Data Protection Law to see Biggest Change in 20 Years

An agreement was reached on the draft EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) at the end of 2015, and it signifies the dawn of momentous changes to privacy law: the biggest changes in two decades.

Data protection seems never to be out of the news, and it is certainly an area where new legislation is being introduced on a regular basis. It is important however to take good note of this latest Regulation, because it is set to have a huge impact for any business that operates in the financial services, transport, energy and water or health sectors. Search engines, cloud computing providers and internet payment operators will also be affected.

Now is the time to start preparing if your business falls under any of these categories, because there is much to do. Risk assessments will need to be adjusted to accommodate the new rules and, as head of data privacy at PricewaterhouseCoopers Stewart Room says, “Most companies will be shocked at the scale of the new rules and the work that needs to be done before the laws take effect in two years – it is not much time for the magnitude of the internal changes that will be required.”

There are still fine details to be confirmed, but in the meantime, you should make yourself aware of the following key points of the GDPR:

• If your company breaches data rules in a serious way then you will need to report the incident to regulators within 72 hours.
• If your business if found to be in breach of the GDPR then it will be fined up to 4 per cent of its global turnover.
• If you handle significant amounts of data then you will be required to appoint a data protection officer within your business.
• Consumers will have the right to request that their data is transferred from one company to another, so that their preferences and order history are made available to them through their new supplier.
• A consumer’s right to be forgotten will no longer be limited to search engines. It will now extend into their entire web history, allowing permission to request total removal from any online platform and its history trail.

The GDPR is likely to become EU law in the early part of 2016. A two year grace period will precede enforcement. Even if your business does not fall into one of the GDPR governed categories, it is still vitally important that you are fully aware of all the legislation that applies to your business, especially considering the new powers held by the InformationCommissioner’s Office (ICO) concerning the use of data in telemarketingcampaigns.

Your Handy Business Travel Checklist

You’re off on a business trip. Amongst all the meeting preparation, getting your presentation ready and making sure your laptop is charged, there is still your packing to do. Overlook this at your peril, however, because there will always be something vital you’ll wish you never left behind. Whilst you’re probably not likely to omit to pack your passport, boarding pass and currency, there are things you really could do with not forgetting.

If you’re packing in a hurry for a business trip, use this at-a-glance guide to make sure you don’t miss anything essential.

Essential item 1: Health Cover. If you’re travelling within Europe, make sure you have a valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). It’s free of charge and will allow you access to free or discounted healthcare across the EU. This includes pre-existing conditions. You should also make sure you have adequate travel insurance that covers you for emergency treatment and repatriation.

Essential item 2: Chargers and Adapters. You won’t get very far if you can’t charge your smartphone, tablet or laptop. As well as your chargers, you’re going to need the appropriate power adapters. Make sure you have the right ones, because at very least they won’t work. At worst, they could actually damage your devices, or even cause a fire (it has been known!). Also bear in mind that hotel rooms are never overly generous when it comes to power sockets, so it could pay to pack a multi-socket adapter.

Essential item 3: Internet Access. Your hotel may say it offers Wi-Fi, but just how reliable it is could be anyone’s guess. Tethering from your mobile could cost you dear when you are roaming, so if you are going to be dependent on internet access during your trip, and let’s face it, we’re all pretty much internet dependent any time of the day, reassure yourself by getting yourself a Wi-Fi dongle or by pre-loading an international mobile hotspot with credit.

Essential item 4: Pen and Paper. Yes, we said pen and paper! What happens if your device battery runs out and you are left with nothing on which to take notes or write down something essential, like the details of a potentially lucrative new contact? Pack a pen and notebook and you’ll have a back-up.

Essential item 5: USB Drive. Worst case scenario, your laptop fails. Your presentation is stored on it. What to do? If you have a back-up copy on a flash drive, you can borrow, hire or even buy another device, and you’re ready to go.

Essential item 6: Ear Plugs. You have to be up at the crack of dawn to deliver your presentation. But your hotel room neighbours are making the most of their holiday, or there’s some sort of fiesta going on right below your balcony. Cue the ear plugs: pop them in and enjoy a restful night’s sleep, so you are primed and ready for your big day.

Business travel can be stressful, but if you go well-equipped, you’ll have a very different and far more positive experience.

Statutory Pay Freeze for 2016

The Government has announced that there will be no annual increase in various types of statutory pay in 2016.

Statutory maternity and paternity pay, shared parental pay and adoption pay will see no rise from the current rate of £139.58 or 90% of an employee’s average weekly earnings if this amount is less than the statutory rate. The rate of statutory sick pay has also been frozen at the current weekly rate of £88.45.

There is no statutory requirement to increase statutory pay rates annually, but they do normally go up every April so that they rise alongside the consumer price index (CPI). However, the fact that the CPI actually dropped in the year leading up to September 2015 by 0.1 per cent prompted the freeze for the 2017-2017 period.

