On-demand webinar: Whistleblowing — Understanding your rights and responsibilities

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The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) provides protection for whistleblowers. Under PIDA, employees who make “protected disclosures” can claim unfair dismissal if their contracts are terminated due to the disclosures. Further, the EU Commission has recently announced a new law that aims to increase protections for whistleblowers.

In this webinar, we were joined by the EU Commission’s Policy Officer Maria Mollica to share guidance and insights on the upcoming EU Whistleblowing Directive. We also shared guidance on complying with existing UK whistleblowing law.

The webinar will cover:

  • Whistleblowing regulations in the UK
  • The key differences between the UK law and the EU Directive
  • The purpose and reach of the EU Directive
  • The categories protected by the EU Directive
  • Who can be a Reporting Person?
  • The procedures for internal and external reporting and recommended reporting methods

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VinciWorks’ whistleblowing portal – Provide seamless, anonymous reporting

In a survey carried out by VinciWorks, a staggering 50% of respondents said they weren’t confident their organisation would deal with a report of sexual harassment very seriously. And worse, 10% of respondents said that they had been shown sexually explicit or inappropriate content at work. The results of this survey and others evidence that in an environment where harassment is tolerated and complaints ignored, abuse will thrive. Sadly, a study by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission critically shows that 75% of victims don’t report abuse because they fear retaliation, whilst 75% of victims who did report abuse experienced retaliation.

Whistleblowing regulations in the UK

The current legislative framework governing whistleblowing in the UK was introduced by the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PIDA), which has been in force for some 20 years. PIDA amended the Employment Rights Act and its aim was to protect workers who blow the whistle not only for personal gain, but also for public interest.

PIDA clearly states that the dismissal of an employee for whistleblowing is automatically considered to be unfair if the reason, or the main reason, for their dismissal was that they made a “protected disclosure”.

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Health and safety compliance – take VinciWorks’ interactive ergonomics assessment

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As a user of display screen equipment (DSE), there is legislation called the DSE Regulations which requires that your employer provides you with a suitable workstation, as well as taking steps to protect you from the risks of working with display screen equipment. Using DSE (i.e. PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones) for extended periods or using them incorrectly can result in fatigue, eye strain, upper limb problems, back and neck problems, repetitive strain injury, stress, headaches and more.

VinciWorks’ ergonomics assessment takes employees who work at a desk through a short interactive analysis of their workstation. Take three minutes to complete the assessment while sitting at your desk. The answers to the questions presented in the assessment can be collected and reported using VinciWorks’ online reporting solution.

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Stay tuned for LMS innovations in 2020

Over the next few months, VinciWorks will finalise its Learning Management System development schedule for 2020. We aren’t yet able to share the full details of the new LMS developments but suffice to say, we are excited. What we can share is:

You should expect new and innovative features from the LMS in 2020.

Our LMS development process 

We are taking this time to meet with clients and users to deeply understand the challenges and opportunities that L&D and Compliance Officers face when delivering online training. 

Over the course of 2019, VinciWorks doubled the size of its technology team and hired a Chief Technology Officer with 25 years of experience. Under the CTO’s direction, we will support and develop the LMS and other learning and compliance technologies for years to come. 

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California Consumer Privacy Act 2018 – how to comply

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) comes into force in January 2020 and it is important to take steps to prepare for the new legislation. Since GDPR came into force, EU consumers have developed a greater awareness of their rights pursuant to the regulations, and expect businesses to comply accordingly. The same is bound to happen in the US as the introduction of new regulations, such as CCPA, will make consumers more aware of their rights and the importance of ensuring their personal data is not mishandled.

Be prepared for:

  • Hypersensitivity from consumers regarding how their data is used
  • A stream of communications from consumers in the months following the implementation of the Act
  • Consumers misunderstanding parts of the Act and making demands which exceed the scope of the Act
  • An expectation that consumer-facing staff know the details of the Act
  • An eagerness to take action against non-compliant businesses
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How will the 5th Money Laundering Directive affect cryptocurrencies?

