What is ISO 22000?

ISO 22000 is an internationally-recognised standard that sets out the requirements for an effective food safety management system. All businesses that handle food, whether manufacturers, caterers or retailers, have a legal responsibility to ensure the food they produce is safe for consumers to eat.

Having an ISO 22000 food safety management system (FSMS) in place means you can always ensure this is the case and can reassure consumers that your food products are always safe and hygienic.

ISO 22000 explains what businesses need to do to demonstrate their ability to control food safety hazards at all points of the food supply chain. This includes having thorough procedures in place to control all types of food safety hazards:

• Physical hazards, like bits of packaging or machinery.
• Chemical hazards, such as toxins and cleaning products.
• Microbiological hazards that cause food poisoning.
• Allergenic, from cross-contamination of allergenic ingredients.

Want to Learn More?

Need to implement a HACCP food safety management system in your food business? Our full range of online HACCP training courses are suitable for all food businesses in all industries and will teach you everything you need to know about creating an effective food safety management system that can be used as the basis of your ISO 22000 application.

Importance of ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System

Implementing an ISO 22000 food safety management system helps your organisation to improve its overall performance when it comes to food safety.

All food businesses must look to improve food safety by reducing risks and following the Codex HACCP Principles. HACCP –  Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point – is the basis for a food safety management system that enables you to comply with food hygiene law and ensure that the food you produce is safe for consumers to eat. 

The Codex HACCP principles are an internationally-recognised series of guidelines that provide the foundation for most national food safety laws. ISO 22000 is based on the Codex principles for food hygiene and their prerequisite programmes, so it ensures that your business is meeting all the criteria for food safety expected by the government and local authorities. Find out more about the basics of HACCP in our HACCP FAQ.

Other benefits of having an ISO 22000 FSMS include: 

• The food products you provide will be consistently safe for consumers, with reduced risk of contamination.
• Food safety controls are robust and effective so contamination and threats to food safety are at a minimum.
• You’ll be able to guarantee that your food products always meet regulatory requirements.
• Better risk management across your organisation, processes and throughout the whole food supply chain.
• Customers and suppliers will have more confidence in your food products and your ability to reduce and manage risks to food safety.
• The FSMS you use will be internationally-recognised, giving you more credibility and improving accountability and transparency.
• You’ll have a system that works, is continually assessed and that is regularly updated and improved to ensure effectiveness.

ISO 22000 Requirements

ISO 22000 certification can be obtained by any type of food organisation at any point of the food chain. All food businesses – whether manufacturers, caterers or retailers – need a robust food safety management system in place, regardless of their size or type of food produced or handled.

The ISO 22000 requirements are designed to be integrated into your existing HACCP food safety management system, so you should already be able to tick off many of the requirements straight away. An ISO 22000 FSMS can be created as a stand-alone system but it works much better when integrated into your existing food safety processes.

If you’re new to HACCP and need to understand the basics of what it involves and how to implement a HACCP-based food safety system, take a look at the online courses below that are tailored to each type of food business:

• Level 2 HACCP for Manufacturing
• Level 2 HACCP Training For Catering & Retail
• Level 3 HACCP for Manufacturing
• Level 3 HACCP Training for Catering & Retail

How to Get ISO 22000 Certification

Whilst certification gives your FSMS credibility and international recognition, getting ISO 22000 certification is not always necessary for all food businesses. Your business can still benefit from using the principles of ISO 22200 – and use them to create a robust food safety management system – but not go on to seek official certification.

If you do wish to obtain ISO 22000 certification for your organisation’s food safety management system, then you’ll need to follow a series of thorough steps:

Step 1: Understand the ISO 22000 requirements

It’s important to familiarise yourself with the requirements and expectations of the ISO 22000 standard. To create an ISO 22000-compliant FSMS, you’ll need to understand how the standard applies to you and your operations. You’ll also need a good understanding of HACCP and general food hygiene and safety practices. You can purchase a copy of the ISO 22000 standard here.

Step 2: Undergo a stage 1 assessment

A stage 1 assessment is done to check whether your food safety management system meets the requirements of the ISO 22000 standard or whether improvements are needed. After the assessment, you’ll receive an audit report that highlights the actions needed in order to achieve certification. You must action these changes in order to move onto stage 2.

Step 3: Undergo a stage 2 assessment

A stage 2 assessment is a more in-depth review of your food safety management system by an official auditor. The auditor will look at all your operations, procedures and processes to check whether they meet the ISO 22000 requirements or if more is needed. Again, advisory notes will be given if changes are needed in order to obtain certification and these must be actioned.

Step 4: Receive and maintain your ISO 22000 certificate

If your organisation’s FSMS passes the stage 2 assessment, and no further remedial actions are required, then you’ll be awarded the ISO 22000 certification. The ISO 22000 certification is valid for 3 years (like all ISO certifications) and requires regular audits in order to be maintained.

An ISO 22000 food safety management system is an internationally-recognised set of principles for ensuring your food business has effective HACCP food safety procedures in place. When the ISO 22000 requirements are followed – and if certification is obtained – your food business will be able to prove that it takes all reasonable steps to ensure food hygiene and safety for consumers and can ensure the products it makes or handles remain continually safe to eat.

Further Resources:

• HACCP Training Courses
• Promoting a Food Safety Culture: Free Assessment Guide
• What are the 7 Principles of HACCP?
• What is a HACCP Decision Tree?
• 28 of your HACCP Questions Answered
• What You Need to Know About the SALSA Standards

The post What is ISO 22000 – Food Safety Management? appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

What is ISO 31000?

All types of businesses, no matter their size, location or industry, encounter risks everyday. These risks can be seen as opportunities or threats depending on how they are handled.

ISO 31000 is an international standard that helps organisations to integrate risk management into their planning, governance, policies, values and culture. It gives companies a set of clear guidelines for implementing a risk-based system that is focused on identifying, evaluating, controlling, monitoring and communicating risks, and determining whether they will be threats or opportunities for the business.

The ISO 31000 framework can be used by any type of business, whether it’s a public or governmental organisation, a consultancy, a charitable organisation or a company in a heavily regulated industry. All businesses face risks of differing proportions and using the ISO 31000 guidelines can help to better identify, manage and/or mitigate these risks.

Note that ISO 31000 is not a certification, unlike many of the other ISO standards. Instead, it provides companies with a framework and set of principles that they can use to create a robust risk management system that is recognised worldwide.

Why is ISO 31000 Important?

All types of organisations need to prepare for the unexpected. ISO 31000 is important because it helps your company to predict, manage and mitigate potential risks. Other benefits of using the ISO 31000 standard include:

• A standardised risk management system – by following an internationally-recognised set of risk management principles, your system has a structured framework and standard, and recognised criteria for monitoring, review and improvement.
• A keen risk management culture – there’s a shared understanding of risks across your organisation, everyone is aware of what the risks are and the importance of managing them and all staff members, at all levels, play their part in monitoring risks.
• Proactive risk management – rather than reacting to risks as they emerge, an ISO 31000 system ensures your company is prepared and has a well-thought-out strategy to anticipate costly risks before they occur.
• Better decision making – following the guidelines means you have a strategy in place for making better, more informed decisions in terms of planning, reporting, policies, values and governance, because risk management is embedded in all aspects of the decision.
• More efficient processes – by implementing ISO 31000, your company will be able to better handle risks, allocate resources appropriately, prevent costly threats and identify potential opportunities, all of which will save – or make – your business time, money and resources.
• Enhanced stakeholder confidence – following an internationally-recognised standard shows potential clients, investors and stakeholders that your organisation takes risks seriously and has a robust risk management programme in place to handle them. This can reinforce trust and credibility.

ISO 31000 Risk Management Guidelines

ISO 31000 provides businesses with a set of principles, a framework and a process for managing risks and can be used by all types of organisations, no matter their size, industry, location or level of risk.