Employers are usually able to claim back 92 per cent of employees’ statutory maternity pay, paternity pay, adoption pay and shared parental pay.

To be entitled to statutory payments, an employee’s average earnings must be equal to or more than the lower earnings limit, which has also been frozen at £112.

Useful Statutory Pay Guides for Employers

You may find the following Government guides to statutory pay useful:

Statutory Sick Pay: 

https://www.gov.uk/employers-sick-pay/overview

Maternity Pay & Leave:

https://www.gov.uk/employers-maternity-pay-leave/entitlement

Paternity Pay & Leave:

https://www.gov.uk/employers-paternity-pay-leave/entitlement

Adoption Pay & Leave:

https://www.gov.uk/employers-adoption-pay-leave/entitlement

Shared Parental Leave & Pay:

https://www.gov.uk/shared-parental-leave-and-pay-employer-guide/overview

Additional Parental Pay & Leave:

https://www.gov.uk/employers-additional-paternity-pay-leave

If you are in need of any advice, you should talk to your bookkeepers. They will be able to guide you through how statutory pay works, and will help you forecast ahead if you have staff taking leave in the near future.

Crucial Christmas Considerations for Employers

It’s that time of year when as an employer, you are faced with a raft of trials and tribulations. Christmas always tends to throw up all sorts of issues where annual leave, discipline and discrimination are concerned. Here are some of our top tips on what you should be doing in order to deal with these issues effectively, so that your workplace Christmas can be a peaceful one.

Be Clear on Policy

Your seasonal policies should be well documented and managers and supervisors should be familiar with them. Make sure you have policies in place covering everything from annual leave to social events.

It is vital to have policies in place covering social events because as an employer you have a duty of care towards your personnel, plus there’s the issue of the Equality Act 2010 that makes you liable when it comes to discrimination, victimisation and harassment. You need to be able to demonstrate that you have taken practicable steps to prevent anything along these lines taking place.

Beware Discrimination

Religious discrimination is something that causes employers a great deal of worry at Christmas. Will your festive party offend those who do not celebrate Christmas? Hopefully not, because staff parties should be focused on morale boosting rather than any sort of religious observation.

It is wise in any case to be mindful of all the religious festivals that fall throughout the year, and ensure you are balanced in your approach.

You may also come across problems with Christian employees refusing to work on bank holidays that have religious significance. Again the Equality Act 2010 applies, which means you cannot treat staff any differently to others because of their religion. Workers do not have a right to time off in order to observe religious occasions, but if you do refuse them, it could constitute religious discrimination. Putting a policy in place is essential.

Know the Rules on Annual Leave

Employees do not have a right to take holidays during the festive period and unless there is an agreement to the contrary, notice equating to twice the length of the holiday they wish to take must be given.

If taking leave is not acceptable to you at this time of year, then you can give counter notice stating that the leave cannot be taken, providing this notice equates to the length of the leave requested, and that you are not stopping the employee taking the leave they are entitled to for that holiday year. On refusing leave that falls within allowable parameters, you must always be able to state valid business reasons.

Bear in mind that actions taken against employees who fail to attend work without permission should be reasonable. There have been cases where employees have been dismissed for this reason, and later the dismissal has been found to be unfair by the Employment Tribunal.

It is also worth noting that unless a contract states otherwise, employees are not entitled to bank holidays off, neither are they entitled to any additional pay when working them.

Confused about Christmas as an employer? Chat your concerns through with your bookkeepers in the first instance and they’ll point you in the right direction as to the advice you need to get things right. 

What you Need to Know About Competition Law

Competition law promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct amongst companies. Any company that fails to comply with UK or EU competition law will meet with serious consequences.

In April 2014, the UK Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission merged to form the new Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Since then, any business operating in the UK has been subject to a more robust level of enforcement of the rules, including increased fines and more criminal prosecutions where relevant.

Every business, regardless of is size, industry sector or legal status, must make itself aware of how competition law works so that its obligations can be met and fines and prosecutions therefore avoided, and on the other side of the coin, so that it can protect its market position.

There are two sets of competition rules in operation in the UK and they run concurrently. One concerns UK-wide trade and this is covered by the Competition Act 1998 and the Enterprise Act 2002. For anti-competitive behaviour that extends outside of the UK to other EU Member States, this is covered by Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

What is Prohibited?

Both UK and EU competition law prohibit two key types of anti-competitive behaviour. This includes anti-competitive agreements, and abuse of a dominant market position.

Agreements, arrangements and business practices which prevent, restrict or distort competition or aim to, and which affect or may affect trade in the UK or EU will be considered a breach of the legislation.

What are the Consequences of a Breach?

Companies in breach of anti-competition law can face fines of up to 10 per cent of group global turnover. Companies will also expose themselves to possible actions for damages and may also find their agreements unenforceable. Directors could face disqualification or criminal sanctions if the breaches are serious.

The new Consumer Rights Act 2015 provides that businesses that find themselves at a competitive disadvantage from breaches in competition law will be offered swift, low-cost remedies.

