Workplace disability discrimination protection for cancer victims has been widened as a result of a landmark legal case, which will ensure that people suffering with ‘pre-cancer’ will be protected under the Equality Act 2010. The case, brought by union Unite, involves Christine Lofty, who worked at First Café in Norwich for 14 years. In March 2015 a lesion on her face was diagnosed as pre-cancerous ‘lentigo malignia’, a form of melanoma. Mrs Lofty required biopsies, surgery and skin grafts and took sick leave from her work to undergo ... Continue reading

The UK's third generation of data protection law has entered Parliament. The Data Protection Bill was published on 14 September 2017 and aims to modernise data protection laws to ensure they are effective in the years to come. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has published an Introduction to the Data Protection Bill, which is intended as an introduction to the content and structure of the Bill for organisations and individuals who are already familiar with data protection law and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The... Continue reading

The much anticipated ISO 45001:2018, Occupational health and safety management systems standard has now been published and provides a robust and effective set of processes for improving work safety. Designed to help organisations of all sizes and industries, the new international standard is expected to reduce workplace injuries and illnesses around the world. According to 2017 calculations by the International Labour Organization (ILO), 2.78 million fatal accidents occur at work yearly. This means that, every day, almost 7,700 people die o... Continue reading

Government initiatives to improve road safety for all could see the way employees travel to and for work changing significantly. It has commissioned a detailed review of driving laws to ensure the UK remains one of the best places in the world to develop, test and drive self-driving vehicles. Roads Minister, Jesse Norman, announced the start of a three-year review by the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission to examine any legal obstacles to the widespread introduction of self-driving vehicles and highlight the n... Continue reading

The government has named and shamed nearly 180 employers for underpaying more than 9,000 minimum wage workers by £1.1m. As well as recovering backpay for 9,200 workers, the government also fined the employers a total of £1.3m in penalties for breaking national minimum wage laws. The most prolific offending sectors in this round were retailers, hospitality businesses and hairdressers. It comes ahead of the next rate rise on 1 April, when the National Living Wage will go up from £7.50 to £7.83 per hour. Apprentices under the age of 19 and t... Continue reading