Make sure legal changes are on your radar

The New Year brings new legal considerations for businesses and SMEs. Here, Catherine Mathews, head of B Corp law firm Stephens Scown LLP’s Devon office shares what you should be looking out for: 

Digital & Intellectual Property

The draft Data Protection and Digital Information Bill clarifies aspects of existing legislation, including the definition of personal data, when you can refuse a subject access request, or what activities can be done under the lawful basis of legitimate interests.

The Competition and Consumers Bill (DMCC) proposes to ‘strengthen’ the enforcement of consumer protection law, reducing the room for mistakes by influencers and businesses engaging influencers - elevating the consequences of infringement to financially unprecedented levels. 

Workers’ Rights

The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 is bringing flexible working in as a ‘day one’ right, allowing employees to make two requests in a 12-month period instead of one, along with requiring the employer to consult with the employee if considering rejecting a request, whilst reducing the period an employer has to respond to a request from three months to two. 

It will also grant employees new or extended rights to time off work, new ways of working, or additional protection in the space of family friendly/flexible work. 

The National Living Wage will increase to at least £11 per hour from April 2024. The Living Wage Foundation rate has also increased to £12 per hour. 

Dispute Resolution & Regulatory

Litigation continues to be a challenging and expensive undertaking, especially with the new regime of fixed costs recovery in claims below £100,000. Economic conditions will make focussing on commercial and proportionate solutions key. 

From a regulatory perspective, 2024 will be the year where the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) continues to focus on occupational health and disease alongside historic enforcement priorities, like working at height. 

Organisations will need to ensure they have robust and effective arrangements in place to manage their workforce’s mental health, taking account of the work undertaken by employees and their roles and responsibilities. 

Real Estate

Developers in England will be required to deliver 10 per cent ‘Biodiversity Net Gain’ (BNG) from January 2024 onwards when building new housing, industrial, or commercial developments (major applications). Smaller sites (minor applications) will have to comply from April 2024. These will be nationally imposed requirements, but some local authorities are already leading the way with BNG requirements in local plans or supplementary planning documents.

Governance

As part of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill, Companies House is to become the “gatekeeper” of information with new powers to verify existing and newly submitted information and cross-check this against the records of other public sector bodies. Any inconsistent filings could then be rejected.

We also anticipate that companies will continue to place greater emphasis on their green credentials, highlighting their sustainable policies and supply chain mapping, planting ESG at the heart of their strategy. 

For more on what’s to come in 2024 and for expert help and advice, visit www.stephens-scown.co.uk.

* For more 2024 business predictions, read the latest Exeter Tomorrow magazine.