New rules coming into force
- The employment tribunal time limit doubles from three to six months from 1 October 2026 under the Employment Rights Act.
- The ICO changes on 30 September, becoming the Information Commission. No change is needed, but it could give the data protection regulator more teeth.
UK regulatory update
Neurodiversity discrimination has an expensive new warning. A £76m ADHD discrimination case is moving forward, with the largest potential award ever.
Meanwhile a VinciWorks survey has found 71% of UK employers are not training managers on disability discrimination or neurodiversity, despite the increasing risks.
For FCA regulated firms, non-financial misconduct rules came into force on 1 September. We answer your questions about what that means for financial services firms.
Sanctions risk is growing with HMRC’s decision to name companies who are accepting sanctions settlements, potentially exposing more firms to the risk of being called out.
Alongside sexual harassment’s ‘all reasonable steps’ standard, third-party harassment rules also come into force that day and all UK firms should be prepared for this change.
A new VinciWorks survey has found that most firms are not ready for the new 24 hour cyber breach reporting deadline. The Bill is moving forward through parliament and puts many more firms into scope of cyber regulations.
EU regulatory update
Are EU rules making GDPR fines more predictable? New guidelines from the European Data Protection Board might mean less financial penalties for innocent mistakes.
US regulatory update
California has massively expanded its AI rulebook with a suite of new AI related regulations and laws from children’s safety to workplace surveillance and healthcare.
The legal market
In a shocking decision, the High Court has invalidated the SRA’s ability to compel solicitors to hand over privileged material where that privilege has not been waived. The Carter-Ruck decision is likely to be appealed, or even new legislation could come.
The government has promised the end of tick-box AML with a new anti-money laundering and asset recovery strategy for 2026-2029. Alongside the FCA supervision reform, the government has pledged new legislation to rewrite the MLRs and enhance risk-based due diligence.
Should international students be considered high-risk for AML? A new study has highlighted the risk that student money mules play in the financial crime system.
A High Court ruling in the case of Lux Films v Fowler has ruled that a director could conspire with their own company, if they breach fiduciary duties or hand over confidential information when they shouldn’t.
The recent VinciWorks AML Core Group meeting capped off a busy few months of AML developments. Participants heard about better AML practice and shared ideas for improving PCPs. Meanwhile the Best Practice AML Forum highlighted common themes of proportionate controls that are well understood.
Did you know?
Deleting an email can be a criminal offence. A former council leader was convicted for deleting emails AFTER requests for information came in. Staff should never delete information to hide it from a subject access request.
New guides
- How to mitigate third-party harassment risk at your workplace
- Non-financial misconduct and SMCR phase 2
- Cyber Security Topic Track
Where can I find more?
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