Archive for the ‘Manufacturing’ Category
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013
“Thanks to a Government campaign on ineffective bureaucracy, small food manufacturers will benefit from more efficient enforcement of regulation”. That’s what the Department for Business Innovation and Skills wants businesses to believe.
The Government’s Focus on Enforcement campaign looked at how regulation is delivered, not the regulations themselves. Food manufacturers were asked to report on their experience of working with national regulators and local authorities. Acting on feedback received, the Food Standards Agency will (among other things):
- Allow businesses with a good record of compliance fewer inspections
- Deliver enhanced training for enforcement officers
- Work with local authorities to improve consistency in the quality of enforcement, and
- Ensure guidance for the food industry on food safety management is clear and concise
If effectively implemented, smarter enforcement of the regulations will save businesses time, money and unnecessary bureaucracy meaning food businesses can look forward to the return of a common sense approach to regulation as opposed to being hampered by technical breaches.
Posted by Nina Best, who specialises in regulatory matters; entertainment licensing; advertising and marketing law; advice and representation on infringement of Food Safety Manufacturing Product Regulations.
Nina Best
0115 976 6529
nbest@brownejacobson.com
Tags: Focus on Enforcement campaign, food industry, food standards agency, nina best, Regulatory
Posted in Advertising & Marketing, Food & drink, Manufacturing, Regulatory, Retail | No Comments »
Friday, January 18th, 2013
Yesterday the government made a number of important announcements relating to its ongoing employment law reforms. The key points are:
- There will be a cap on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal of 12 months’ pay. The statutory cap (currently £72,300) will still apply if 12 months’ pay is greater than the cap.
- A consultation on extensive amendments to TUPE including the removal of Service Provision Change provisions.
- ACAS will publish a draft statutory code of practice on how settlement agreements will operate including template letters.
Employers, in particular those involved in contractor changes and businesses disposals, are likely to welcome these reforms. The changes to compensation are intended to provide more certainty as to the ultimate value of a claim. So far as TUPE is concerned, no one doubts that employees should be protected when there is a disposal of a business, but for a long time the service provision change provisions have been criticised because they go beyond EU minimum requirements.
Posted by Gemma Steele, who specialises in contentious and non-contentious employment matters including; contractual issues, unfair dismissal, redundancy and all areas of discrimination.
Gemma Steele
0121 237 4561
gsteele@brownejacobson.com
Tags: ACAS, employers, employment law, employment law reforms, Gemma Steele, government, Service Provision Change, tupe
Posted in Employment, Health, Local Authorities, Manufacturing, NHS, Public Sector, Retail | No Comments »
Friday, October 12th, 2012
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has written to 62 retailers after checks of retail websites found breaches of consumer law including:
- Charges being added without prior warning at checkout;
- Inaccurate information on consumer rights e.g. that returned goods must be in their original packaging in order to claim a refund; and
- A failure to clearly set out the retailer’s contact details on the website.
This report shows that regulators do take an active interest in retail sales material. Companies should make sure they are aware of, and up to date, on consumer protection law. All online retailers are encouraged to check their websites before the Christmas boom. A failure to remedy problems may result in formal enforcement action by the OFT or Trading Standards.
Consumers need to be confident that their rights are being respected when they shop online. Failure to comply may result in non-compliant retailers facing the unwelcome risk of being ‘named and shamed’ in the run up to Christmas!
Posted by Oliver Sweeney, who specialises in regulatory matters; including compliance, representation e.g. company prosecutions and public inquiries; transport issues; commercial litigation, including reputation management, contractual litigation and injunctions.
Oliver Sweeney
0115 976 6247
osweeney@brownejacobson.com
Tags: ecommerce, oliver sweeney
Posted in Advertising & Marketing, Fashion & Luxury Retail, Manufacturing, Regulatory, Retail, Technology | No Comments »
Monday, October 8th, 2012
From 1st October 2012, age discrimination in the provision of goods and services is prohibited under the Equality Act 2010 (EA). This includes direct and indirect discrimination, harassment or victimisation by a person concerned with the provision of a service, goods or facilities to the public or a section of the public, whether or not for payment. There are general and specific exemptions which include holiday services, financial products (subject to a proviso), concessions, age verification, sports, charities and schools and the ability to “objectively justify” direct or indirect discrimination. Positive action may also be taken to compensate for a disadvantage to a particular age group if objectively justified.
