UK and Europe: The Three Biggest Questions This Year

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UK and Europe: The Three Biggest Questions This Year

UK and Europe: The Three Biggest Questions This Year

I’ve just returned from both the Frankfurt European Compliance and Ethics Institute and the Women in Compliance Conference in London.  As always, conferences are whirlwind events – the sessions, the networking, the drinks receptions, exhibiting for Spark Compliance, meeting old friends and new ones alike.  It’s always interesting to see what the trends are, and this year was no different.

There are three big questions on everyone’s mind here in the UK and Europe this year.  The answer to each may strongly affect the profitability and success of each company, as well as the future of the compliance function. 

Question 1: What happens after Brexit?

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GDPR – The basics in 5 minutes

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GDPR – The basics in 5 minutes

 This is a guest blog by Patrick O’Kane, author of the book "GDPR- Fix it Fast! Apply GDPR to Your Company in 10 Simple Steps.”

People are starting to complain about GDPR overload. The emails, webinars and articles about it are coming in from left and right. Sometimes they obsess so much with the detail that it is hard to know what practical steps your company should be taking on GDPR.

This article sets out some of the basics on GDPR.

Which companies does it apply to?

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If You Have More Than Three Priorities, You Don’t Have Any

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If You Have More Than Three Priorities, You Don’t Have Any

Famous author and business consultant Jim Collins says, “If you have more than three priorities, you don’t have any.”  Three?  That’s it?  Yes, three.

If you struggle to properly prioritize projects and tasks, take heart – you’re not alone.  Many people find prioritization extremely difficult, as everything seems to be due yesterday and to have equal levels of importance.  Sometimes it feels like your only option is to respond to the latest email you’ve received or call back the last person who has made a request, because stopping to prioritize would simply be a waste of time - and time is the last thing you have!

When everything is a priority, nothing is.  Stephen Covey reminds us that the trick is not to prioritize your schedule, but instead to schedule your priorities.  Here are three ways to get this done:

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Is Yours One of the 6,000 Companies that Failed Modern Slavery Act Compliance ?

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Is Yours One of the 6,000 Companies that Failed Modern Slavery Act Compliance ?

Pop quiz: 1. Does your company have any business in the UK?  And 2. Is your global turnover more than $50 million (£36 million)?  Yes to both?  Ah, shoot, you have to write a Modern Slavery Statement.  Don’t worry, you’re not alone if you haven’t done it yet.  The UK Home Office estimates that 11,000 companies are subject to the Act, but the Modern Slavery Registry has only received 4,299 of them.  That means an estimated 6,701 companies haven’t complied with the Act. 

We’ve already seen numerous prosecutions of people who have violated the Modern Slavery Act.  In 2016, the UK Department of Justice brought 51 prosecutions under the Act, including a high-profile case with devastating financial and reputational effect that saw DJ Houghton Catching Services liable for abuses against victims of trafficking.  They supplied eggs to some of the biggest brands in the UK, including McDonald’s, Tesco, Marks & Spencer and more. 

What do you do if you realize that you haven’t met the deadline?  The first thing is to figure out what you’ve done already, and then put it into your statement.  Next week we’ll tackle how to plan for a better statement next year, but for now, let’s look at what the statement requires, and how you can pull together information on what you’ve already done so you can be in compliance in a hurry. 

The statement basically has six parts.  These include:

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