Business Diary: UK Regulations - October 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: Changes to the insolvency laws which will make it easier to disqualify directors of limited companies for illegal activity come into force on 1 October 2015.
Start Date: 1st October 2015
Regulator Services
IP Services: The Intellectual Property Office has launched a new service which will allow customers to register a single design online.
Start Date: 1st October 2015
Business Laws
New Regulation: From 1 October 2015, amendments to the Insolvency Act extending protection of essential supplies on insolvency to most private utility suppliers as well as extending protection to IT supplies will come into force.
Start Date: 1st October 2015
Rates & Reliefs
Rate Change: From 1 October 2015, the National Minimum Wage will increase to £6.70 for workers aged 21 and over.
Start Date: 1st October 2015
Business Laws
New Regulation: From 1 October 2015, it will be illegal for retailers to sell e-cigarettes or e-liquids to under 18s.
Start Date: 1st October 2015
Business Laws
New Regulation: New legislation extending protections for consumers when buying goods and services and introducing new protections with regard to the purchase of digital music, films, games and books comes into force from 1 October 2015.
Start Date: 1st October 2015
Business Laws
New Regulation: Under the Deregulation Act, an exemption for turban-wearing Sikhs from the requirement to wear head protection will be extended to all workplaces, effective from 1 October 2015.
Start Date: 1st October 2015
2nd
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The government is consulting on a proposal to introduce a levy to enable employers to choose and pay for apprenticeship training.
Response Deadline: 2nd October 2015
5th
Court Rulings
EU Ruling: The EU Court of Justice has ruled that if a company operates a website in the language of an EU member state and has representatives engaging in personal data processing activities in that country, then that company is subject to the country's data protection rules.
Ruling Date: 1st October 2015
6th
Legal Statistics
Law Statistics: One in five companies are already receiving Shared Parental Leave (SPL) requests and 16% have received between one and three requests, according to Pay and Benefits Magazine.
Published Date: 5th October 2015
7th
Court Rulings
EU Ruling: The EU Court of Justice has ruled that the 'safe harbour' regime under which EU and US companies can transfer personal data does not meet the requirements of EU data protection laws.
Ruling Date: 6th October 2015
Business Laws
Government Activity: Prime minister David Cameron has announced that the government will amend its housing policy so that developers will be required to build homes for purchase rather than rent.
Published Date: 7th October 2015
9th
Legal Statistics
Law Statistics: Pinsent Masons is urging companies and individuals that fall victim to cyber fraud to consider civil recovery methods after research from The Times revealed that fewer one in 100 reported cyber frauds are actively investigated by the police.
Published Date: 25th September 2015
Legal Statistics - Risks
Law Statistics: Over a third (38%) of SMEs believe the National Living Wage will negatively impact their business and many are expecting to slow hiring, raise prices or postpone investments as a result.
Published Date: 5th October 2015
12th
Compliance Guidance
Law Guide: The Scottish government has published new procurement guidance which will require public sector organisations to consider including fair work practices as a key factor for selecting contractors.
Published Date: 9th October 2015
Business Laws
EU Regulation: The EU Parliament has approved new measures aimed at promoting the use of the European Small Claims Procedure, including raising the ceiling on recoverable debts from €2,000 to €5,000.
Published Date: 7th October 2015
13th
EU Laws
EU Regulation: Agriculture MEPs have introduced new measures aimed at tackling contamination of organic food and backed plans to support small farmers in turning organic.
Published Date: 13th October 2015
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: DEFRA has published the outcome of the consultation on amendments to the regulations surrounding producer responsibility for batteries and packaging waste.
Published Date: 13th October 2015
Business Laws
Government Activity: The government has confirmed that the Renewables Obligation for onshore wind projects will be closed and replaced with the Contracts for Difference mechanism from April 2016.
Published Date: 9th October 2015
Regulator Services
IP Services: The Intellectual Property Office has updated its online design registration service to allow users to register multiple designs, effective from 13 October 2015.
Start Date: 13th October 2015
14th
Business Laws
New Regulation: The government has launched two consultations on proposals to tackle exploitation in the labour market and amend the regulatory framework for the recruitment sector.
Published Date: 13th October 2015
Regulation Consultations
Government Activity: The government has decided not to grant businesses the power to seek civil injunctions to prevent ‘copycat packaging’.
Published Date: 13th October 2015
15th
Crackdowns & Amnesty
Government Crackdown: The Home Office has launched an enforcement campaign to tackle the employment and exploitation of illegal migrant workers in the construction industry.
Published Date: 14th October 2015
EU Laws
EU Regulation: The EU Parliament has approved a draft law updating the rules on payment services to new market players to use mobile and online tools to make payments on a client’s behalf.
Published Date: 8th October 2015
16th
Business Laws
New Regulation: The government has published new landmark planning legislation which includes measures to deliver 200,000 Starter Homes, extend the Right to Buy to 1.3 million tenants and cut red tape for housing development.
Published Date: 12th October 2015
Legal Statistics - Risks
Law Statistics: Scale-Up Institute is warning that restrictions on foreign workers are harming UK start ups, 80% of whom said that they would be able to grow their businesses faster if they could more easily recruit from overseas.
