Whilst the onset of increased homeworking was undoubtedly a novelty for many, almost six months down the line the benefits are rapidly being overshadowed by the growing health and safety concerns.
The introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act made headlines in 2018, but since then some businesses have taken their eyes off the “GDPR ball”. Many are leaving themselves exposed to complaints from data subjects and potential enforcement action by regulators.
Data protection has recently hit the headlines again in 2020. This is due to an announcement that the Government has ordered a major audit of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), following claims that it does not have the clout to take on the tech giants and is not fit for purpose. It will be interesting to see what comes of this review, but in the meantime the ICO will continue to focus its attention on protecting the general public.
The Covid-19 crisis has also led to an increase in the number of data subject access requests (DSARs) being made. However, with many businesses working remotely some have faced issues with being able to comply with their obligations due to the inability to get into closed archive facilities and offices.
- Topic:
- Legal
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has this week announced their concerns that businesses could be facing financial disaster if they don’t properly plan and manage for their staff being eased back into the physical workplace.
RoSPA’s occupation safety and health policy adviser, Dr Karen McDonnell, warned that rushed, inappropriate or ill-thought-out return to work actions could be the downfall of many organisations.
The government recently announced that the property market could start operating again, subject to following social distancing guidelines, which is good news for conveyancing teams that are keen to get back to serving their clients, however, getting back to some sense of normality will not happen overnight. This article is intended to provide you with key guidance that will help you ensure CQS compliance going forward into the new post-lockdown world.
- Topic:
- Legal
Ensuring all of your staff are engaged with your compliance programme is critical if you want to avoid damaging your firm’s reputation and regulatory standing. During our recent webinar, we covered a variety of ways in which this can be achieved.
- Topic:
- Legal
Our recent webinar looking at how to maintain compliance whilst working remotely covered key areas including supervision and communication with staff, cyber risks, health & safety, confidentiality, competency, data protection issues and client due diligence.
- Topic:
- Legal
During our recent compliance update webinar, we referenced a quote heard from a senior CQS assessor, who said, “You fail CQS, and you might as well stop doing residential property!” With that in mind, we thought it would be useful to provide you with our thoughts on how you can comply with key aspects of the Core Practice Management Standards (CPMS) during these difficult times.
Where you are unable to fully meet the CPMS requirements, ensure you make and retain appropriate notes to show what consideration you have given to matters; if no such notes are available then full compliance will be expected.
- Topic:
- Legal
Many law firms have now closed their offices due to Covid-19 and staff are now working remotely from their homes, but this is presenting some firms with a number of significant challenges, including those that already had what they thought were robust business continuity plans; after all, how many firms would have factored in a virus that would have such a catastrophic impact on not only the UK but also the world.
Health and safety obligations are not necessarily things that immediately spring to mind when looking at law firm compliance, but they should, especially in the current climate when more people are working from home.
- Topic:
- Legal
When you attend conferences, like those run by Legal Futures, you can get a wider view of how law firms are coping, or not, with the compliance burden placed on them by regulators. This was exactly the position when we recently attended the Legal Futures Compliance and Regulation Conference. Not only did we hear from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), but also from a number of practitioners and organisations that work with them on a day-to-day basis.
- Topic:
- Legal