Organisations should check policies and practices although it is unlikely that drastic changes will be required. There is no directive prohibiting age discrimination in goods and services which would require the UK courts to interpret the EA consistently with European law so it will be interesting to the approach UK courts take to the new legislation.
Posted by Amy Dowling, who specialises in contentious and non-contentious employment matters including defence at employment tribunals, unfair dismissal, redundancy and discrimination; also drafting contracts, compromise agreements, policies and procedures.
Amy Dowling
0207 7337 1002
adowling@brownejacobson.com
Tags: age discrimination, amy dowling, Equality Act
Posted in Advertising & Marketing, Brands, Employment, Fashion & Luxury Retail, Manufacturing, Procurement, Retail | No Comments »
Monday, November 21st, 2011
The Chinese phone manufacturer ZTE plans to focus on manufacturing smartphone in a bid to crack the US telecommunications market. ZTE will move from producing lower-end ‘feature phones’ – a hugely successful export to emerging economies like India – and concentrate on fourth generation smartphones.
This latest phase of ZTE’s phenomenal rise from its origins as a trader of accordions and low grade telephones, coincides with growing political tensions between the US and China. The US House intelligence committee recently launched an investigation into the security threat posed by the Chinese technology firms operating in the US market. ZTE and Huawei, another multi-national telecommunications firm, are both under scrutiny.
These developments highlight the sheer structural breadth of the Chinese economy, simultaneously industrialising from subsistence agriculture at one end to manufacturing cutting edge smart phones at the other. It also reveals US concern about losing its primacy in hi-tech innovation. For all the rhetoric about ‘threats to national security’, it is the threat to US business interests that really concern American lawmakers.
Dave Drew
0115 976 6226
ddrew@brownejacobson.com
Tags: fourth generation smartphone, Intellectual Property, ip, smartphones
Posted in Manufacturing | No Comments »
Thursday, September 15th, 2011
The Government has issued new guidance for the food industry on the use of food label dates amid growing concerns at the amount of food that is wasted each year by UK households.
According to the Local Government Association UK consumers threw away £14bn worth of food in 2010.
The guidance places greater emphasis on ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ dates and discourages the use of “sell by” and “display until” labels which are primarily used for stock control purposes.
The guidance reflects draft EU food regulations which provide only for mandatory use-by dates and omits the requirement for a best before date to be displayed. UK food labelling laws could be much simpler. This guidance is long overdue and over time it will be reflected in UK law. Any measure that reduces red tape for manufacturers and retailers will be welcomed by the industry but companies will have to continue to ensure customers are provided with any relevant details to ensure that the food they consume is safe.
Posted by Nina Best, who specialises in regulatory matters; entertainment licensing; advertising and marketing law; advice and representation on infringement of Food Safety Manufacturing Product Regulations.
Nina Best
0115 976 6529
nbest@brownejacobson.com
Tags: best before dates, food and drink, food industry, food label dates, government, local government, use by dates
Posted in Brands, Food & drink, Manufacturing, Retail, Waste & Environmental | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011
The UK government is considering reforming the use of ‘best-before’ dates. Currently the law requires all pre-packed food products to display a ‘best-before’ date, however this could change as the government attempts to cut food waste.
The argument goes that consumers rely too much on these labels (which are not an indication that food will be harmful – unlike ‘use-by’ dates). Confusion between labels causes consumers to throw away food that is safe to eat. If the labelling regime changes, consumers would be encouraged to rely on their own common sense to determine if food is fresh.
However ‘best-before’ dates serve an important purpose for manufacturers and retailers. They are an indication to consumers as to when a product is at its best, and can protect against complaints of products being of an unsatisfactory quality. Their use may therefore continue even if a legal obligation no longer exists. Perhaps the government should instead concentrate its efforts on educating the population in matters of food safety.
Posted by Oliver Sweeney, who specialises in regulatory matters; including compliance, representation e.g. company prosecutions and public inquiries; transport issues; commercial litigation, including reputation management, contractual litigation and injunctions.
Oliver Sweeney
0115 976 6247
osweeney@brownejacobson.com
Tags: best before dates, food and drink, food labelling, food retailers
Posted in Advertising & Marketing, Brands, Food & drink, Manufacturing, Retail | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 30th, 2011
Justice Secretary, Kenneth Clarke has announced today that the Bribery Act 2010 will come into force on 1 July 2011.
Clarke tried to dispel the concerns expressed by businesses saying that ‘combating the risks of bribery is largely about common sense, not burdensome procedures’, and that he does not expect a ‘large number of prosecutions’.
