Last month, RICS in collaboration with IFMA released its first professional statement on procurement in facilities management. The announcement is a timely one, with attentions from both inside and outside the industry having been sharply focused on the ethics of outsourced providers since the collapse of Carillion in January. The aims of this statement are simple; IFMA and RICS ultimately want to “reduce risk, increase transparency, and further trust in procurement in facilities management”. The landmark standard sets out mandatory requir... Continue reading

Employers across the UK suspected of providing false or misleading information to The Pensions Regulator (TPR) about how they are meeting their automatic enrolment duties will now be targeted with short notice inspections. This latest round of spot checks starting later this month will also target employers who are still non-compliant despite penalty action. TPR’s Director of Automatic Enrolment, Darren Ryder, said: “It is an offence for employers to provide TPR with false information on their declaration of compliance, but there are tel... Continue reading

The Women and Equalities Committee has published a report on older people and employment, which reveals the talents of more than a million people aged over 50 who want to work are being wasted because of discrimination, bias and outdated employment practices. The report also concludes that government and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are failing to enforce the law on age discrimination and must be clearer that prejudice, unconscious bias and casual ageism in the workplace are all unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. Althoug... Continue reading

Independent energy experts and certification body DNV GL has warned that over 45,000 businesses risk fines of up to €1m, if they fail to comply with Article 8 of the European Energy Efficiency Directive, by the deadline of 5 December 2019. The legislation requires all large enterprises, with at least 250 employees, or annual revenues over €50m and an annual balance sheet of over  €43m, to comply with the national energy audit obligation, including calculating their total energy consumption and identifying saving opportunities across the... Continue reading

BSI, the business standards company, has launched a new code of practice for organisations to help tackle a crisis in the mental health and wellbeing of Britain’s workforce. 137 million working days were lost to sick leave in the UK in 2016, with organisations spending £9bn each year on sick pay and associated costs. The cost of ‘presenteeism’ – where employees attend work whilst ill and do not work efficiently – has also risen sharply in recent years. The code of practice, PAS 3002, provides recommendations to establish, promote, ... Continue reading