The Work and Pensions Committee has recommended amending the Flexible Working Regulations 2014 in order to ensure a day one right to request flexible working for all employees. The recommendation is part of the Committee’s report into work opportunities for carers. “Flexible working is a crucial factor in many carers being able to juggle caring responsibilities and work,” the report says. “For other carers, work would be an option if they were able to work flexibly. There is a growing body of evidence that flexible working is not ju... Continue reading

The government has welcomed Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety and has made a series of commitments to make sure people living in high-rise buildings are safe. The government has committed to: launching a consultation on banning the use of combustible materials in cladding systems on high-rise residential buildings; banning desktop studies if the current consultation does not demonstrate that they can be safely used; ensuring residents have a better mechanism for blowing the whistle on landl... Continue reading

With just days to go until new data protection laws come into force, UK businesses are being urged to protect themselves against cyber crime after new statistics show over four in ten (43%) of businesses and two in ten charities (19%) suffered a cyber breach or attack in the past 12 months. This figure rises to more than two-thirds for large businesses, 72% of which identified a breach or attack. For the average large business, the financial cost of all attacks over the past 12 months was £9,260 with some attacks costing significantly more. ... Continue reading

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The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has launched a consultation to gather the views of stakeholders and the public on the way it plans to regulate new data protection laws. People will have eight weeks to comment on the ICO’s draft Regulatory Action Policy, which gives direction and focus to the organisations it regulates. The Policy has been updated to include enhanced powers set out in the Data Protection Bill currently going through Parliament. Proposed new powers include no-notice inspections, compelling people and organisatio... Continue reading