Boardroom Corporate compliance Check out :   David Venus

18 February 15:01:40	The latest updates from Boardroom can be found at www.ezap.me/Boardroom or click on the eZAP link.   eZAP
5 January 12:18:03	British companies supplying services to Europe are subject to new VAT rules as of Jan 1 2010 but many are unaware of the change. More at The Times.   The Times
19 December 11:35:10	Channel 4 faces possible legal action over the promo trailers for "Jamie's American Road Trip" in which Jamie Oliver dressed as members of the Village People, allegedly without consent. More in The Guardian.   The Guardian
18 December 10:16:21	HM Revenue & Customs says that "tax would be levied on bonuses paid not only to bankers and financiers but also to workers in banks directly supporting bankers. That would certainly affect senior IT workers in banks..." More at TimesOnline.   TimesOnline
18 December 09:59:49	Employment lawyers are warning that "Secret Santa" presents could result in "claims for harassment or sexual or religious discrimination." More at The Telegraph.   Daily Telegraph
8 December 15:55:04	Hamid Elkhiyari, a head chef at Kingston Hospital, has been awarded £25,000 for racial discrimination after he ate some garlic bread which had been thrown away. More in the Evening Standard.   Evening Standard
28 November 14:34:50	Shareholder group Lloyds Action Now (www.lloydsactionnow.com) is going after The Chancellor and the Governor of the Bank of England "for allegedly failing to disclose the extent of taxpayer support for HBOS last year." More at The Telegraph.   Daily Telegraph
25 November 15:27:47	Cheryl Cole, hair extensions, shampoo ad - "The ASA said it couldn't uphold the complaint as the ads have a disclaimer...up for two seconds of a 30-second ad, in the tiniest print imaginable, and in the print version it's 2mm high." More at The Guardian.  The Guardian
25 November 10:51:59	Essex solicitor Gordon Turner has set up Serial Litigants (www.serial-litigants.com) after discovering a growing number of "fake claims based on alleged breaches of age discrimination legislation." More at The Telegraph.   The Telegraph
20 November 15:04:35	The private parking industry faces new regulation based on the code of practice of the British Parking Association. Any business wishing to clamp vehicles will have to be licensed by the Security Industry Authority. More at MailOnline.   MailOnline
20 November 11:54:20	Prospective players in the forthcoming 'Big Bang' of the legal profession "will have to pass an a special test to prove their 'fitness to own' under plans outlined by the Legal Srvices Board (www.legalservicesboard.org.uk). More at TimesOnline.   TimesOnline
19 November 11:19:05	Disqualification from acting as a company director means a 30% limit on ownership of football club shares under FA (www.thefa.com) rules. Stephen Vaughan, 100% owner of Chester City, is no longer a "fit and proper person." More at The Guardian.  The Guardian
18 November 15:17:58	Some welcome exposure for the little-known AADB (www.frc.org.uk/aadb), currently "reviewing the audit of Cattles...by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)" and "also probing BDO’s audit of XL Leisure, the travel operator that collapsed..." More at TimesOnline.   TimesOnline
18 November 12:27:11	£30,000 in fines and court costs for Tesco after its Express store at Holborn Viaduct "sold a bagel that had been gnawed by a rodent" and the customer complained to the City of London's Environmental Health Department. More at MailOnline.   MailOnline
18 November 12:19:28	The ISC (www.institutionalshareholderscommittee.org.uk) is "creeping forward." Its set of principles is now "a code on institutions' responsibilities", the first national formal code for investors. More at the FT.   FT.com
18 November 12:07:42	The Stock Exchange’s AIM Disciplinary Committee has "fined Regal Petroleum a record £600,000" for issuing "a string of misleading stock market announcements that drove up the share price more than 500 per cent..." More at TimesOnline.   TimesOnline
18 November 11:57:29	Microsoft has announced it is "turning off its hosted payroll software 10 days before Christmas" creating a problem for many businesses which now have to find an alternative method for paying staff. More at The Telegraph.   Daily Telegraph
18 November 11:06:55	The Information Commissioner's Office (www.ico.gov.uk) has been called in to mobile phone group T-Mobile "after staff members allegedly sold thousands of its customers' personal details." Apparently, the problem is "industry-wide." More at the FT.   FT.com
13 November 10:04:13	The proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) also "contains suggestions for the control of internet content that some believe (www.eff.org/issues/acta) could radically alter the nature of copyright law worldwide." More at The Guardian.   The Guardian
