Coronavirus: Social distancing module added to health and safety course

Screenshot of social distancing training module

Under the latest government guidance, employers are being given more discretion as to whether their staff should be returning. At least a third of UK workers have returned to work in recent weeks as the government eases restrictions. If your organisation has employees working from the office, you have a duty of care to your staff. Managers must ensure a safe working environment where employees’ health is protected.

This means they have to ensure they have a safe place to work, safe work equipment, their health is protected while working, and assess risks to their health and safety and take action to mitigate those risks. This includes protecting staff from COVID-19.

The level of risk changes according to the type of work being undertaken and where it occurs. Working at home still presents the least risk, but managers may also want to provide the option for those who may want to return to the workplace to do so safely.

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Create relevant training in seconds – What is a course builder?

How do you deliver training that goes beyond simply ticking the compliance box? How do you make sure that training is engaging and relevant to each user? Compliance training experienced by most employees today is considered boring, old-fashioned and irrelevant. We are on a mission to change the status quo – that compliance is a tick-box exercise that is regarded with zero importance or relevance. We strive to ensure learners are not simply clicking through a course so they can swiftly move on with their day job. Staff should be able to immediately engage with compliance training and see how the content and scenarios relate to their role. 

Over the last two years, our courses team has developed sophisticated course builders for our compliance courses to deliver courses specifically tailored to each user. In most cases, a course can be customised at the click of a button.

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Increased risk of modern slavery amid COVID-19 pandemic

Two young boys carrying heavy poles in a construction site

A new report by the Centre for Social Justice found that there are currently at least 100,000 victims of modern slavery in the UK. This is a huge increase from the 10,000-13,000 suspected victims according to a 2017 government study. Recently, Leicester-based fashion brands Boohoo and Quiz have been embroiled in modern slavery allegations. 

Boohoo is currently investigating reports that workers at one of its Leicester suppliers were being paid just £3.50 per hour, almost £5 lower than the £8.20 national minimum wage. They have also allegedly been forced to work during the COVID-19 lockdown without protective equipment and social distancing. These reports immediately started to damage Boohoo’s reputation, with big-name retailers such as ASOS, Next and Zalando all dropping Boohoo’s clothing from their websites and their shares plummeting as a result. A few days later, Quiz announced that they believe one of their suppliers subcontracted clothing production to another supplier. They believe this subcontractor was paying their staff well below the minimum wage.

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Mexico to implement their own version of DAC6

Flag of Mexico
In Mexico, intermediaries will be required to report cross-border transactions from January 2021

Mexico is set to implement a new mandatory disclosure regime (MDR) aimed at reducing international tax evasion. The Mexican law is modelled after DAC6, a European directive that requires lawyers, accountants, tax advisers, bankers and other “intermediaries” to report some aggressive cross-border tax arrangements. It is part of a broader OECD initiative to combat tax evasion, known as BEPS Action 12.

Mexico’s mandatory disclosure law will be in force from January 2021, with a requirement to report some historic data. 

For Mexico, this means that businesses will need to enforce transactions that go as far back as January 2020. Businesses who start keeping track of transactions now will find it easier to report transactions when the mandatory disclosure law is in force in Mexico.

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On-demand webinar: DAC6 reporting solution – Feature updates

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Wednesday, 29 July, 12pm UK time

In March, we hosted a live demo of our reporting solution where we covered the core features of our DAC6 reporting software. Since then, the system has evolved to help businesses solve all the challenges presented by the complex Directive. Even if you have seen a demo of the product in the past, now is the time to get up-to-date with the implementation process.

Here are just some of the updates we have made:

  • Enhanced workflow with country-by-country guidance
  • Ability to report in multiple jurisdictions
  • New graphical customisable dashboards

In this webinar, we covered the core features of our software, new features that have recently been added and give guidance on how businesses can use it to report transactions. This webinar is suitable for both those who have attended previous demos and those who are less familiar with our system.

Request a recording

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New diversity training focussing on BAME racism

Recent events have once again highlighted racism and grave injustices towards people of colour, accentuating the need for both continued and renewed introspection and action to fight against racism. Sadly, these issues still exist in our world.

“Racism is a global issue. Racism is a British issue. It is not one that is merely confined to the United States – it is everywhere, and it is systemic,” wrote Edward Enninful, the editor-in-chief of British Vogue, who is black. Systemic racism is trending, but we only have to listen to stories of black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) people to understand that systemic racism is far from a fad.

As businesses think hard about whether they are doing enough to educate their staff on diversity, we have seen an increase over the last few weeks in demand for diversity training. We have added a new course to our existing diversity and inclusion training suite. Complementing our current story-based diversity course, Diversity and Inclusion at Work: MyStory, our new course will shed light on instances of discrimination, racism and bias against BAME people all too frequently experienced by people in the workplace through hard-hitting stories.

Demo the course

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Is continuing competency continuing and are you competent?

In November 2016, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) abandoned its 16 hour minimum training requirement in favour of solicitors declaring themselves to be competent. At the time, mixed feelings were expressed by solicitors, including: “Will less training be carried out if there is no minimum requirement? How will I know what training to do? How should I record the activities I take part in and maintain an accurate learning record? What do I need to do in order to declare myself competent to the SRA?”. Consumers and those who protect them asked: “How can I know that the solicitor I select is well trained and competent to do the work that I require them to do? Will they do the best job possible for me?”.

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VinciWorks releases new online HIPAA training

VinciWorks has released a new HIPAA course, to train learners about HIPAA and related federal legislation.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) defines health information as any information (including genetic information) created or received by a healthcare provider, health plan, public health authority, employer, life insurance company, school or university, or healthcare clearinghouse AND relates to a person’s:

  • Past, present or future physical or mental health or condition
  • Treatment
  • Past, present or future payment for healthcare
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DAC6: Germany’s unique approach to legal professional privilege (LPP)

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Bundestag

No reporting delay in Germany

Germany recently made the shock announcement that it would not be deferring DAC6 implementation, despite an optional 6 months delay awarded to EU member states by the EU Commission. As a result of this announcement, intermediaries, including accounting firms, law firms, and other tax advisors in multiple industries have begun the process of identifying DAC6 reportable arrangements.

German XML schema released

Many tax authorities, including HMRC, have already produced xml schemas stipulating their DAC6 reporting requirements, and the German schema is closely aligned to these. The German Federal Ministry of Finance (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern) have decided on a unique approach to legal professional privilege.

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Which countries are deferring DAC6 and how? Downloadable deferral chart

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DAC6 deferral chart screenshot
Our DAC6 deferral chart provides up-to-date guidance on how each EU member state has decided to defer DAC6

DAC6 is a European Directive aimed at tackling tax avoidance and strengthening tax transparency, as well as improving information sharing between EU member states. The Directive imposes mandatory reporting on lawyers, accountants, tax advisers, bankers, and other so-called “intermediaries”.

On 3 June, 2020, Member State representatives reached an agreement to allow an optional six-month deferral of reporting deadlines for DAC6.

On 19 June 2020, the European Parliament voted in favour of the EU Commission’s proposed deferral and on 24th June the European Union Council approved the postponement. 21 member states have postponed, most for the full six months. Notably, Germany, Austria and Finland have not.

We have created a downloadable chart presenting an up-to-date guide to how each country has decided to defer DAC6.

Download chart

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