Note that ISO 31000 doesn’t enable you to eliminate all risks. Instead, following the principles allows you to identify, manage and/or mitigate the risks encountered.

ISO 31000 Risk Management Principles

There are 8 principles of ISO 31000 which should be used as the foundation for establishing your risk management framework. The ISO 31000 risk management principles are:

Principle 1: Integration
Risk management should be integrated into your daily business activities and not be a separate, stand-alone process. Risk management needs to be part of decision-making in all areas of the organisation and embedded into all processes, procedures, roles and responsibilities.

Principle 2: Structured and comprehensive
Risk management should be approached in a structured manner, using the framework provided, that comprehensively covers all known risks. Being systematic about risk management ensures the system is efficient and consistent, with clear procedures to follow.

Principle 3: Customised
Risk management should be customised to the organisation in question, taking into account its context. This includes the organisation’s values and culture, stakeholder relationships, legal and regulatory requirements, financial situation, technology and environment. Risk management should consider both internal and external risk factors specific to the organisation.

Principle 4: Inclusive
The creation of risk management procedures should be a collaborative approach between all key stakeholders of the organisation, including employees, customers, investors and local authorities. It’s important to gather information, knowledge and views from all parties to ensure the risk management procedures are relevant, transparent and successful. Your risk management strategy also needs to be communicated well to everyone in an easy-to-understand manner, without jargon.

Principle 5: Dynamic
Risk management must stay up-to-date with the organisation and change as the organisation changes. New risks may emerge as the environment, technology, knowledge, processes or personnel within the company evolve, and your risk management system must reflect this. You should perform an ongoing risk analysis to ensure mitigation efforts remain effective.

Principle 6: Uses best available information
Risk management needs to be based on the most current information available, whether that’s from data, observations, experiences or professional input. Your organisation will never be able anticipate all risks, so complete knowledge of everything is never going to be attainable. Instead, you must use the best information you have at the time.

Principle 7 – Considers human and cultural factors
Risk management must consider both the human and cultural factors of the people working in the organisation, as these will influence the effectiveness of risk management procedures. You need to take into account the capabilities, perceptions and attitudes of employees, as these can easily cause the risk management system to fail. For example, lack of training, not perceiving the severity of risks or not responding to risks appropriately.

Principle 8: Practices continual improvement
For a risk management system to be effective and resilient to new risks, it needs to be continually audited and improved. Daily experience of the system in action will reveal problems or sticking points that need to be amended or highlight new risks that weren’t previously considered. The ‘plan, do check, act’ cycle can help with the improvement process.

ISO 31000 Risk Management Framework

The ISO 31000 risk management framework comprises 6 key areas that aim to help you better manage and control risks. The ISO 31000 risk management framework, and how to comply with each area, is as follows:

1. Leadership – all leaders in the company take risk management seriously and do their best to ensure the principles of ISO 31000 are applied to the organisation’s culture and operations. Leaders must be committed to risk management and encourage employees to be engaged and accountable.
2. Integration – integration is about ensuring your risk management procedures are well integrated into daily operations and key activities, without causing unnecessary delays or setbacks to processes. Risk management must be fully embedded into the organisation and not seen as an ‘added extra’.
3. Design – your risk management system should be designed based on the needs of your organisation – there is no one-size-fits-all method. Instead, you should structure your risk management process according to the context of your business and the types and severity of risks it’s likely to encounter.
4. Implementation – your risk management procedures need to be deployed into daily activities: all policies and procedures should be adhered to, objectives communicated, resources allocated and technology implemented. The plan should explain the specific actions to be taken, their timings and resources and who is responsible.
5. Evaluation – regular review of your risk management system is needed to ensure it’s still working effectively and to identify any further refinements or changes. Any significant issues should be resolved as soon as possible by the accountable person.
6. Improvement – all ISO standards focus heavily on continual improvement, so organisations should continue to look at their risk management measures, identify gaps and make improvements. Your risk management system should not remain static.

ISO 31000 Risk Management Process

The ISO 31000 risk management process is made up of 6 aspects:

1. Communication and consultation – these apply throughout the risk management process, as all relevant stakeholders need to understand the risks, how to handle them and offer their feedback. All viewpoints, areas of expertise and scenarios need to be considered at all stages of the risk management process.
2. Scope, context and criteria – the risk management process begins by defining the objectives of the risk management system, understanding who and what may influence the objectives and recognising the level of risk the organisation may face.
3. Risk assessment – the risks (whether threats or opportunities) must be identified and listed, analysed to put them in order of priority and evaluated to determine the severity of each risk.
4. Risk treatment – control and mitigation measures for each identified risk need to be chosen. Where possible, risks should be eliminated completely. If this isn’t possible, then they need to be reduced, accepted or distributed elsewhere.
5. Monitoring and review – the performance of each risk control measure needs to be continually reviewed and compared with its expected results to check for suitability and effectiveness.
6. Recording and reporting – the whole risk management process should be documented in writing and communicated to all stakeholders. Depending on the context of the organisation, you may need to record different things, such as non-compliance, technological failures, observations, accidents and/or near-misses. These records can then be used to improve the risk management procedures.

An ISO 31000 risk management system is a globally-recognised framework for successfully and effectively managing risks within your organisation. When the principles of ISO 31000 are applied to your business – and the steps of the framework are followed – you’ll be better able to identify potential risks, mitigate their impact and reduce the chances of them having a negative effect on your business activities.

Further Resources:

• Risk Assessment Training
• Risk Assessment at Work: Free Template
• What are Safe Systems of Work?
• Online Health and Safety Courses

The post What is ISO 31000 – Risk Management? appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

What is ISO 37001?

ISO 37001 is an international standard designed to help organisations create, implement and maintain an effective anti-bribery management system (ABMS).

ISO 37001 enables businesses of all sizes to prevent, detect and address bribery by following a series of steps, including creating an anti-bribery policy, carrying out risk assessments, training members of staff, implementing controls and ensuring reporting and investigating procedures are in place. These measures are all considered best practice for anti-bribery worldwide.

The main purpose of an ISO 37001 ABMS is to instil an anti-bribery culture within an organisation, therefore making bribery less likely and having better means for detecting bribery should it occur. The standard covers bribery both by the organisation, its personnel and its business associates and bribery of the organisation, its personnel and its business associates by a third party.

An ISO 37001 ABMS can be implemented by any type of organisation, whether in the private, public or voluntary sector, by organisations of any size and in any part of the world.

Why is ISO 37001 Important?

ISO 37001 is important because it helps organisations to implement or enhance their existing anti-bribery management system. Not only can this prevent bribery from occuring in the business, but it also reduces the impact of bribery should it happen.

Bribery is a widespread problem that costs businesses copious amounts of time and money. It can also have disastrous, far-reaching effects – far beyond the organisation affected – contributing towards political instability, poverty and hindering international trade. This is why having an ISO 37001 ABMS is so essential.

Note that obtaining ISO 37001 certification doesn’t guarantee that bribery will be avoided completely. Instead, it provides organisations with a well thought out system that they can follow in order to deter bribery to the best of their ability. It also acts as evidence that the organisation has a robust system in place should allegations of bribery ever arise.

What are the Benefits of ISO Certifications?

