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
House establishes Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board (The Alliance Review)
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio House signed off on legislation establishing the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board, the next step in the process following voter approval of the issue in November.
Key senators balk at adding student loan overhaul to health-care legislation (Washington Post)
As they push to finish health-care legislation by the end of the month, Democratic leaders in Congress are weighing whether to add another of President Obama's priorities to the package: a popular proposal to overhaul the federal student loan program.
Ohio may get to vote again on livestock standards (The Columbus Dispatch)
Even as the Ohio House voted 98-0 yesterday to establish the Ohio Livestock Standards Board, the Humane Society of the United States and its allies were launching a campaign to unravel it.
NEHTA 'ignored' global standards, claims medical software expert (News.com.au)
MEDICAL software-makers say the National E-Health Transition Authority has ignored international standards for implementation of the Healthcare Identifier service.
Summaries of EU Legislation (Eu Business)
Environmental liability - Directive — 09 March 2010, 17:56 CET The first EC legislation whose main objectives include the application of the "polluter pays" principle, this Directive establishes a common framework for liability with a view to preventing and remedying damage to animals, plants, natural habitats and water resources, and damage affecting the land.
Senate panel passes GOP bills requiring teacher merit pay, new grad standards (The Palm Beach Post)
Senate panel passes GOP bills requiring teacher merit pay, new grad standards
Bank reform talks fail, overhaul hopes dim (Washington Post)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chances of a broad overhaul of U.S. financial regulation dimmed on Thursday after bipartisan Senate talks collapsed, helping boost bank share prices and jeopardizing a top Obama administration priority.
Survey: Employers to shift costs (Washington Post)
Many firms say they may charge employees more to cover spouses, tighten eligibility standards.
Government may seek more authority on vehicle safety (Los Angeles Times)
WASHINGTON -- Government vehicle safety regulators may seek greater authority to investigate defects in cars and trucks following Toyota's recall of more than 8 million vehicles for safety problems.
Feds may seek more vehicle safety oversight (The Oregonian)
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will take a "hard look" at the power it has to set safety standards for automakers in the wake of Toyota's massive recalls.