The guidance clarifies that ‘bona fide hospitality’ and similar expenses on improving the image of a commercial organisation or establishing ‘cordial relations’ are not intended to be caught by the Act. Facilitation payments will continue to be caught by the Act as they are under previous bribery laws.
The guidance clarifies what is meant by “adequate procedures.” The adequacy of procedures will be considered in accordance with the risk of bribery faced by an organisation in light of its size and type, though other factors will also be relevant.
The guidance will no doubt help businesses to prepare for the Act. How it will ultimately be enforced remains to be seen.
Posted by Fiona Carter, who specialises in commercial regulation, compliance advice and investigations; is head of Browne Jacobson’s advertising and marketing team and food and drink group.
Fiona Carter
0115 976 6224
fcarter@brownejacobson.com
Tags: bribery, hopitality, Kenneth Clarke
Posted in Brands, Manufacturing, Regulatory | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011
If you dig a bit further behind the headline grabbing points in today’s Budget speech about fuel duty etc, there are a couple of good news stories in the SME corporate sector.
The Chancellor has announced that entrepreneurs relief from capital gains tax is being expanded, by doubling the maximum lifetime threshold of chargeable gains which can qualify for entrepreneurs relief, from £5M to £10M per individual. This relief brings the rate of CGT down from 28% to 10%, and can apply on certain business and company sales (if you meet all the conditions). So that’s possibly up to an extra £900k off your CGT bill, if you qualify, and could be very interesting for anyone wondering if now’s the time to sell up in the SME market. Introduced from April 2011.
He’s also announced an increase in the rate of research & development tax relief for SMEs, up from 175% to 200%, from April 2011, and a further increase to 225% from April 2012.
Posted by Andrew Noble, who specialises in corporate and real estate tax, employee share incentives, UK and cross-border; advises clients from private individuals to listed companies; Chartered Tax Adviser.
Andrew Noble
0121 237 3952
anoble@brownejacobson.com
Tags: budget 2011, entrepreneurs relief, research & development tax, SME's, tax relief
Posted in Manufacturing, Tax | No Comments »
Monday, March 21st, 2011
We understand that the long awaited Ministry of Justice guidance on the Bribery Act 2010 may finally be released as early as next week. However a draft of the guidance appears to suggest that foreign companies listed on the UK stock market but with no other presence in the UK may have little to fear.
It is suggested that these foreign companies may gain an advantage – some would say unfair – over UK companies as the guidance suggests that they may not be liable for prosecution under the Act. The change in treatment of these companies comes after pressure from the London Stock Exchange and investment banks which generate millions from foreign listings. Some might think it ironic that the government should consider reining back the scope of the Bribery Act for a financial gain!
Nevertheless, this highlights the competitive pressure that has compelled the Government to review the Act before implementation.
Firms will have 3 months from the date of the release of the guidance to prepare for the full force of the Act but they should not delay in their preparation.
Posted by Fiona Carter, who specialises in commercial regulation, compliance advice and investigations; is head of Browne Jacobson’s advertising and marketing team and food and drink group.
Fiona Carter
0115 976 6224
fcarter@brownejacobson.com
Tags: London Stock Exchange, Ministry of Justice, The Bribary Act 2010
Posted in Advertising & Marketing, Brands, Manufacturing, Regulatory | No Comments »
Friday, January 14th, 2011
With only three months to go before the Bribery Act 2010 comes into force in April the Government has decided that it wants the Act to be reviewed. Unfortunately for UK businesses this does not mean that they can breathe a sigh of relief as an official from the SFO has already said that the review will be ‘limited’, despite headlines in the press.
The review follows escalating fears that the Act is so burdensome it could affect UK economic growth, and that UK business chiefs could end up in court after inadvertently committing an offence with a potential maximum sentence of 10 years.
However the Government needs to be cautious. Watering down the Act now would ruin the reputation the UK has earned itself, as the least corrupt country in the world, by implementing the Act in the first place. The Government should concentrate on issuing coherent, useful guidance for companies and ensuring that authorities deal with potential breaches of the Act in a sensible and proportionate way.
Posted by Fiona Carter, who specialises in commercial regulation, compliance advice and investigations; is head of Browne Jacobson’s advertising and marketing team and food and drink group.