There are many business benefits of ISO certification. Obtaining an ISO 37001 certificate enables your organisation to:

• Improve your existing ABMS – ensuring your current anti-bribery system meets the requirements of ISO 37001 will make it more robust and more effective. it also makes your policies and processes more transparent.
• Commit to anti-bribery best practice – by following the ISO 37001 standard, your organisation will be committing to follow best practice. It also ensures that your suppliers and subcontractors are committed too.
• Implement robust procedures – an ISO 37001 anti-bribery management system means the reporting and investigation procedures you have in place work well, your financial controls are effective and everyone knows what to do to prevent and report instances of bribery.
• Assure customers, clients, stakeholders and investors – an ISO 37001 ABMS proves to your customers, clients and potential investors that you’re proactively trying to deter bribery, giving them more confidence in your business.
• Provide evidence of compliance for suppliers – some contractors and suppliers will require you to provide evidence of your compliance with ISO 37001 before they’ll work with you, so having this certification opens up the market.
• Demonstrate legal compliance – the Bribery Act 2010 requires your organisation to have adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery, so having an ISO 37001 system in place helps you to comply with this legislation.
• Give evidence in a criminal investigation – in the event of an investigation into bribery regarding your company, your ISO 37001 certificate will act as evidence to prove you’ve taken all reasonable steps to prevent bribery from occurring.

ISO 37001 Requirements

The requirements of ISO 37001 are designed to be integrated within your existing anti-bribery processes and controls. These measures, when applied, will help your business to prevent, detect and respond to bribery effectively.

ISO 37001 requirements include ensuring your organisation has:

• An anti-bribery policy.
• Commitment from management and leadership teams.
• Someone to oversee compliance with the policy.
• Regular staff training and vetting.
• Completed bribery risk assessments.
• Due diligence procedures for projects and business associates.
• Financial, commercial and contractual controls.
• Reporting, monitoring, investigation and review procedures.
• Procedures for corrective action.
• An attitude of continual improvement.

Want to Learn More?

Regular staff training in anti-bribery and corruption measures is vital for ISO 37001 compliance and certification. Our online Anti-Bribery and Corruption training course will help you to meet this requirement.

How to Achieve ISO 37001 Certification

To achieve ISO 37001 certification for your organisation’s ABMS, you’ll need to follow a series of steps:

Step 1: Understand the ISO 37001 requirements

Firstly, it’s important to familiarise yourself with the expectations of the ISO 37001 standard so you understand how to ensure your ABMS complies with it. To create an ISO 37001-compliant ABMS, you’ll need to apply the core elements to your organisation. You can purchase a copy of the standard here.

Step 2: Undergo a stage 1 audit

A stage 1 audit by the certification team will result in a report containing general observations about your ABMS and highlighting any non-conformities with the standard. These may be minor, where a corrective action plan must be completed, or major, whereby the corrective action plan must be completed and submitted back to the assessment team within 10 days of receiving the initial report. Any major non-conformities will then be reassessed to ensure they’ve been resolved.

Step 3: Undergo a stage 2 audit

A stage 2 audit will be carried out once stage 1 has been passed and any non-conformities with the standard have been addressed. This will result in a stage 2 report containing positive general observations about your ABMS, suggestions for improvement and any minor/major non-conformities still outstanding.

Non-conformities, whether minor or major, must be addressed by the organisation with a corrective action plan and sent back to the auditor (within 45 days for minors and 90 days for majors). For major non-conformities, a revisit will be required within 30 days to ensure the issues have been resolved.

Step 2: Receive your ISO 37001 certificate

When the stage 2 audit has been passed, you’ll be awarded the ISO 37001 certification. This certification is valid for 3 years, after which your ABMS will need re-auditing in order to maintain the certificate.

An ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management System (ABMS) ensures your organisation is doing all it can to prevent bribery from occurring and deal with it appropriately should it happen. Achieving ISO 37001 certification proves to clients, customers and investors that you take bribery seriously and will always take action against it. To obtain ISO 37001 certification, you’ll need to be subject to two audits to ensure your ABMS is up to standard before the certificate is issued.

Further Resources:

• Anti-Bribery Online Training Course
• Anti-Bribery & Anti-Corruption Policy Template
• The Effects of Bribery and Corruption in Businesses
• What is ISO 31000 – Risk Management?

The post What is ISO 37001 – Anti-Bribery Management Systems? appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

What is Employment Law?

Employment law is an umbrella term given to the UK legislation that governs employer-employee relations. Collectively, these laws state what employers can ask of their workers and what workers’ rights are. Employment law ensures that working relationships and working conditions are fair and safe, in all situations.

Employment law covers many different aspects of work, including:

• Bullying.
• Disabilities.
• Disciplinary procedures.
• Discrimination.
• Dismissal procedures.
• Employment contracts.
• Equal pay.
• Gardening leave.
• Grievance procedures.
• Harassment and victimisation.
• Health and safety.
• Holiday pay.
• Maternity leave.
• Minimum wage.
• Parental leave and rights.
• Recruitment practices.
• Redundancy.
• Whistleblowing.
• Working hours.

It’s important to remember that employment laws change regularly, so always check current guidance if an issue arises within your organisation to ensure you’re up-to-date with the latest procedures in each area of employment law.

Why Do We Need Employment Law?

We need employment law in the workplace to ensure workers are protected from unfair practices, receive the benefits they’re entitled to and are kept safe in the workplace.

Without employment laws in place, workers would be unable to address problems or unfair treatment, as these laws give employees legal protection and a legal means of resolving unfair situations regarding their employer.

Employment law ensures organisations operate fairly and safely in all areas of business, from hiring and onboarding through to leave and dismissal.

Need to Understand More?

Our Employment Law Training course teaches you how to achieve best practice in all areas of a worker’s employment.

Employment Law Examples

Below are some examples of legislation that falls under the category of ‘employment law’. Note that these employment law examples are not exhaustive and there are many other relevant laws, acts and guidance documents that businesses must refer to.

• The Equality Act 2010 gives workers protection against discrimination, harassment and victimisation. It refers to nine ‘protected characteristics’ and helps to ensure equality, diversity and inclusion rights in the workplace.
• The Employment Rights Act 1996 outlines employees’ rights in regards to redundancy and redundancy pay, notice periods, dismissal and leave.
• The Worker Protection Act 2023 requires employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace by putting ‘reasonable steps’ in place to discourage, prevent and manage sexual harassment should it occur.
• The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 sets out the lowest pay that an employee is entitled to based on their age. The National Minimum Wage changes every year to take into account inflation.
• Equal pay law, covered in the Equality Act 2010, states that men and women are legally entitled to receive the same pay for the same or equivalent work
• The Maternity and Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999 explain the rights of employees in regards to time off work for family-related leave.
• Statutory annual leave, set by the Government, states the amount of paid leave that employees are entitled to each year. For most employees, this is 5.6 weeks.

You can find more information on specific human resources and employee relations topics in our range of Human Resources Articles, or take a look at our online Business Essentials training courses to gain more in-depth knowledge of employment law.

Employment law is relevant to every workplace and gives all workers, at all levels, legal protection against unfair or unsafe working practices. Employment law is needed to ensure everyone is treated fairly and equally. It promotes healthy employer-employee relations and gives workers confidence to stand up for their rights in all aspects of business, from recruitment to contract termination.

Further Resources:

• Employment Law Training
• The Consequences of a Lack of Training in the Workplace
• Intersectionality in the Workplace

The post Understanding Employment Law appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

What is the Worker Protection Act?

The UK’s Worker Protection Act is an amendment to the existing Equality Act 2010 and is in force from October 26th 2024.

The new Worker Protection Act states that all employers must take ‘reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the course of their employment’. This puts the onus on the employer – rather than the employee – to take action against inappropriate conduct in the workplace. It also gives workers more protection, rights and support should they experience sexual harassment when at work.

The term ‘harassment’ refers to any sort of behaviour that has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that person. The term ‘sexual harassment’ refers to any sort of unwanted conduct of a sexual nature that has this effect.

If you want to learn more, our article on Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace explains more about what sexual harassment is, gives some examples of workplace sexual harassment and gives more details on employer responsibilities.

Employer Responsibilities: How Can Employers Take Reasonable Steps to Prevent Sexual Harassment?

The Worker Protection Act puts a responsibility on employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. There is no single definition of what ‘reasonable steps’ means, however, so it’s up to each employer to determine what action needs to be taken in order to demonstrate they’ve taken appropriate steps to prevent sexual harassment from occurring.

