Common Commencement
Date
Sector: Local Government
Date Created: Tue 8th Apr 2008,
08:55:20
Source: Department for Business,
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Link: www.berr.gov.uk
UK - Government has worked to ensure that important laws come into
force on only two dates per year, allowing companies to plan ahead
and save time and money.
Business has estimated that up to 10% of time - or £628 million
per year - can be saved through changes to the law being announced
on two 'common commencement
dates', one in April and one in October.
Business and Competitiveness Minister Shriti Vadera said:
"We have been working across Government to ensure that
these important laws come into force at the same time. Introducing business regulations
on only two dates per year helps companies to plan ahead, save money and encourages
greater compliance.
"Certain regulation is necessary to provide vital protections and benefits
for people across the UK.
"It also protects businesses, ensuring a level playing field, promoting
competition and allowing markets to operate effectively.
"However, we do understand that regulation is a concern for business. This
is why we are driving through one of the most ambitious programmes to ease the
burden of regulation on business launched by any government."
Some of the regulations being brought in by the Department for Business include:
* Further provisions of the Companies Act 2006 which reduce burdens on companies.
For example: private companies will no longer have to have a company secretary
* New rules will give Agency workers the rights to withdraw from housing, transport
or other services provided by agency bosses. Some workers who have accommodation
and other services provided by their agencies can be on low incomes and potentially
vulnerable
* Entertainment and modelling agencies will not be allowed to charge models or
actors fees for publications at the time they make them an offer (for example:
in a casting session) and they will now have a seven day cooling off period.
This will give people the chance to reconsider and help prevent hard sell tactics
by agents. These changes are good for business because legitimate companies will
be broadly unaffected and will suffer less from unfair competition
* Regulations will come into effect which mean that women who choose to take
additional maternity leave will be entitled to the same contractual job benefits
(ie. company cars) as they were in the first 26 weeks of their maternity leave.
The regulations come into force on 6th April but apply to employees whose expected
week of childbirth begins on or after 5 October 2008.
* Protections being introduced as part of the Consumer Credit Act 2006 include
lenders having to undergo a more rigorous test by the Office of Fair Trading
(OFT) in order to get a Consumer Credit Licence. There will be a particular focus
on high risk activities like debt collection and the OFT will have more flexible
powers to tackle rogue and incompetent licence holders, providing greater consumer
protection. OFT can now impose a wider range of penalties - from placing conditions
on licences to imposing a fine (of up to £50,000), or taking away the licence
* The Regulators' Compliance Code will require regulators to take a risk-based
approach by ending unnecessary routine inspections, as well as improving the
advice and support given to businesses, to help them work within the law
In order to help companies adapt quickly and easily to the new rules, simplified
guidance for implementing the new regulations has been designed with the help
of business. This has been distributed through trade and professional organisations
to over a million businesses of all sizes.
This is part of the Government's overall approach to promote better regulation,
regulating only where necessary, doing so in a proportionate and targeted way,
and reducing bureaucracy wherever possible.
The key government Departments which introduce business regulations on the 6th
April and 1 October are BERR, DEFRA, Communities and Local Government, Home Office,
HSE and Food Standards Agency. The new regulations can be found http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/ccd. |
