Latest Standards and Legislation News 
Contractors must ensure they fit the criteria of being self-employed ahead of a government crackdown
The government is currently consulting on new legislation to tackle ‘false self-employment’, following measures announced in this year’s Budget by Chancellor Alistair Darling. Mr Darling claimed that, as well as costing money to the exchequer, false self-employment also affected the ability of compliant businesses to be competitive and stopped workers accessing social security benefits to which they were entitled. Danbro is warning contractors... [more]
UK Government cuts two years off the entitlement period for construction workers' travel expenses claims
The UK Inland Revenue has paid out millions of pounds to construction workers for travel expenses claims going back up to six years. Soon that is all set to change and anyone who may still be entitled to claim over that period may lose out. At the end of January the claim period will be reduced to five years, with a further cut to four years at the end of April. Said Jan Post of tax claims specialist Rift: “with almost no warning at all, the G... [more]
Half of UK building and construction organisations do not properly understand their CDM2007 responsibilities
It is more than two years since the introduction of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM2007), in April 2007. Their purpose was to bear down yet further on unacceptable levels of avoidable accidents, injuries and deaths. According to the first CDM2007 Impact Survey, effective implementation of the regulations still looks to be some way off for a significant minority of organisations operating in the UK’s property, buil... [more]
Construction employers need highly trained staff to meet regulatory requirements
Working at height, heavy lifting and operating industrial machinery is all part of a day’s work for the 2 million people employed on building sites across the UK. Employers want highly trained staff adept in the best working practices, and employees want to stay safe in this hazardous workplace. A raft of new health and safety industry standards will come into play in 2010. The Construction Safety Certification Scheme (CSCS) was introduced ove... [more]
Office of Fair Trading's investigation into cover pricing will have a lasting impact on the construction industry
The construction industry has taken some hefty blows following the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) investigation into cover pricing, which resulted in millions of pounds in fines. The latest estimate is that the 103 firms, who were fined £129.5million for breaching competition laws, will have to generate more than £4billion of work to cover the costs of the fines. Harrison Clark solicitors’ head of construction, Andrew James, who worked with seve... [more]
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Other Standards and Legislation news and reviews
Brookfield Real Estate Services Fund Announces Fourth Quarter Results and Monthly Cash Distribution (Marketwire)
Royalties increased 9.8% and distributable cash rose 10.6% with unusually strong year-end market conditions
Ga. bill would outlaw abortion for race, sex (The Washington Times)
A Georgia bill that would outlaw abortions based on race, color or sex is fueling arguments over whether abortion providers are targeting black women. The Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act would apply to abortion "the same standards of nondiscrimination" that govern employment, education, government and housing, said Georgia state Rep. Barry Loudermilk, a Republican who introduced the bill last ...
State Weighs Legislation To Keep Unsafe School Buses Off Roads (FOX CT Hartford)
A co-chairman of the General Assembly's education committee said Monday that he will push for legislation to identify and keep unsafe school buses off Connecticut's roads.
Republicans work to split Dems (Washington Post)
As the GOP tries to block the bill, it is scrambling to exploit divisions in the House and Senate.
Massa staffers reported groping (Washington Post)
Allegations date back at least a year, and involve "pattern of behavior and physical harassment."
Dissolution Of The Meat Hygiene Service And Merger With The Food Standards Agency (Medical News Today)
The Board of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has decided to dissolve the executive agency status of the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) and to bring its staff and functions into the FSA to form the core of a new FSA Operations Group. The MHS is an executive agency of the FSA and is responsible for verifying that operators of approved abattoirs, cutting plants and game handling establishments in Great ...
On health-care reform, Republicans target Democrats' division over reconciliation (Washington Post)
As Republicans work to prevent a health-care bill from reaching President Obama, they are scrambling to exploit divisions between Democrats in the House and the Senate.
FDA says Basic Food Flavors knew plant was contaminated with salmonella (Washington Post)
The company at the heart of a growing recall of processed foods knew that its plant was contaminated with salmonella but continued to make a flavoring and sell it to foodmakers around the country, according to inspectors at the Food and Drug Administration.
Thousands rally to support health-care reform in downtown Washington (Washington Post)
Amid a sea of brightly colored T-shirts and wave after wave of protest signs, Regina Holliday's homemade banner still stuck out as she marched Tuesday in support of health-care reform.
Brookfield Real Estate Services Fund Announces Fourth Quarter Results and Monthly Cash Distribution (CCNMatthews via Yahoo! Finance)
TORONTO, ONTARIO-- - Brookfield Real Estate Services Fund today announced that royalties for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, were $8.5 million, up 9.8% from the same period in 2008.