Despite there being no official guidance of what ‘reasonable steps’ are, there are five key actions that employers can do today to help show that they’ve taken reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace:

1. Conduct a sexual harassment risk assessment

It’s a good idea to take stock of where you currently are and carry out a risk assessment in your business. This means identifying any potential risk areas, reviewing past incidents of sexual harassment and evaluating how employees currently act and feel about sexual harassment in the workplace.

Consider carrying out a new staff attitude survey to collect feedback and find out what workers really think about existing measures, such as gender equality, workplace bullying and harassment reporting procedures. The information gathered in the risk assessment process will then enable you to address problem areas. Remember to keep written records of all your actions too, as you may need it as evidence that you’ve taken ‘reasonable steps’.

2. Review existing harassment policies

It’s essential that you take a look at your existing policies and procedures to check they’re up-to-date, relevant and suitable. Your business will likely already have a formal bullying and harassment policy, so check what it says and ensure it includes a section containing the definition of sexual harassment, examples of sexual harassment in the workplace and guidance for employees on what to do if they experience sexual harassment at work.

You may want to create a standalone sexual harassment policy – that’s separate to the main bullying and harassment policy – to show that you take the topic seriously and see it as worthy of having it’s own procedures and guidance. This policy can then go into more detail about the business’ expectations of employees, examples of unacceptable behaviours and details of the incident reporting procedure.

3. Educate the workforce about sexual harassment

In order to prevent sexual harassment from occurring, it’s vital that everyone understands what sexual harassment actually is. Employers should provide all members of staff with regular training so they can recognise inappropriate behaviours, prevent them from happening and understand what to do to address and report sexual harassment should it occur. Staff training is also a great opportunity to promote positive behaviours and encourage a culture of equality.

Online training courses you may find useful include Sexual Harassment Training Course For Managers and Supervisors, Sexual Harassment Training For Employees, Workplace Bullying & Harassment and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training.

4. Establish a ‘speak up’ culture and remove barriers to reporting harassment

Ensuring employees have an easy and efficient way to report sexual harassment is essential for improving staff wellbeing and psychological safety. Having a clear and simple reporting procedure in place is also a key ‘reasonable step’ towards preventing sexual harassment – remember to document your procedure should you need to prove this.

Establish a workplace culture where employees are encouraged to ‘speak up’ about sexual harassment, as this will give you more opportunities to detect unwanted behaviours or problem areas. For example, regular staff surveys, one-to-ones with line managers, a clear reporting procedure and group training sessions will empower workers to speak up about potential issues.

However, for staff to feel confident to speak up about sexual harassment, they need to see that the reporting procedure is free from barriers, otherwise they simply won’t bother reporting at all. This means ensuring employees can trust you’ll take their report seriously, you’ll take swift appropriate action once a report is made and staff are reassured that they won’t face repercussions for speaking up.

5. Set the tone from the top down

For employees to feel confident that you are taking all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, you need to walk the walk and talk the talk. This means setting the right example at all levels of the business, from senior management down to line managers and supervisors, by living the values you’ve established and behaving in the way you expect your employees to.

Everyone at all levels of the business should be trained in sexual harassment so they feel confident to challenge it and speak up about it. Managers and senior leaders should promote a culture of dignity and respect, set the tone for expected behaviour and challenge ingrained attitudes that are known to be problematic. If workers can see that senior management take sexual harassment seriously, then they’re much more likely to follow suit.

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 puts a requirement on employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Sexual harassment involves any sort of sexual conduct or behaviour that makes an employee feel uncomfortable whilst at work and it must be prevented, challenged and dealt with appropriately. To do this, employers need to put measures in place to empower workers to speak up about sexual harassment and recognise that their employer takes their concerns and report of harassment seriously.

Further Resources:

• Sexual Harassment Training For Employees
• Sexual Harassment Training Course For Managers and Supervisors
• Workplace Bullying & Harassment Training
• What is the Equality Act 2010 and Why is it Important?
• Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Employer Responsibilities

The post What the Worker Protection Act Means for You appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

What is Carbon Footprint in Business?

Your carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases that are generated by your actions. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide and methane, and they are emitted either directly or indirectly by daily activities.

Your carbon footprint in business refers to the total amount of greenhouse gases your workplace generates through daily operations, transportation, manufacturing and maintenance, to name a few. It also includes the emissions created by workplace equipment and utilities.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol – who set international standards for carbon emissions – categorise carbon footprint activities into three key areas. Each of your workplace activities will fall into one of the three categories and you can use this information to help your company reduce its carbon footprint. The three areas are:

1. Scope 1: Direct Emissions – these are the greenhouse gas emissions created by the fuel and energy sources your business uses in its daily operations. For example, gas boilers, furnaces or the petrol in company-owned vehicles.
2. Scope 2: Indirect Emissions – these are the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the energy your business purchases. For example, the energy needed for electricity, heating and air conditioning. Indirect emissions are linked to your company’s utility bills and are affected by your energy choices and how energy efficient your business is.
3. Scope 3: Other Indirect Emissions – this category is for everything else, i.e. all other indirect greenhouse gas emissions linked to your company’s daily operations but not produced by the business itself. For example, employee commuting, waste disposal, purchased goods, office electronics and outsourced services.

Why Should Companies Reduce Their Carbon Footprint?

Reducing your carbon footprint is vital to help mitigate climate change. Businesses and buildings contribute enormously to global greenhouse gas emissions, so it’s essential that they play their part in reducing them. It’s believed that buildings and offices are responsible for almost 40% of the world’s energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.

As well as the positive environmental impact, reducing your business’s carbon footprint has many other benefits:

• Help the UK achieve net zero – As part of the Paris Agreement, the UK aims to reach net zero by 2050, meaning the total greenhouse gas emissions will be equal to the emissions removed from the atmosphere. Reducing your organisation’s carbon footprint now will help the country to achieve this goal and ensure you’re complying with any current or future regulatory requirements.
• Attract like-minded employees – A 2021 survey learnt that 65% of people would prefer to work for an environmentally-minded company. Working to reduce your carbon footprint shows potential job candidates that your business is responsible, caring and accountable for its future.
• Enhance your public profile – Alongside attracting like-minded staff, your business will also attract like-minded customers, clients and stakeholders by reducing its carbon emissions. Research has shown that 34% of consumers choose brands with strong, sustainable credentials, so upping your environmental game will likely lead to an increase in sales.
• Save your business money – Taking a look at your company’s carbon footprint and making changes to improve it will more than likely save your business money. Energy consumption is a significant cost for most businesses, so improving your energy efficiency will soon lead to lower energy bills.

How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint in the Workplace

There are so many ways for your business to reduce its carbon footprint, many of which are low-cost and low-effort. Even if your company makes just one of the changes listed here, it will still make a positive difference to the amount of greenhouse gas emissions it creates.

1. Choose energy-efficient lighting – Switch to LED lightbulbs as these are much more efficient than older, halogen bulbs and tend to last a lot longer before they need replacing. The Energy Saving Trust says that replacing lightbulbs with LED alternatives can reduce your carbon emissions by 5KG. You should also aim to reduce energy wastage by only switching on lights when you need them, installing sensor-activated lighting, using dimmable lights and keeping blinds open to maximise natural light.

2. Manage the temperature – Pay attention to the way your business both heats and cools its premises, as heating and cooling systems can quickly use a lot of energy. Opt for programmable thermostats and energy-efficient HVAC systems, seal windows and doors, install insulation and use double glazing. Keep systems clean and well maintained so that they’re working at maximum efficiency and pay attention to the temperature settings on your thermostat – turning the temperature down by just one degree will make a big difference to your carbon footprint.

