4 Sep 2019 | News, Newsletter
Charity: Charity Commission updates guidance on exempt charities
Data protection: Updated guidance on timescales for responding to SARs
Employment: Court of Appeal – holiday for part-year workers not subject to pro rata reduction; Good work plan – one-sided flexibility
Equality: Women and Equalities Committee report: Enforcing the Equality Act 2010 and the role of the EHRC
Procurement: Time limit for claims and disclosure obligations
FAQ: Commercial Agreements – What is a ‘termination for damage to reputation’ clause?
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30 Aug 2019 | Commercial agreements, Finance, News
In Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust v Cornwall Council [2019] EWHC 2211 (TCC), the Technology and Construction Court (the ‘Court’) considered a claim brought by the incumbent provider, the Trust, under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (the ‘PCR’) against the Council. The Council published a contract notice in the Official Journal of the European Union inviting tenders for three separate contracts to provide sexual health services in Cornwall (‘the new contract’). The contract notice and the tender documents provided that the new contract would be for seven years and would have a value of £2,500,000 per annum (‘financial cap’) with the exception of year one where an additional £100,000 was available for the implementation of a new digital platform. The Trust’s view was that the services to be provided under the new contract were materially the same as those it was providing under its current contract, and therefore could not be provided for less than about the £2.88m per annum that it spent in providing those services. The Trust obtained the tender documents and claimed that it had undertaken a significant amount of work to determine whether it should submit a bid, however, it ultimately decided not to do so, and informed the Council accordingly. Its reasons were that it could not satisfy the service specification within the financial cap Read Full Article…
30 Aug 2019 | Charity, Finance, News
The Charity Commission guidance on exempt charities (CC23) has been updated to include current details of principal regulators, and information related to regulations that have recently come into force. Exempt charities are institutions that have charitable status and must comply with general charity law, but unlike other charities they: cannot register with the Charity Commission (Commission) are not directly regulated by the Commission and instead have (or will have) a principal regulator, ie a body or authority responsible for regulating the charity under a specific legal framework may only be investigated by the Commission as part of a statutory inquiry at the request of their principal regulator The great majority of higher education institutions (HEIs) in England are ‘exempt charities’. The principal regulator of exempt charity HEIs (and of charities that are their ‘connected institutions’) is the Office for Students (OFS). A complete list of English HEIs that are regulated by the OFS as exempt charities is included in Annex B, OFS Regulatory advice 5: exempt charities. All HEIs in Wales and the remaining HEIs in England are regulated directly by the Commission. The charitable status and activities of Scottish HEIs are regulated by the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR). The updated Commission guidance reflects the amendments to Schedule 3 to the Charities Act 2011, introduced by the Higher Education and Read Full Article…
31 Jul 2019 | Employment, HR & Payroll, News
The Government Equalities Office has launched a consultation on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. The consultation, which was published on 11 July 2019, follows the Government’s response to the report on sexual harassment in the workplace by the Women and Equalities Select Committee in December 2018. The consultation is split into a set of online questions, which are designed to be quick and easy for anyone to respond to, and a more technical document that invites views on details of the law. Views are sought particularly from those who have experienced sexual harassment or other types of discrimination at work, including volunteers and interns, those who have managed or supported someone who has experienced sexual harassment or other types of discrimination at work, and anyone who has thought about taking a case of any type of discrimination or harassment to an employment tribunal. Particular issues that may be able to be dealt with are the following: How best to make sure employers take all the steps they can to prevent harassment from happening Strengthening and clarifying the law so that it is clear employers should protect their staff from being harassed by clients, customers, or other people from outside their organisation Whether interns and volunteers are adequately protected by current laws Whether people should be given longer to take a Read Full Article…
31 Jul 2019 | IT/IP, Legal, News
The Information Commissioner (ICO) published a ‘consultation on the draft data sharing code of practice’ on 16 July 2019. The ICO is required by the Data Protection Act 2018 to update its data sharing code of practice, which was published in 2011. The ICO had launched a call for views in August 2018. The updated draft code seeks to address these views and explains and advises on data protection legislation where it is relevant to data sharing. Some of the aspects covered are: transparency, lawful bases for processing, the new accountability principle, and the requirement to record processing activities. It also provides practical guidance and good practice advice in the sharing of personal data. The consultation questions are as follows, and respondents are invited to provide further comments or suggestions: Does the updated code adequately explain and advise on the new aspects of data protection legislation which are relevant to data sharing? If not, please specify where improvements could be made. Does the draft code cover the right issues about data sharing? If no, what other issues would you like to be covered in it? Does the draft code contain the right level of detail? If no, in what areas should there be more detail within the draft code? Has the draft code sufficiently addressed new areas or developments in Read Full Article…
31 Jul 2019 | News, Newsletter
The topics covered in this newsletter are as follows:
Data protection: ICO data sharing code of practice
Governance: OfS publishes Annual Report and Accounts 2018-2019; OfS guide on access and participation plans; Home Office response to Modern Slavery Act review
Commercial agreements: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013: BEIS publishes first statutory report
Employment: Government launch consultation on sexual harassment in the workplace; Good work plan – single enforcement body
FAQ: Employment – Is a covert recording by an employee a breach of the implied term of trust and confidence? Read Full Article…