12 November 10:49:44	From late 2010, the Advertising Standards Authority (www.asa.org.uk) will have "jurisdiction over marketing claims on websites. This is likely to include marketing on blogs and social networking sites." More at The Telegraph.   The Telegraph
6 November 04:55:34	City Index is considering legal action against racing tipster Bob Rothman whose website HorseRacingPro (www.horseracingpro.co.uk) features a letter from the spread-betting firm closing his account for being too successful. More at TimesOnline.   TimesOnline
6 November 04:41:01	London toyshop Hamleys (www.hamleys.com) has admiited to losing thousands of pounds worth of sales after failing to renew the domain name for its website. More at The Telegraph.   Daily Telegraph
4 November 10:26:41	Charlie Mullins, owner of Pimlico Plumbers (www.pimlicoplumbers.com) has launched a £1,000,000 legal action against rival Service Corps (www.servicecorps.co.uk), alleging "industrial espionage and the tapping up of its staff." More at The Standard.  Evening Standard
4 November 09:39:21	HM Revenue & Customs is targeting "pre-packs" for up to 6 months worth of VAT "for the right to start again" using "a little-known VAT law to demand from these companies a penalty fee or security for future VAT”. More at TimesOnline.   TimesOnline
4 November 06:47:14	The Communication Workers Union is planning legal action to stop the employment of agency staff as "strikebreakers." More in The Guardian.   The Guardian
3 November 10:53:32	An employment judge has ruled that Tim Nicholson "ould invoke employment law for protection from discrimination against him for his conviction that climate change was the world's most important environmental problem." More at The Independent.   The Independent
2 November 10:59:12	"Gripe site" Royal Dutch Shell PLC .COM (www.royaldutchshellplc.com) is "hosted in Dallas, Texas, and is incorporated in America as a non-profit operation. US laws offer better protection against closure attempts." More in The Guardian.   The Guardian
24 October 05:26:13	The marketing menace of 'silent calls' will be met by the threat of fines of up to £2,000,000 - "At the moment the maximum fine is just £50,000 but ministers now accept that offers no deterrent to aggressive companies." More at The Telegraph.   Daily Telegraph
17 October 11:32:22	The OFT is to "probe use of personal data by online retailers." Websites which exploit 'behavioral advertising', 'customised pricing', 'drip pricing', 'baiting sales' and BOGOFs will come under scrutiny. More at The Guardian.   The Guardian
14 October 06:23:48	Reports that "Start-up businesses are being forced to wait for up to five months to receive their VAT registration from Revenue & Customs." More at ThisIsMoney.   ThisIsMoney
6 October 09:52:50	The Savile Row Bespoke Association (www.savilerowbespoke.com) is "considering applying for official appellation d'origine contrôlée protection for the name to give it the same status as champagne and parma ham." More in The Standard.   Evening Standard
4 October 10:28:10	Shop Direct, owner of retailer Woolworths (www.woolworths.co.uk) which is now online only, is threatening Wellworths with legal action if another store is opened. More at TimesOnline.   TimesOnline
2 October 07:00:45	Judges have ruled that an exclamation mark cannot be registered as an EU trade mark. German firm JOOP! (www.joop.com) "applied to register the symbol of an exclamation mark, both on its own, and inside a rectangle." More at MailOnline.   MailOnline
30 September 07:07:23	October 1 marks the final implementation of the Companies Act 2006. The areas covered are listed at the Companies house website.   Companies House
29 September 16:53:28	Oct 1 - increases in the National Minimum Wage (www.hmrc.gov.uk/nmw) come into force and "employers will also be prohibited from using tips and service charges to bring the wages of bar and restaurant workers up to NMW levels." More at Mondaq.   Mondaq
29 September 16:37:24	Oct 12 - new criminal offences come into force from the Independent Safeguarding Authority (www.isa-gov.org.uk) but recruitment agencies are calling "for anti-paedophile database to be put on hold" pending clarification. More at The Telegraph.   Daily Telegraph
25 September 10:07:30	Mihaela Popa, a Romanian accountant who launched a £40,000,000 compensation claim against PricewaterhouseCoopers for "loss of earnings and hurt feelings" has been awarded £750. More at The Telegraph.   The Telegraph
24 September 06:31:37	Anonymous CVs - the Liberal Democrat proposal that job applications should be anonymous has been condemned as "another burden on employers." It is claimed that using a NI number instead of a name would help to reduce sexual and ethnic discrimination.   Birmingham Post
24 September 06:14:50	Lady Scotland fined £5,000 for employing an illegal immigrant: "The law requires that employers must keep copies of documents proving the right to work in the UK and in this instance the employer failed to meet this requirement.." More at The Telegraph.  Daily Telegraph