Suffice it to say, all businesses must make themselves fully aware of the provisions of competition law. Your bookkeepers will be able to explain the fundamentals, and your lawyers will help you word your agreements in such a way that they comply with the law.

How Employee Referral Schemes Could Help you Find the Right Staff

If like a significant number of employers you find it a challenge to source the right calibre of personnel for your business and have exhausted all the traditional avenues such as advertising, recruitment consultants and social media, there is another initiative you may wish to try.

Employee Referral Schemes have become increasingly popular UK-wide and, says the Institute of Personnel and Development, 47% of UK companies run them.

How Employee Referral Schemes Work

The schemes work by encouraging employees to refer potential candidates for vacancies. In exchange for a successful introduction, they are rewarded either with a financial bonus, or other benefits such as additional holiday.

One of the key benefits of Employee Referral Schemes is that they are less costly than traditional recruitment methods. Additionally, employers tend to find that new team members recruited through this avenue will be especially motivated to perform to the very best of their ability as they will be mindful of how this will reflect on the person who referred them.

Advantages & Disadvantages

And then there’s the fact that new recruits that join a business through employee referral are likely to need a shorter settling in period because they already know some of the existing team.

When an existing employee discusses a referral with a potential candidate, they are always going to give them an honest view of the company that could become their employer. This will start the new recruit off on a good footing as their expectations will be realistic.

So far so good but, as with anything, there will be disadvantages. Firstly you have to consider what would happen if things do not work out with the new employee, and how that would affect the relationship between you as the employer and the referring member of staff. Employee Referral Schemes can also limit the flow of fresh ideas into the business because referrers and referees will tend to be like-minded.

What Makes a Good Scheme?

The best Employee Referral Schemes are well thought through so they catch employees’ attention. Finding out what employees really want in return for referrals is essential: Cash? Days off? Gift vouchers? Of course what you offer needs to be cost effective.

Keeping the scheme simple is also important. If it’s not understood, employees won’t engage with it. You’ll also want to keep its administration straightforward too so that it doesn’t drain your resources.

So you have your scheme, now you need to tell your staff about it. The more reminders they have, the better. So aside from an initial email, fix posters in the kitchen, by the water cooler and anywhere else they tend to gather. Encourage them to use their social platforms to network any vacancies. LinkedIn is probably the most effective, but Facebook and Twitter can be just as good.

And finally, once there has been a successful referral, make sure everyone knows about it. This will serve to inspire others to do the same.

If you’ve been thinking about introducing an Employee Referral Scheme into your business and would like to discuss in more detail how it would work in practice, why not approach your local bookkeepers for advice?

How to Guard Your Small Business Against a Cyber Attack

The very recent major website cyber breach suffered by TalkTalk has left businesses exceptionally worried. And with the increasing use of the cloud to store confidential data and information, it is no wonder.

Whilst it seems the larger companies appear to be the key targets for cyber criminals, the fact is, the threat extends to companies of all sizes, including the smaller business.

Unfortunately, small businesses tend to lack the resources and policies that are designed to defend against such attacks. Yet because they are increasingly using cloud based services, they still face the same level of risk as larger companies.

So what to do? You need to focus on minimising your vulnerabilities, and implement policies and initiatives that are rolled out throughout the business, including to any remote workers.

Start with Email

By encrypting emails and other communications, you force potential hackers into a fight against a secondary layer of security. Generally they won’t bother, preferring to move on to an easier target.

Be Strict with Password Policies

Set a companywide policy on passwords and ensure everyone who uses technology is trained. Introduce them to smart passwords that contain unusual characters and a combination of letters and numbers. NEVER use any passwords that can be associated with a user such as dates of birth and always vary passwords across different platforms. Needless to say, passwords should NEVER be written down. It is important to keep check of passwords so that you are in full control so think about using a management platform such as LastPass, PassPack or 1Password.

You may also further strengthen security by using a dual layer password system where possible, so that users have to enter a second set of characters in order to login. Wherever available, enable these features.

Be Aware of and Train on Warning Signs

Make sure that each and every member of staff is trained to identify potential cyber threats such as bogus emails or phishing scams. Email providers are getting better and better at detecting dubious emails, but some still find their way past the junk folder. Train staff to be on their guard for emails that ask them to click on a link to verify their account details, or enter bank or credit card information. They should be wary of suspicious looking attachments, in particular zipped up files that could contain malicious software. And emails filled with bad spelling are a big warning sign too.

Make sure these emails are never opened or actioned and that all bogus emails are reported as spam. The domain can also be blacklisted from your email settings. It is well worth considering using an email scanning system such as Avast or AVG. 

Choose a Robust Firewall

It is imperative that every device, including PCs, laptops, tablets and mobiles, is installed with firewall and anti-malware and spyware software so that any potential threats can be quarantined and deleted before they turn into a problem.

Don’t forget that hackers can get through mobile apps, and also telephone systems through tollfraud, which is something we’ve covered previously.