sales and purchases of health service products. The proposals include requiring manufacturers, importers and wholesalers to provide quarterly information about sales and purchases of generic medicines and special medicinal products.
Response Deadline: 14th November 2017
Regulation Consultations
The European Commission is inviting views from all interested parties on a draft regulation to restrict the use of bisphenol A in varnishes and coatings intended to come into contact with food. The regulation proposes a new specific migration limit of 0.05mg per kilogram of food.
Response Deadline: 20th September 2017
24th
Court Rulings
The UK High Court has ruled that a PDF document can constitute a database for the purposes of the EU Database Directive and the information contained in it can benefit from database rights. The case concerned a health provider accused of infringing a medical technology supplier's database rights in reports produced after the contract between the two entities was terminated.
Ruling Date: 24th August 2017
Court Rulings
A short stay on tribunal claims brought as a result of the Supreme Court ruling which found that the employment tribunal fees scheme was unlawful has been lifted. Administrative arrangements for dealing with the reimbursement of tribunal fees paid and reinstatement of claims which were struck out as claimants were unable to pay the fees are due to be announced shortly.
Published Date: 24th August 2017
25th
Legal Statistics
According to new research from the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ Group, 45% of public sector bodies in Scotland were found to be non-compliant with the new rules to ensure prompt payment through the entire supply chain. Just 31% were considered to be compliant. It was unclear whether the remaining 14% were compliant.
Published Date: 25th August 2017
29th
Legal Statistics
The Property Redress Scheme, which property agents are legally obliged to sign up to, saw membership increase by 33% in 2015/16. The number of complaints received increased by 40% year-on-year in 2016, with 85% originating from landlords and tenants.
Published Date: 29th August 2017
Compliance Guidance
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has published new guidance to help manufacturers comply with their obligations under the new EU regulations for medical devices, which came into force on 25 May 2017. Among other things, manufacturers are now required to ensure their devices have been correctly classified against the new risk classification criteria.
Published Date: 29th August 2017
31st
Legal Statistics
Two-thirds of UK firms are hiring permanent employees to help them meet the compliance deadline for the EU General Data Protection Regulation, according to a new survey from recruitment agency, Robert Half UK. The survey also found that 64% are planning to hire temporary or interim staff to ensure they have the talent in place to manage the change in data management and reporting.
Published Date: 31st August 2017
Regulation Consultations
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is inviting views from SMEs and other interested parties on proposals aimed at ensuring that smaller non-domestic energy consumers have access to the full benefits of smart meters, while recognising the diverse nature of these consumers and the need for proportionate regulation.
Response Deadline: 19th October 2017
Business Laws
A statutory instrument which will allow the Unified Patent Court (UPC) to open a branch in the UK has been laid in the Scottish Parliament. The UPC will handle disputes relating to European patents and patent applications, Unitary Patents and supplementary protection certificates.
Published Date: 31st August 2017