3. Switch energy suppliers – Take a look at who currently provides your utilities and see whether you’re able to switch to a renewable source. Renewable energy sources, like hydroelectric power and solar power, are much more sustainable options than fossil fuels and create far less harmful carbon emissions.You could even consider installing solar panels on the roof of your company’s premises.

4. Opt for greener transport – If you have employees that commute to the workplace, encourage them to use more sustainable transport options, such as public transports, walking, biking or car-sharing. Your business could consider offering incentives to reduce the cost of public transport for workers and, if company cars are provided, selecting electric vehicles rather than petrol/diesel-fuelled ones.

5. Choose local suppliers and reduce journey distances – Buy products and services from businesses local to you, as this is much more sustainable and reduces carbon emissions as products have a much smaller distance to travel. Plan deliveries, orders and collections more efficiently to prevent unnecessary journeys, look for local companies that offer packaging-free delivery options and send just one person out to collect office lunches, rather than each employee driving individually.

6. Go paperless – Reduce the amount of paper used in your business by using digital documents instead of paper ones, emails rather than posted mail, limit printing to essential documents only, avoid hard-copies of training materials and print double-sided. Adopt a ‘paperless policy’ across the company and recycle as much as possible to avoid any paper waste – it’s thought that around 26% of waste in landfills around the world is a result of paper.

7. Banish single-use items – Single-use items, like paper towels, disposable cutlery and coffee cups, contribute towards carbon emissions as they require manufacturing, sale and delivery to replace. Around 2.5 billion takeaway coffee cups are thrown away in the UK each year. Replace any single-use items your company uses with reusable ones – you could provide staff with water bottles, mugs, spoons and cloth cleaning towels, for example. These are easy swaps to make and can have a big impact on reducing your business’s carbon footprint.

8. Use rechargeable batteries – Your company office probably has a variety of small appliances and items that use batteries, such as smoke detectors, radios, calculators, remote controls and wireless keyboards. Replace the single-use batteries in them with rechargeable ones which can be used hundreds of times rather than just once, reducing waste and reducing carbon emissions.

9. Reduce, reuse and recycle – Alongside reducing the amount of waste produced by your company, you should also aim to recycle as much as you can to reduce the environmental impact you have. Put labelled recycling bins in all staff areas and offices to encourage the recycling of paper, cardboard, tins, bottles, glass, printer ink cartridges, batteries, lightbulbs, etc. Make recycling as easy as possible for employees so that nothing goes in the wrong bin and educate staff so they understand the importance of recycling.

10. Reduce food waste – The UN says that a third of all food produced in the world is wasted. Not only does this result in lost food, but also a waste of carbon emissions from when the food was produced, packaged, transported and disposed of. Furthermore, when waste food breaks down in landfill, it produces methane – a greenhouse gas. Whether your business has a canteen, food hall, shop or staffroom, ensure that food waste is reduced wherever possible through composting or food donation.

11. Opt for organic food and drink – If your business provides employees or visitors with food and drink, choose organic or Fairtrade options where you can, as these have been produced in a more sustainable way and therefore have a lower carbon footprint. You could also look for food and drink companies that are BCorp certified, as this shows the company has a strong social conscience.

12. Remove plastic water bottles – Many businesses offer free bottles of water to staff and visitors, but this can result in significant plastic waste, costs and carbon emissions. Instead, swap bottled water for a water filter which can be installed directly onto your taps.

13. Rent items rather than buying them – All equipment creates carbon emissions during manufacture, packing and delivery, including office furniture, electronics and machinery. If you’re able to, lease your equipment rather than purchasing it outright, as this helps to save resources and energy. Another option is to buy second hand, as this is a much more sustainable option than buying new.

14.  Look for green appliances – If you need to replace company appliances and electronics with new ones, and you aren’t able to rent them, then always look for the most energy-efficient options. All appliances have ratings for how efficient they are and, the better the rating, the less energy it uses, the lower emissions it produces and the more money it’ll save you to run.

15. Retrofit existing company buildings – Older company premises are unlikely to be as energy-efficient as newly built ones, so consider retrofitting your building to improve its environmental credentials. Could you install more insulation, replace old windows with double-glazing, install solar panels or add lighting sensors? All of these options will reduce carbon emissions and reduce energy costs.

16. Aim for a green certification – Your business can apply for a certification scheme to prove how sustainable it is. Not only does this show potential clients and stakeholders that you’re accountable for your environmental actions, but it also helps your business recognise what it needs to do to reduce emissions in order to achieve green accreditation. Examples of green certifications in the UK are Green Mark, Green Accord and B Corp. 

17. Implement a company-wide sustainability policy – Including a sustainability policy in your company procedures shows to employees, customers, stakeholders and the world that you are serious about reducing carbon emissions and improving your carbon footprint. Ensure employees are trained regularly in environmental awareness, keep sustainability part of every business conversation and actively do what you can to keep green behaviour at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

If your business takes action to reduce its carbon footprint, then not only will the environment benefit from the changes made, but your company will also save money and enhance its public profile. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is vital for mitigating climate change and achieving net zero and it’s often the smallest of changes to your daily operations that make all the difference.

Further Resources

• The Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility for Your Business
• How to Implement Corporate Social Responsibility in Your Small Business
• How to Promote Environmental Awareness in the Workplace

The post How to Reduce Carbon Footprint at Work appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

Intellectual property is something that is created using the mind such as an invention, a brand name, a symbol or a product including the design of the packaging.

In this article, we will outline what is meant by trade marks, copyright, patents and trade secrets. We will also discuss instances in which each type of intellectual property can be used and how to decide which will be best for your business.

This article covers the following:

• What is a trade mark?
  • Trade mark symbol
  • Registered ® symbol
  • Applying for a trade mark
  • Trade mark infringement examples
• What is copyright?
  • Copyright infringement examples
• What is a patent?
  • Patent examples
• What is a trade secret?
  • Trade secret examples
• How do I use the intellectual property tools?
  • What copyright protections do you have as a blogger, restaurant or chef?

Use the links above if you’d like to jump to a certain section of the article.

What is a Trade Mark?

A trade mark is a type of intellectual property which identifies a product or service as a particular source, and is distinguishable by customers from another product or service. The Trade Marks Act 1994 describes a trade mark as ‘any sign capable of being represented graphically which is capable of distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings’.

Logos and names are the most common form of trade mark. This can include product or brand names. Other intellectual property that can be protected with a trade mark include: 

• Shapes including packaging. 
• Colours.
• Colour combinations.
• Sounds.
• Patterns.

A trade mark must be unique and cannot be confused with another existing trade mark. For this reason, common words describing the product or service cannot be trade marked – such as ‘cereal’ cannot be trade marked for a cereal food product. A trade mark cannot be offensive, misleading or look similar to a state symbol such as a flag.

The Trade Mark symbol can be added to a word which you deem to be your trade mark but is not officially registered. Some businesses use the symbol while a trade mark application is in process before the trade mark application is granted to show intent and discourage others from using it. This symbol does not offer the protections of the Trade Marks Act 1994 as it is not registered.

The Registered ® symbol in the UK can only be added to trade marks which have been officially registered. This symbol is sometimes referred to as the ‘all rights reserved’ symbol.

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Applying for a Trade Mark

Before applying to the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office, you need to check to see if your trade mark, or a similar trade mark, has already been registered in the UK’s ‘trade marks database’. This database can also be used to avoid infringing someone else’s trade mark.

If a similar trade mark is registered, you can ask for a letter of consent from the existing trade mark owner which must accompany your application. Communicating with a company which has a similar trade mark can avoid costly lawsuits by coming to a mutual agreement – or finding out sooner rather than later that you need to come up with another design or name. It’s important to note that once you have applied, a trade mark cannot be changed so you need to be careful before you submit the application.