Published Date: 13th October 2015
19th
Crackdowns & Amnesty
Law Crackdown: The government has launched a call for evidence on the way claims management companies are regulated as part of a crackdown on firms that provide poor services and bombard consumers with nuisance calls.
Published Date: 2nd October 2015
Compliance Guidance
Compliance Campaign: The Equality and Human Rights Commission has launched a campaign to promote best employment practices and compliance with employment law in the cleaning industry.
Published Date: 19th October 2015
Regulator Services
Licensing Services: The Export Control Organisation has updated 23 Open General Export Licences (OGELs), which will come into force on 19 October 2015, and revoked one OGEL.
Start Date: 19th October 2015
Crackdowns & Amnesty
Fee Crackdown: The government has launched a consultation on a number of proposals, including a statutory ban on legal referral fees, to ensure high standards of criminal defence advocacy.
Published Date: 1st October 2015
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The government has launched a consultation on proposals with regard to how the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) compliance fee should work.
Published Date: 13th October 2015
20th
Legal Statistics
Law Statisticcs: The Jelf Employee Benefits 2015/16 survey reveals that 45% of employers are planning to communicate the government's Fit for Work service to their workforce over the next year.
Published Date: 14th October 2015
Business Laws
Legal Alert: Commercial Trust is warning that landlords could be hit with prison sentences if they fail to carry out Right to Rent checks on potential tenants, following the second reading of the Immigration Bill.
Published Date: 14th October 2015
Regulator Services
Immigration Services: Tech City UK has announced a new visa scheme to help UK digital technology businesses to recruit talent from outside the EU.
Published Date: 16th October 2015
21st
Business Laws
Regulator Activity: The European Patent Office and the Intellectual Property Office of Australia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral cooperation which includes the establishment of a Patent Prosecution Highway pilot programme.
Published Date: 7th October 2015
22nd
Business Laws
Government Activity: The government has announced that all private landlords across England will be required to conduct Right to Rent checks from 1 February 2016.
Published Date: 20th October 2015
Legal Statistics - Risks
Law Statistics: Pinsent Masons is warning that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) lacks the resources to recover assets lost to fraud, following the publication of data revealing that the SFO returned just over £1.2 million in compensation in 2013/14.
Deadline: 22nd October 2015
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The UK government is consulting on how the process of switching suppliers for energy, telecommunications and banking could be improved for consumers.
Response Deadline: 4th December 2015
23rd
Crackdowns & Amnesty
Law Crackdown: The government has named and shamed 115 employers as part of its crackdown on violators of the National Minimum Wage rules.
Published Date: 23rd October 2015
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The Intellectual Property Office has launched a consultation on legal reforms with respect to unjustified or groundless threats to sue for intellectual property rights infringement.
Published Date: 22nd October 2015
26th
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The government is consulting on proposals to enhance business representative bodies' powers to tackle 'grossly unfair' contract terms and practices.
Response Deadline: 27th November 2015
Regulator Services
Complaints Services: Consumer protection agencies from 34 countries including the UK have launched a revised website to help gather and share cross-border consumer complaints.
Published Date: 13th October 2015
28th
EU Laws
EU Regulation: The UK government has announced that special flexibilities will available to the steel industry when complying with the EU Industrial Emissions Directive.
Published Date: 27th October 2015
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The government is consulting on proposals to implement the EU Audit Directive and amendments to the legislative framework.
Response Deadline: 9th December 2015
EU Laws
EU Regulation: The European Parliament has approved new rules which will extends consumer rights on package holidays to include online purchases.
Published Date: 27th October 2015
29th
Compliance Guidance
Data Protection Guidance: The Information Commissioner's Office has issued advice on data transfer arrangements following a recent EU ruling which invalidated the US' 'safe harbour' framework.
Published Date: 27th October 2015
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The UK government has launched a consultation on a new Pubs Code to ensure that large pub-owning businesses deal fairly with tied tenants.
Published Date: 29th October 2015
Court Rulings
EU Ruling: The EU Court of Justice has ruled that organisations that facilitate cartel activity may be penalised even if they are not directly active in the sale or distribution of goods or services in the affected market.
Ruling Date: 22nd October 2015
Regulation Consultations
Law Consultation: The UK government is consulting on how to implement a new Pubs Code to ensure that large pub-owning businesses deal fairly with tied tenants as well as the introduction of an adjudicator to enforce the Code.
Response Deadline: 18th January 2016
30th
Legal Statistics - Risks
Law Statistics: The Health and Safety Executive brought 52 prosecutions for cases of "serious wrongdoing" in the year to April 2015, up from 24 three years earlier, according to figures obtained by Cerico.
Published Date: 29th October 2015
Business Laws
New Regulation: New rules aimed at making it easier for enforcement authorities to crack down on waste crime came into effect on 30 October 2015.
Start Date: 30th October 2015
31st
Regulatory Deadlines
Return Deadline: Operators with environmental permits submitting waste returns for Q3 2015 must do so by 31 October 2015.
Submission Deadline: 31st October 2015
