What is a Legal Register?
The Government publishes legislation daily through new Acts and Regulations, in addition to existing laws being amended, revoked or repealed. UK legislation is issued to make all owners, shareholders, stakeholders, managers, employers and employees of a company aware of their legal obligations, therefore a Legal Register is as important to a sole proprietor as a major organisation in fact it’s important to everyone who engages in business within the UK.
Having clarity about how legislation and regulations can affect each part of your business operations is key, where the range of laws can vary depending on the type, size, industry and location of the business. If a legal register is kept up to date, either automatically through a subscription service or manually, then this provides the organisation with important updates to legislation that may mean they have to implement changes in practices to ensure they remain compliant.
It is of great benefit to a company if the legal register does not just provide a list of titles of legislation, but also summarises each entry in terms of what compliance duties the legislation sets upon organisations. This then provides a greater understanding of compliance and what activities need to be conducted and the processes need to be put in place to ensure compliance within the organisation.
Why Should I Bother with a Legal Register for my Business?
The two cases below clearly show that Statutory Law was not followed and resulted in significant injury, fines, and damage to reputation. This is what can happen if you don’t have a handle on the relevant statutory legislation and not following it:
Case 1: Company fined after worker left paralysed – 1st August 2023
A manufacturing company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £18,000 and ordered to pay costs of £3,094 at Magistrates’ Court on 27 July 2023 after a worker became entangled in a machine and has been left paralysed from the chest down.
Case 2: Plumber given suspended prison sentence for conducting unsafe gas work – 19th July 2023
A self-employed plumber has received a suspended prison sentence after conducting unsafe gas work and for pretending to be Gas Safe registered.
The Plumber pleaded guilty to five breaches of Regulations 3(7) and 3(3) and 5(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 2005 and two breaches of Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was handed a six-month custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months, ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work, and pay £5,000 in costs at Magistrates’ Court on 18 July 2023.
Imagine if this to happened to your staff or customers, and the potential impact this would have on the company’s reputation.
Do you actually know which Statutory Legislation applies to your Business?
At the Compliance Standard Group (CSG), we know that legislation can be difficult to understand or interpret. CSG provides straightforward guidance, legislation summaries and updates together with providing your bespoke Legal Registers helping you to understand easily and quickly what is required of you to stay legal by keeping you abreast of any new legislation, changes to existing legislation, proposed future legislation and so much more.
The alternative would be to search for relevant legislation each time an issue arises which would be extremely time-consuming and inefficient.
What are the Consequences of non-compliance?
Breaching health and safety regulations is a criminal offence. Companies have a common law duty to ensure the working environment is safe for employees. By not doing so, you can face consequences, including fines or prison sentences. By incorporating a manged Legal Register, a business can reduce the risk of legal action, fines and penalties resulting from not adhering to required regulations.
While there is no general legal requirement for organisations to build and maintain a Legal Register, it is key in an organisations’ Risk Management strategy and is a requirement of some ISO Standards to update and maintain them. As all organisations are different, the register should be bespoke tailored to them and contain just the relevant legislation that applies to them and their activities.
CSG was formed to provide cost effective accessible Compliance Management Systems, Services and Training enabling businesses to maintain Statutory Compliance. Our goal is simple. We aim to improve efficiency and Environmental Health & Safety within the workplace using our Moral, Legal & Financial model.
CSG works with companies of all sizes across the globe for the right reasons.
Why not join us.
