Thought Leadership Archives

Events Health and Safety Thought Leadership
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2 min read

On-demand webinar: Health, safety and the supply chain in a changing world

In a rapidly changing economy, companies are ever more reliant on a well-functioning supply chain to get things done. From outsourcing payroll to launching a new product, supply chain management has never been more crucial. Examining the risks posed by new suppliers is equally vital. A worrying incident can have a knock-on effect on your business, from reputational risk to fines or criminal action.

Many companies have become highly skilled in managing their own health and safety risks, particularly since the pandemic. But what about the health and safety risks of third parties? What are your legal, ethical, and ESG responsibilities to ensure the health and safety of workers in your supply chain? How do you ensure suppliers are meeting their health and safety obligations, how do you assess suppliers for risk, and what should you do if you have health and safety concerns in your third parties?

In this webinar, VinciWorks, in collaboration with our partners DeltaNet, examine the risks of third-party failures in health and safety.

We look at:

Legal, ethical and ESG obligations in supply chain management
The health and safety expectations of third parties in your value chain
The risks of a health and safety failure from a third party
How to mitigate third-party risks in health and safety
Undertaking health and safety-focused risk-based due diligence

Watch now

FCA Thought Leadership
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2 min read

New course: FCA Safeguarding — Keeping our Customers Safe

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires all non-bank payment service providers (PSPs) to perform safeguarding procedures. These procedures are designed to make sure that payments owed to customers are not at risk in the unlikely event that the firm could suddenly go into liquidation or be otherwise unable to make a payment.

The most common safeguarding method, known as the segregation method, requires PSPs to make an immediate and clear separation between the money belonging to the customer and the fees taken by the PSP. This requires a constant process of separating funds into distinct and dedicated bank accounts, as well as recording and reconciling every transaction.

Our new course explains how safeguarding is done and what non-technical staff members need to know about it.

DAC6 Events Tax Evasion Thought Leadership
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1 min read

Upcoming webinar: UK Mandatory Disclosure Rules (MDR) – In conversation with HMRC

Wednesday 15 February, 12pm (UK)

In November 2022 HMRC released the summary of responses from their consultation on the UK’s Mandatory Disclosure Rules (MDR).

The consultation clarified that:

The historic lookback period will go back to 25th June 2018 (and not 29th October 2014 as originally stated).
Reporting will be via XML only.

With UK MDR expected to come into force in the first half of 2023, Vinciworks will be joined by John Sandeman, HMRC’s policy official for Mandatory Disclosure Rules, who will help our listeners get to grips with the UK MDR and how it may impact your organisation.

The webinar will cover:

What are the key differences between UK DAC6 and UK MDR?
Who does UK MDR apply to?
Who is required to report under UK MDR?
How will VinciWorks be supporting UK MDR?
Participant questions for HMRC

Free registration

Money Laundering News Risk Sanctions SRA Tax Evasion Thought Leadership US Privacy
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50 sec read

The 2023 Compliance Agenda: Download your guide to compliance in 2023

From new ESG regulations to a crackdown on bribery, rapid fluctuations in crypto currency, changes to the regulated sector and the ongoing conflict in Europe demanding a laser-like focus on the supply chain, 2023 looks set to demand even more from compliance professionals.

We have created an in-depth guide to everything compliance in 2023. The guide covers the top ten items you can expect to see in your regulatory inbox, with tips on next steps.

Thought Leadership
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4 min read

Procurement Bill introduced to Parliament

Expected changes to public sector procurement procedures and transparency obligations

If your business is involved in public procurement or bidding for public contracts, you should know about the Procurement Bill which seeks to reform and rationalise the way public procurement works in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, the Bill will cover procurement for reserved functions. The UK Government sought a Legislative Consent Motion but the Scottish Government has rejected this.

The Procurement Bill regulation

The Procurement Bill repeals the current EU law-based procurement regulations. It lays out new rules and procedures for central government departments, their arms-length bodies and the wider public sector when selecting suppliers and awarding contracts with a value above certain thresholds. It also makes provisions for smaller, below-threshold contracts.

SRA issues warning notice on SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participations): how might the notice affect your firm?

What are SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation)?

SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) are lawsuits that are filed with the intention of silencing, intimidating, or punishing individuals or organizations for exercising their right to free speech on matters of public concern. These lawsuits are often brought by private parties, such as corporations or individuals, against individuals or organizations that have spoken out against them or their activities.

The SRAs new warning notice on SLAPPs

Recently, the SRA issued a new warning notice on SLAPPs, in response to reports that solicitors are bringing allegations without merit at the behest of wealthy clients to stifle freedom of expression and prevent the media from reporting on issues of public interest such as academic research, whistleblowing, campaigning or investigative journalism.

The warning notice makes clear that acting in this way would constitute a breach of a number of SRA Principles and Rules in its Code of Conduct for Individuals and Firms.

Diversity and Inclusion Thought Leadership
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4 min read

New resource: Inclusion Awareness Calendar

2023 Diversity and Inclusion Calendar

Awareness days and campaigns run throughout the year, and organisations can support learning initiatives around these events. To help with your planning, VinciWorks and Skill Boosters have produced a new Inclusion Awareness Calendar, listing relevant dates for each month. We have also created downloadable resource packs for the major events. These resources will be made available for all Skill Boosters members.

What is included in the inclusion awareness calendar?

For each month, the calendar includes the following features:

New SRA guidance on effective supervision

Findings from the SRA’s recent thematic review included the insight that firms need to have stronger evidence that supervision is taking place. Out of 76 files reviewed by the SRA, only 29 of them showed evidence of supervision taking place. Therefore, in their new guidance, the SRA has included a section on effective supervision that is applicable to all solicitors and firms that supervise individuals delivering legal services, including services that are provided by fee earners who are not directly regulated by the SRA.

The new guidance also stresses that merely having supervision in place is not sufficient to fulfil firms’ regulatory obligations; rather, supervision needs to be effective. Therefore, firms should take proactive steps to ensure that supervision is effective and that supervisors are being held accountable.

How to respond to Subject Access Requests

Under GDPR, a data subject has the right to obtain confirmation as to whether or not their personal data is being processed. The right to receive data under a subject access request must not adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others. You cannot comply with a subject access request if it would adversely affect someone else’s rights. If the information is subject to legal privilege or concerns a third party, it may not be able to be released.

What is a subject access request?

Data subjects are entitled to find out what personal data is held about them by an organisation, why the organisation is holding it and who else knows the information. The process of finding this out is known as a subject access request, or SAR.

A subject access request is not the same as a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. An FOI request covers all information held only by public authorities, but not personal information about the person making the request. If you are not a public body or otherwise covered by FOI legislation, an FOI request cannot be made to you.

SRA Thought Leadership
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4 min read

SRA tackles toxic workplace culture with their updated guidance

Image of a man with his head in his hands

SRA Thematic Review

In February 2022, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) published a Thematic Review, which included responses from over 200 solicitors. The SRA’s hypothesis was that “if employees are not adequately supported to manage mistakes or to manage client demands, they may be at risk of behaving unethically”. The review helped the SRA identify a serious problem in firms, with around 25% of those surveyed reporting that their firms do not have a positive workplace culture. Issues raised included being overworked and intolerably pressured to meet targets, as well as problems with bullying.