Fiona Carter
0115 976 6224
fcarter@brownejacobson.com
Tags: advertising, Brands, bribery, competition, marketing
Posted in Advertising & Marketing, Brands, Competition, Manufacturing | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010
The upcoming implementation of the Bribery Act 2010 next year continues to be a major concern for UK businesses, but with Christmas approaching the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has offered some extra help.
The question on the lips of every UK company is “how will corporate hospitality be dealt with under the new legislation?” The SFO have volunteered a preliminary answer. Richard Alderman, Director of the SFO has said that ‘sensible and proportionate expenditure on hospitality will remain perfectly lawful under the Bribery Act’, and that the SFO ‘will be happy to help by publishing its views.’ This will follow the Ministry of Justice’s final guidance on the act, due in January, and the Attorney General’s guidance to prosecutors.
This leaves plenty for businesses to look forward to in the new year but it remains to be seen just how practical all of this guidance will be. Meanwhile, enjoy a very hospitable Christmas.
Posted by Fiona Carter, who specialises in commercial regulation, compliance advice and investigations; is head of Browne Jacobson’s advertising and marketing team and food and drink group.
Fiona Carter
0115 976 6224
fcarter@brownejacobson.com
Tags: bribery, corporate hospitality, SFO
Posted in Brands, Government bodies, Manufacturing, Regulatory | 1 Comment »
Friday, December 3rd, 2010
The new offence, which comes into force in April 2011, of “failing to prevent bribery” is a particular concern for businesses. This week there has been a discussion as to whether EU procurement rules, which could ban convicted companies from bidding for large public contracts if the company has been convicted of a bribery offence, will be disapplied in circumstances where despite a management failure to prevent bribery, there was no intention to commit an offence.
The Law Society recently published its response to proposed guidance on ‘adequate procedures’ a company needs to take to prevent persons associated with them from engaging in bribery. They make a number of recommendations and state they are ‘concerned that, particularly for smaller firms, the lack of practical guidance will make putting in place adequate procedures difficult’.
The Bribery Act is undoubtedly a step forward in reducing corruption in business transactions, however many businesses are concerned that without clear, practical guidance UK firms will be at a competitive disadvantage.
Posted by Fiona Carter, who specialises in commercial regulation, compliance advice and investigations; is head of Browne Jacobson’s advertising and marketing team and food and drink group.
Fiona Carter
0115 976 6224
fcarter@brownejacobson.com
Tags: bribery, Procurement
Posted in Competition, Manufacturing, Procurement, Regulatory | No Comments »
Friday, November 19th, 2010
Following the changes to the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme contained in the CSR Chris Huhne announced on Wednesday a new four week consultation on the amendments proposed by the government.
Unfortunately the consultation will primarily focus on the proposed extension of the introduction phase and postponing of the 1st allowance sale for phase two rather than dealing with the key proposal to not re-invest the money raised back into the scheme. Whilst the proposed amendments will no doubt help facilitate the broader ‘simpliciation’ review the government is undertaking and will crucially give participants more time to get to grips with the scheme it feels like any ‘bite’ and incentive in the scheme is being taken out.
Responses to the consultation have to be in by the 17th December to ensure that any changes can be in place prior to the start of the 2nd phase…watch this space.
Helene Maillet-Vioud
0115 976 6213
hmaillet-vioud@brownejacobson.com
Tags: carbon reduction commitment, csr, energy efficiency
Posted in Manufacturing, Waste & Environmental | 2 Comments »
Thursday, October 21st, 2010
The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) was introduced as a mandatory emissions trading scheme aiming to improve efficiency and to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in the UK. Organisations that meet the qualification criteria are to monitor their emissions and purchase allowances sold by the Government. Participants were due to be rewarded for better performance with revenue raised from selling allowances to be ‘recycled’ back to participants, with better performers receiving a greater return of the revenue.
The comprehensive spending review suggests that business will continue to benefit stating that the CRC will be ‘simplified’ to reduce burden on business with initial sales now taking place in 2012 rather than 2011 – 12. However, the ‘simplification’ comes at a cost to business; the money raised from the scheme will not now be reinvested in the scheme, and will instead be retained by Government, meaning that the CRC is now essentially a tax on business and will net the Government £1 billon in additional revenue.
Posted by Jacob Rickett, specialising in: environmental law, nature conservation, administrative law and criminal regulatory matters; advises on nuisance, enforcement and abatement notices; experienced in Injunctive Relief matters.