Registering a company name or owning a website domain name offers little legal protection from someone else using that name. Anyone with a UK address for service can apply to the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office for a trade mark. Remember, each country may have their own trade mark laws and databases too, so if you are considering supplying globally, you may need to apply to each country separately. A trade mark must be renewed every 10 years in the UK and EU.

Before Brexit, businesses operating in the UK and EU applied to the EU Intellectual Property Office, as an EU trade mark would cover all of the EU member states. This may still be a cheaper option than applying to several countries separately, even though the UK is no longer covered under the EU trademark. All trade marks registered before 31st December 2020 were transferred to the UK database and a second application after this date is not needed. You should also consider the languages you would like your trade mark to cover if you are operating across several countries, including any translations of your product name, brand name, or slogan.

When you apply for a trade mark, you must apply for a specific classification of goods or services, as this is an internationally agreed system. One trade mark can cover multiple classifications. For example, a coffee bean brand may have a class 30 trade mark to cover coffee but they may also want to consider adding a retail class 43 to the trade mark to prevent a coffee shop from using the same brand or product names. Once a trade mark has been approved, additional classes cannot simply be added; a new trade mark application would be needed.

However, section 5 of the Trade Marks Act 1994 prevents the registration of a mark that is merely similar to an existing mark meaning there are grounds for protection of dissimilar goods across all product categories. These were some of the grounds the famous Hugo Boss vs Hugo Boss was using to prevent a brewery from using the word ‘Boss’ on their beer. A business should consider the potential bad press the company will receive before pursuing an infringement claim.

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Consumer Protection

‘Passing off’ trade mark laws are ultimately in place to protect the consumer from being misled. A Which? investigation showed that one in five shoppers have unknowingly bought a supermarket own-brand product thinking it was a well-known brand. This leads to consumers feeling annoyed and misled.

Trade Mark Infringement Examples

Some well known examples of existing trade marks and trade mark infringements are:

Colin the Caterpillar

Colin the Caterpillar is a popular chocolate cake in the shape of a caterpillar created by M&S. M&S claimed that Aldi infringed on their registered trade mark with their Cuthbert the Caterpillar chocolate cake. M&S took issue with the similarity to the original, claiming that customers would be confused by the manufacturer of the Cuthbert cake leading shoppers to believe it is of the same quality M&S produce. The case became more complex, however, as several UK supermarkets sell a version of a chocolate caterpillar cake which M&S did not include in the dispute.

4-Finger Kit Kat 

In 2017 Nestle failed to trade mark the four-fingered KitKat shape in the UK, which they claimed to be a unique shape. Unfortunately for Nestle, a similar Norwegian bar from the Freia brand called Kvikk Lunsj has been around since 1937. Nestle’s failed trade marking attempt came after Cadbury also failed to trademark the shade of purple it uses in its branding after Nestle complained.

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What is Copyright?

A copyright (©) is a type of intellectual property which gives the creator or owner the only right to make a copy of their unique work. Work covered by copyright laws includes:

• Literary work such as books and recipes.
• Non-literary work such as software and databases.
• Artistic work such as an artwork, graphic or packaging design.
• Educational material such as a training course content.
• Musical work such as sheet music and recordings.

Copyright protection is free and automatic under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. It does not need to be applied for and there is no copyright register in the UK.

The copyright symbol © can be added to your work, however, your legal protections remain the same whether you apply the © symbol or not. Copyright protections prevent people from copying your work and distributing the copies, making an adaptation of your work, or putting your work on the internet.

Copyright lasts for 50 years from the end of the owner’s life. This is why some classical sheet music can be legally copied, though any newer recordings will still be covered under copyright law. 

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Copyright Infringement Examples

Copyright infringement examples include:

Stolen Blog Recipes – Recipeasly

A food website called ‘Recipeasily’ was taken down due to copyright infringement as it collated recipes from bloggers without the “ads and life stories”. By doing this, the website would have unfairly taken the revenue for the web page views away from the original creator. The copyright infringement also covers any images from the original blog which falls under the owners ‘unique work’.

Youtube

Youtubers should only upload videos they have created themselves or have authorisation to use. This includes music clips, videos from other creators and programmes. In the UK, there are grounds to use a video clip provided you are critiquing and reviewing the borrowed video clip providing the original reference is clear – but it is very much a case by case basis. Many YouTubers have seen their videos removed by YouTube for violating copyright laws.

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What is a Patent?

A patent provides the inventor of a process or item, exclusive rights for a designated period of time. Patents are the most difficult of intellectual property to obtain and also the most expensive to enforce if someone infringes upon it.

Before applying for a patent, you need to search the UK patent database to see if your invention already exists and has been patented by someone else. Once the requirements have been met, a patent could take anywhere from 18 months to several years to be registered. For this reason, you could consider looking into registering a trade mark instead and keeping your invention a trade secret through confidentiality agreements.

A patent protects inventions and encourages innovation and commercialisation of technological advances. Patents are only granted for non-obvious novel ideas and solutions to problems which have never been invented before or made public in any way. Therefore, if you’ve made your invention public before applying for the patent, this could affect your chances of getting your patent granted. A confidentiality agreement ensures that it is clear you wish to keep your invention secret if you need to talk with someone about it, such as a manufacturer.

In the UK, a patent can last up to 20 years – providing the renewal fees are paid. It is advised by the government that you might want to contact a professional who can help and advise with the complex process of the application. A UK patent will also only apply and protect your invention within the UK. For this reason, you need to consider the scope you’d like a patent to cover as you may need to apply for several, depending on the regions you would like to be covered by.

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Patent Examples

Cauli Rice – Riced Cauliflower

Cauli Rice, also known as Riced Cauliflower, is the first long-life microwavable rice alternative (made from cauliflower) that is protected by a patent. The patented technology allows the product to have a 12 month shelf life without the need to add preservatives or additives. 

Self-Raising Flour

In 1845, Henry Jones invented and patented self-raising flour in the UK and America. At the time this was a very new and revolutionary invention which transformed the future of bakery. 

Nespresso Coffee Pods

Nestle’s coffee pod brand had a patent for their coffee machine including the design of its pods. Unfortunately for Nespresso, their patent covering the coffee pod design ran out in 2011, allowing cheaper brands to produce compatible coffee pods. 

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What is a Trade Secret?

Trade secrets are a form of intellectual property which can include ingredient formulas and secret processes. Trade secrets retain value through not commonly known or easily decipherable information. The generally understood definition of a trade secret includes three factors:

• Information that is not commonly known to the public.
• The secret retains economic benefit because the information is not publicly known.
• The holder makes reasonable efforts to maintain its secrecy.

Trade secrets are not registered or known publicly in contrast to copyright, trade marks and patents. Therefore, businesses put internal measures in place to prevent the secret from becoming public knowledge, such as confidentiality agreements or non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). Trade secrets and control measures such as NDAs do not have an expiration date in the same way as a patent or copyright ownership does, and are often kept continuously secret for generations.

To reduce the risk of a trade secret being discovered and duplicated, the number of individuals with access to the information should be reduced. This includes elements such as a secret formula or recipe for a particular product that you want to remain hidden from competitors who would look to replicate it. Trade secrets can be licenced, but this is rare and usually avoided unless absolutely necessary.

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Trade Secret Examples

Examples of trade secrets include:

• The Coca Cola formulation.
• The KFC 11 herbs and spices mix
• The formulation for Pimms. 
• The Cadbury Dairy Milk formulation.

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How Do I Use the Intellectual Property Tools?

By implementing an efficient intellectual property strategy, you have the potential to give your business a competitive advantage over competitors. When choosing the type of intellectual property tool to use for your inventions and creations consider the following:

• What category of intellectual property your creation or idea falls under.
• The length of protection the IP tool will provide. A trade secret can be protected with NDAs and does not have an expiration date compared to having to publicly disclose a process in order to get a patent.
• The costs, including the ongoing costs of holding the IP tool and the expense of protecting your idea from infringement. 

