BSI, the business standards company, has revised its standard for fire detection and fire alarm systems. The standard, BS 5839-1:2017, covers the planning, design, installation, commissioning and maintenance of fire detection and fire alarm systems in and around commercial buildings.   BS 5839-1:2017 Fire detection and fire alarm system for buildings. Code of practice for design, installation and commissioning and maintenance of systems in non-domestic premises is referred to in both volumes of the Government’s statuary guidance for fire sa... Continue reading

Commercial drivers who drive tired will be fined for every time they’ve committed the offence in the last 28 days under changes to rules that govern how many hours should be driven and the breaks that should be taken. Currently, about 40% of sleep-related accidents involve commercial vehicles. According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), driving while tired may be responsible for: one in five of all accidents; and up to a quarter of serious and fatal crashes. Under the new rules, the Driver and Vehicle Stand... Continue reading

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On 26 July, the Supreme Court (the highest court in the UK) ended the Employment Tribunal Fees Regime when it decided that the current regime was unlawful. In the immediate aftermath, the Justice Minster, Dominic Raab, announced that the Government would stop taking fees immediately, and begin the process of reimbursing all fees paid since 29 July 2013 (estimated to be around £32m). Speculation has since then turned to considering whether people who were deterred from bringing claims because of the fees regime, or who had their claims struck ... Continue reading

MPs have called for the current three-month time limit to bring certain Employment Tribunal claims to be extended. Mike Penning, Conservative MP for Hemel Hempstead and former minister in the Ministry of Justice, argued that the time limit should be extended to six months to offer more flexibility to those who had left employment under difficult circumstances. “I know there are arguments that people might forget what went on or that the company would be left in abeyance, but that is not going to happen a huge amount of times,” he said. ... Continue reading