Jacob Rickett
0115 976 6159
jrickett@brownejacobson.com
Tags: carbon reduction commitment, comprehensive spending review, CRC
Posted in Comprehensive Spending Review, Manufacturing | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 19th, 2010
Lord Young’s review of the operation of health and safety laws and the growth of the compensation culture contains recommendations that should cause schools to breathe a sigh of relief.
Lord Young notes there has been an overzealous approach towards health and safety decreasing the number of educational opportunities for children such as participating in competitive sports and school trip. The threat of legal action should an accident happen has rippled through schools.
Lord Young’s recommendations include a single consent form covering all activities a child undertakes while at school, simplified risk assessments for the classroom, a simplified process for children going on school trips and a shift from a system of risk-assessment to risk-benefit. The changes have been endorsed by the government and many are set to be implemented in January 2011. Finally, it seems common sense is making a comeback.
Posted by Mark Blois, who specialises in advice to schools, colleges, and local authorities on the full range of legal issues, both contentious and non-contentious including changes of category, reorganisations, governance, commercial arrangements, special educational needs, disability discrimination, admissions, exclusions and safeguarding.
Mark Blois
0115 976 6087
mblois@brownejacobson.com
Tags: health and safety, Lord Young's review, schools
Posted in Education, Manufacturing | No Comments »
Friday, October 8th, 2010
Last month we reported that the ASA plans to significantly extend its online remit. Our opinion was that this would bring much new material into their territory, and that your competitors may start complaining to the ASA if they feel there is potentially misleading information on your website.
This issue has clearly now been picked up by the ASA and CIPR. The ASA have clarified that “online public relations”, defined as “press releases, other public relations material and editorial content”, are not covered. The ASA will be concerned only with marketing communications, including advertising, sales promotion and direct marketing.
In our view, the boundaries of the above definition are currently insufficiently clear to prevent an influx of complaints once the new system gets underway. However CIPR will be giving further guidance, including examples of common types of activities considered as “public relations”– whether this will resolve the issue remains to be seen.
Posted by Oliver Sweeney, who specialises in regulatory matters; including compliance, representation e.g. company prosecutions and public inquiries; transport issues; commercial litigation, including reputation management, contractual litigation and injunctions.
Oliver Sweeney
0115 976 6247
osweeney@brownejacobson.com
Tags: advertising, advertising standards authority, cipr, online advertising
Posted in Advertising & Marketing, Brands, Manufacturing | No Comments »
Thursday, September 9th, 2010
The High Court has dismissed a claim by Dyson Ltd against rival Vax Ltd for infringement of Dyson’s registered design for a cyclonic vacuum cleaner. The claim concerned Vax’s Mach Zen model which Dyson claimed infringed their registered design dating back to 1994.
Mr Justice Arnold dismissed the claim, deciding the two designs gave a different overall impression to the informed user of vacuum cleaners. He based this on the significant differences between the two machines; stating the Dyson machine gave a smooth, curving, elegant impression whereas Vax’s machine gave a rugged, angular, industrial and even rather brutal impression!
Despite the judge’s complementary take on its design Dyson are very unlikely to be satisfied with this decision. Dyson have historically gone to great lengths to protect their famous intellectual property. It therefore seems very likely that they will try to appeal it, in which case there is a likelihood of a referral to the ECJ.
Posted by Oliver Laing
0115 908 4806
olaing@brownejacobson.com.com
Tags: Dyson Ltd, Intellectual Property, Patents, Vax Ltd
Posted in Intellectual Property, Manufacturing | No Comments »
Friday, August 13th, 2010
In the motor industry it is important to differentiate your product, and currently concerns about quality are running high. So Kia’s ’7 year warranty’ advertising campaign is timely – however, the ASA have this week ruled that it should not be repeated as it is misleading.
Kia had failed to sufficiently highlight that the warranty was subject to a 100,000 mile limit, and that not all items would be covered for the full length of the warranty – even though the 100,000 mile limit was referred to in the final frames of the ad, and was considerably in excess of the UK’s average annual mileage (around 10,000 miles).
Although the ruling is not fatal for Kia’s ’7 year warranty’ strapline, Kia will have to alter its adverts. Advertisers of course want to have a clear message, but this ruling shows how difficult this can be if there are significant qualifications to an offer, which need bringing to the consumer’s attention. If an offer is qualified – that information must be as clear as the strapline itself.
Posted by Fiona Carter
0115 976 6224
fcarter@brownejacobson.com
Tags: advertising, Advertising Campaign, advertising standards authority, Kia
Posted in Advertising & Marketing, Brands, Manufacturing | 1 Comment »
