The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published the details of every organisation that it has secured a court order against after employers failed to meet their automatic enrolment responsibilities – including one £42,000 fine. All employers are required to automatically enrol their UK workers into an occupational or personal pension scheme, driven by the organisation’s ‘staging date’ (the date your automatic enrolment responsibilities come into effect). The largest employers should have completed this from October 2012, with all employers... Continue reading

Designed to assist organisations to meet their sustainability responsibilities, business standards company BSI has launched ISO 20400:2017 Sustainable procurement – Guidance, a new Standard that outlines what sustainable procurement is, and how an organisation can implement sustainable procurement practically. The overarching concern of the new International Standard is to make the supply chain integral to an organisation’s sustainability goals. ISO 20400 outlines in detail the sustainability impacts and considerations that should be incor... Continue reading

Prime Minister Theresa May, in what she has called the “greatest expansion of workers’ rights by any Conservative Government,” will unveil 11 pledges to improve workers’ rights as part of the party’s manifesto, ahead of the General Election on 8 June. Among the pledges are new rights to care for sick relatives full-time, which follow an important recent case in which a woman with a disabled daughter was dismissed because her employer believed her daughter was a bigger priority than her job. A Tribunal ruled that she was discriminated... Continue reading

The British Council for Offices (BCO) has announced a major, year-long study into health and wellbeing in offices with the aim of providing definitive guidance on how to create a healthy environment across a building’s lifecycle, from design, construction and leasing to occupation and asset management. The research study, Wellness Matters: Health and Wellbeing in offices and what to do about it, will critique existing health and wellbeing measurement and certification, identify the most recent and relevant medical evidence justifying a proac... Continue reading

The Construction Skills Certificates Scheme (CSCS) has taken the decision to remove recognition of eLearning versions of IOSH’s Working Safely course due to concerns with the security of assessments. As a consequence, CSCS has announced it will not accept applications for Labourers’ Cards based on IOSH Working Safely eLearning certificates or passports after 12 May 2017. If you are currently studying – or planning to study – for an IOSH Working Safely Certificate with International Workplace, with the intention of using it to gain ... Continue reading