Copyright protections are automatic in the UK and do not need to be registered. It’s important that you know your rights, as this may be the level of protection you are looking for. Not knowing your rights or different intellectual property options available to you leaves your IP open to infringement and potentially a decrease in revenue. It may be useful to keep a record of the process in which you used to come up with your business idea. In some instances, you could use multiple intellectual property tools and there is some crossover between them.

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What copyright protections do you have as a blogger, restaurant or chef?

Blogs

As discussed above, recipes should not be directly lifted, including any original images from a bloggers page. However, it is not copyright infringement to make food following the posted recipe and selling the food item – such as a bakery using a cinnamon bun recipe from a food blogger. 

Nothing stops someone from creating a dairy or gluten-free version of your recipe and claiming it as their own, even if this feels morally wrong. A copyright infringement claim can only be made if the image and recipe has been copied exactly without context or reference. An ingredient list is more difficult to protect compared to the written style of a recipe, as the method may count as a literary work.

If you have used an original image to post alongside your recipe which has been lifted by another website, this does count as replicating original work and you are protected by copyright law. One way to protect your images is by adding a watermark or signature to prove your ownership if any disputes were to arise.

Restaurants

Restaurant trade secrets could include a signature dish or a secret pizza dough recipe. Some restaurants trade mark the name of a dish providing the name is unique and distinctive. However, this only indicates the name is intended to be intellectual property, and not covered by law in regard to the contents and recipe of the dish. 

It is common to have similar dishes on the menus of restaurants. If you want to protect your recipes and dishes, you may want to go down the road of calling them trade secrets, and having an agreement with staff that you own the recipes which should not be replicated in another restaurant.

Chef

If you wish to own and replicate a recipe that you’ve created whilst working under the employment of a restaurant, it is best to declare your intent of ownership early, and come to a mutual agreement with your employer. If you are hired, then any recipes you come up with will most likely belong to them. There is no guarantee that they will agree to your request. You may be able to create a similar dish, but it is best not to try to replicate a dish from a previous employer exactly and with the same name and description.

Having a pending lawsuit will affect your employability which should be taken into consideration if you replicate and pass off as your own, something from your previous employment.

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We hope you found the above information useful. Should you wish to discuss your business needs further, or would like to know more about how our training can help you, please contact our friendly, helpful sales and support teams on 0333 006 7000 or email sales@highspeedtraining.co.uk.

Further Resources:

• Starting a Business from Home Course
• Cyber Security in Food & Drink Manufacturing: BRCGS Standards
• Food Packaging Materials: Regulations & Different Types

The post What’s the Difference Between Trade Marks, Copyright, Patents and Trade Secrets? appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

Delays and hindrances are not uncommon in the construction industry, some of which may be beyond your reasonable control. It’s therefore essential to set out precise terms for force majeure events, as they can give you some relief if work has to be delayed or even terminated. Without them, you may find yourself in breach of contract and without a leg to stand on.

This guide will help you understand how to integrate force majeure clauses in your contracts, as well as their capabilities and limitations. Force majeure is not a get-out-of-jail-free card but, when well-considered, it can prevent lengthy contract disputes that would otherwise cost everyone time and money.

The guide covers the following:

• What is force majeure in construction?
• What circumstances are considered force majeure?
• What circumstances are not considered force majeure?
• How to use force majeure clauses in construction contracts
• What should force majeure clauses cover?

Use the links above if you’d like to jump to a certain section of the guide.

What is Force Majeure in Construction?

Force majeure refers to unpredictable events beyond anyone’s reasonable control, which hinder one or more of the parties involved from fulfilling the agreed terms in the contract. They usually lead to delays and postponement, and in some cases even termination of the contract.

As SCL (the Society for Computers and Law) states:

For example, if unprecedented weather conditions completely gridlocked an area, preventing you from accessing a construction site or from receiving the necessary supplies, this would fall under a force majeure event.

Having a force majeure clause in your contract ensures you can legally delay or even terminate the work in exceptional circumstances, without causing a breach of contract.

However, if you want to achieve the full benefits, it’s crucial to set out force majeure clauses clearly and explicitly. There is no firm definition of force majeure in English law, so whether or not they hold up in a dispute is down to the precise wording in the contract.

It is also dependent on whether you take all due care to mitigate the effects, as the definition above states. You must ensure that contingency plans are in place and must prove that taking all the reasonable steps was not enough to avoid the consequences of a force majeure event.

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What Circumstances Are Considered Force Majeure?

Although English law doesn’t explicitly define the conditions that qualify as force majeure, there are some widely used ones that you can set out in your contracts.

The following circumstances commonly fall under force majeure events:

• “Acts of God”. This is the most important one to reference. It refers to natural incidents that are completely beyond human involvement and could not have been prevented with any foresight, planning, or care. For example, unexpectedly harsh or dangerous weather conditions and natural catastrophes like floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires. It may also include epidemics and pandemics.
• Government actions, such as unforeseen or uncontrollable changes to law and legislation. 
• Social, economic, political, or other individual or group actions, such as riots, rebellions, wars, invasions, industrial disputes, terrorism, and strikes.

These are also generally accompanied in contracts by a catch-all phrase, as there will inevitably be other unforeseen circumstances that don’t necessarily fall into these categories and are unrealistic to list in full.

For example: an explosion at a nearby chemical storage warehouse that was more severe than you could have realistically planned for, making your construction site inaccessible.

We’ll look at what to include in clauses later, including a catch-all statement.

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What Circumstances Aren’t Considered Force Majeure?

Generally speaking, any disruptive circumstances that could have been realistically prevented with sufficient foresight and planning will not count as a force majeure event. 

Some incidents may even appear to fall under the commonly accepted force majeure incidents, but actually are foreseeable and/or controllable. For example: a forecasted storm that you knew was coming and could sufficiently prepare for, and which was not harsher than expected.

Force majeure also doesn’t cover unfavourable economic or financial conditions, such as if the contract becomes unprofitable to fulfil.

Some financial situations like this may be beyond your control, such as changes in the costs of certain materials. But the work becoming unprofitable or financially difficult does not impede work or a service from being carried out in the way other force majeure events do, and alternative arrangements can be made if necessary (e.g. using another supplier or purchasing with credit). Additionally, economic fluctuations are not uncommon and could even change in a favourable way.

Anything involving finances would therefore need to be addressed elsewhere in the contract, not under the force majeure clauses.

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How to Use Force Majeure Clauses in Construction Contracts

The specific wording and placement of your force majeure clauses is down to your discretion, but it’s important to write it with unambiguous wording and with consideration of the specific business activities involved. This ensures there is no room for misinterpretation.

It’s advisable that you seek legal guidance on this if you’re uncertain, to ensure you sufficiently cover the necessary areas and that the clauses you’ve written are legally sound. 

You must also ensure that all parties involved are aware of the clauses at the date of the contract. It cannot be added retroactively.

What Should Force Majeure Clauses Cover?

As mentioned, the exact details and phrasing of your clauses will be up to you to determine. Generally speaking though, it should cover some key areas, to ensure you fully define what you mean by force majeure events and what all parties will do if one happens. 

Below is a list of what force majeure clauses may cover:

• Definition of force majeure. This should explain that it refers to exceptional circumstances beyond all parties’ control, that could not be sufficiently mitigated even with due diligence, and that are the fault of no parties involved.
• What is considered force majeure. You should list the widely accepted circumstances that could invoke a force majeure, such as acts of God, government actions, riots, strikes, etc. Be as thorough as possible, listing all common examples under these definitions. Consider also including a final catch-all phrase, which states that force majeure also includes any other unforeseeable and uncontrollable circumstances.
• Actions that will be taken. For example, you should state that you’ll follow all reasonable contingency plans and due diligence to try prevent the suspension of work in a force majeure event. You must also explain that you will notify all the affected parties within a specific time frame, as soon as the force majeure circumstance affects the contract.
• Consequences to performance of the contract. This section should explain that, if all contingency plans are insufficient, the force majeure event will disrupt the service and it will be postponed for a certain period of time. This must not exceed the predetermined, acceptable length of time for delays as set out elsewhere in the contract. It should also explain any terms for termination of the contract.