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The Fifth Money Laundering Directive is set to be transposed into national law by 10 January 2020. The core aim of the 5MLD is to address modern-day money laundering concerns that were not covered in the Fourth Directive. The main changes are focused on enhanced powers for direct access to information and increased transparency around beneficial ownership information and trusts. One of the challenges surrounding money laundering, which was far less of a risk when the Fourth Directive was being drafted, is cryptocurrencies.

What are cryptocurrencies?

A cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses strong cryptography to secure financial transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets. Today there are over 3,000 cryptocurrencies across the world, with Bitcoin being the first one to enter the market and the clear market leader.

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What is the California Consumer Privacy Act and who does it apply to?

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California Assembly Bill No. 375, also known as the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (the “Act”), was approved and passed on June 28, 2018 and comes into force on January 1, 2020. Here we attempt to dissect the CCPA 2018 and help establish who actually is required to comply with the Act.

Who does the Act apply to?

The Act applies to any business, partnership, company, corporation or other legal entity (“business”) operating for profit that collects personal information from consumers in the State of California, but only if one of the following applies to the business:

  • It acquires 50% or more of annual revenue from selling consumer information
  • It has gross annual revenue of $25m or more
  • It sells personal information belonging to at least 100,000 consumers

If a business meets one or more of the provisions above, it must comply with the Act.

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DAC6: Guidance on HMRC Reporting Requirements

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Back in May 2018 the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union (ECOFIN) adopted the 6th Directive on Administrative Cooperation (“DAC6 Directive”). This new directive requires tax intermediaries to report specific cross-border arrangements. 

In July 2019, HMRC released their draft DAC6 legislation together with their consultation document. These documents indicate that HMRC intends to align its reporting requirements with the DAC6 Directive, and HMRC will require intermediaries to report any additional information. 

Download a guide to DAC6 compliance

Who needs to report?

Any entity that acts as an intermediary for a cross-border transaction involving an EU Member State may have an obligation to report this to HMRC or a different EU tax authority.

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SiteWize Integration

Track external certification and training with SiteWize, the latest feature for WorkWize LMS.

External training and certification that happens outside of your Learning Management System can be difficult to track.

This is an issue, as demonstrating compliance is an essential part of any tender or bidding process. If contracts are to be managed effectively it’s necessary to keep track of which employees have the right internal or external certification and training. This ensures employees have the correct documentation in place to enter a site.

SiteWize provides a solution to this issue by allowing employees to upload and store relevant external certificates and documents into the Learning Management System.

How does it work?

SiteWize allows you to configure your own training requirements. Within your training requirements your employees are able to view documents, sign policies, complete knowledge tests and most importantly – upload any relevant certificates or documents to complete the process.

The administrator is then able to instantly report on the employees who have completed the required training and provided the correct documentation. You can even set a requirement for the employee to complete the process again in the future, ensuring you
have an up-to-date list of compliant employees.

Rapid Authoring Tool

Easy-to-use Rapid Authoring Tool

Our easy-to-use rapid authoring tool enables you to:

Create your own SCORM compliant courses, or customise any of the content from the EssentialSkillz course library. Our integrated editor lets you create courses in minutes!

Convert existing classroom training materials and deliver them as your own eLearning courses. Use the built-in templates to create pages and add tests to check knowledge. Add your own images, links and even videos from popular sites such as YouTube and Vimeo.

Embed PowerPoints directly into the course. Take your existing training and put it inside an eLearning course in no time.

Record a full event history of the changes made to the courses and archive a copy of the course every time you click “Publish”. This allows you to access the exact course thatwas available on a certain date.

Deploy courses from your own LMS and still have the full audit trail and course history built in to WorkWize Author.

Create courses using WorkWize Author. Our team will develop a beautiful course frame for it to sit in specifically branded for your business, so your courses look like your courses, with your own corporate colours, design and logo.

Integrate

Combine our key features with your existing platform to strengthen your compliance training management.

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