With these clauses in place, you will have contractual rights to receive the necessary and reasonable extensions to work or even close the contract if a force majeure situation calls for it, without any delay penalties or being in breach of contract.

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Disclaimer: This article is written for guidance and awareness purposes only. We do not offer legal advice, particularly in the creation of contracts, and cannot be held responsible for how you may produce yours and its effectiveness, as it depends entirely on the business agreement in question and parties involved.

What to Read Next:

• Online Asbestos Awareness Course
• PPE in Construction: Safety Guidance and Checklist
• Guide to Construction Tenders
• How to Dispose of Construction Waste
• What are the Differences Between Contractors and Employees?

The post Force Majeure in Construction Contracts: Workers & Contractors Rights appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

Incoterms help to make international trading easier by providing standard terms that are uniformly recognised across the world. These trade terms are frequently used in domestic and international trade contracts.

It’s important to note that, while the Incoterms 2020 have been published, parties can continue to use previous revisions of the Incoterms, as long as they are decided upon in their agreements.

Types of Incoterms

The commonality of Incoterms in trading contracts makes it important for you to understand what they mean and the responsibilities of the various involved parties.

Incoterms 2020 are made up of 11 different Incoterms. The update resulted in a couple of key changes, which are outlined in the dropdowns below. This article will detail all 11 of the Incoterms 2020 to help you understand more about them.

Note that one incoterm had a change of name to better reflect the content of the incoterm – DAT (Delivered at Terminal) was updated to DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded).

For more information on Incoterms 2010, visit the following article: Beginner’s Guide to the 11 Types of Incoterms 2010

It’s important to understand the key responsibilities outlined by each Incoterm and choose the one that is most suited to your needs. Our guide to the Incoterms 2020 should be a useful resource to help you understand your responsibilities when reading over national and international trade contracts.

This resource is meant to only act as a brief introduction to Incoterms 2020. Also, remember that all revisions of the Incoterms can still be used, including Incoterms 2010, as long as they have been clearly decided upon in your agreement. Further information on Incoterms can be found directly from the ICC. It’s important to fully understand the rules outlined by the Incoterms to avoid any unplanned costs to the buyers and seller.

What to Read Next

• Beginner’s Guide to the 11 Types of Incoterms (2010)
• Business Essentials Courses
• Anti-Bribery & Anti-Corruption Policy Template

The post Guide to the Incoterms 2020 – Key Changes Explained appeared first on The Hub | High Speed Training.

To help you get prepared, we have compiled some frequently asked questions about the inspections, including how often they are, what you can expect from them and what to do if you disagree.

How Often Are Food Hygiene Inspections?

An EHO can carry out a food hygiene inspection of your premises at any time. After each inspection, the FSA give a new food hygiene rating ranging from 0 to 5. A score of 5 represents high food safety standards and is what you should be aiming for.

The frequency of environmental health inspections depends on a number of factors concerning the potential risk to public health. This includes:

• When a food business is first opening. This also covers cases where the type of food that is sold from a premises has changed drastically. For example, a premises that was trading as a bakery but is now a butcher.
• Businesses that, as a result of a previous food hygiene inspection, have a low food hygiene rating. If your business does poorly and is deemed by EHOs as a potential risk to the public, expect follow-up inspections.
• When a local authority receives a complaint about potential breaches in food hygiene at a business.

There is no specified time frame as to how often an environmental health inspection must take place. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) state that, typically, high risk businesses will be inspected every 6 months until the risk to public health is reduced. In comparison, this duration of time increases up to every 2 years for lower risk premises. Very low risk businesses, such as those with a 5* food hygiene rating, may not be inspected for over 2 years.

Will I Be Informed about the Visit?

You will not be informed when an EHO is coming to visit your premises. You can’t deny an EHO entry as they are legally obliged to carry out a food hygiene inspection. EHOs turn up unannounced because their job is to assess the premises on a typical day. If it was known that they were coming, owners would likely make sure they were strictly abiding by food hygiene regulations. On an average day this may not be the case.

By following food safety law at all times, you will never be caught off guard. Doing so will also protect the health and safety of your employees and customers.

Do I Have to Request an Inspection?

Upon starting a new food business or taking over an existing one, you must register it with the local authority. This is a legal requirement that you must do at least 28 days prior to opening. You do not need to request a food hygiene inspection as this will happen automatically. Typically, you will receive your first visit by an EHO within 28 days of having submitted your application for registration.

However, you can contact your local authority and request an inspection. This shows you are being proactive and is good evidence for the ‘confidence in management’ criteria of the rating.

To help you to comply with food safety regulations, you can also request an informal visit from an EHO before the official inspection. During this visit, the EHO will evaluate your premises and food safety standards and then suggest how you can improve. While some councils will offer this for free, you may be required to pay a fee for this additional service. This fee is likely to be worth paying as it puts you in a good position and demonstrates that you take food hygiene seriously.

Can I Request a Re-visit?

You can request a re-inspection for a new rating once you have made the improvements requested. Details on how to do so can be found on the Food Standards Agency website. Usually, the local authority will make an unannounced re-visit within three months of the end of the three months ‘stand still’ period. This ‘stand still’ period is in place to give you sufficient time to make the changes requested.

In England, some local authorities charge a fee to cover the costs of this additional service. In Wales and Northern Ireland, all local authorities request a fee for a re-visit. If there is a charge, this will be outlined in the same correspondence as your initial food hygiene rating.

The FSA have recently reported on a scam in which a person claiming to be from either the FSA or the local authority has been approaching food businesses and demanding money for a food hygiene re-rating. Businesses were told that if they did not pay, they would be given a fine. You will only ever be asked to pay for a re-inspection by the local council themselves, and on your own request for a re-visit. An EHO would not ask you for payment for a re-inspection themselves.

Need a Course?

Our How to Improve Your Food Hygiene Rating Course is designed for those who manage food premises, whether catering, retail or manufacturing, who want to improve their rating under the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS).

What Do Environmental Health Officers Look For?

During the inspection of your premises EHOs will consider the health and safety standards you adhere to (or disregard) on a typical day. They will assess you on the following factors:

As mentioned, following the assessment the business will be given a food hygiene rating. If there is a serious risk to public health the EHO has the authority to stop part of the business or close it down completely until it is safe. Businesses with low ratings will be told by the EHO how to improve their hygiene standards and be given a time frame to do so by.

To help prepare you for an EHO inspection, download our Food Hygiene Inspection Checklist.

I Disagree with My Food Hygiene Rating, What Do I Do?

If you disagree with the scoring decision, you can make an appeal and request a further inspection. Before doing so, you must try to understand why the visiting EHO gave that rating. You can contact the food safety officer at your local authority who will be able to explain what led to your rating.

If you still believe that it’s unfair, you can appeal in writing to your local authority. This must be done within 21 days of receiving your food hygiene rating or the local authority will publish your rating online. Following your request, you will be informed of the result within 21 days of your appeal reaching your local authority.

For step by step guidance, visit our article How to Appeal a Food Hygiene Rating.

Would you like to learn more about the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, why it matters for businesses & consumers and which UK cities are the most hygienic?

Read the report here >

What To Read Next:

• How to Prepare for an EHO Visit
• Food Hygiene Rating Scheme Explained: Your Questions Answered
• Self Inspection Checklist for Food Premises – Be Prepared for EHO Visits
• 20 Ways to Sabotage a Food Hygiene Inspection
• How to Improve Your Food Hygiene Rating Online Training

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