Data Protection and the use of CCTV

Installers and users of CCTV need to know that the Information Commissioners Office, updated its guidance on the use of CCTV last month.

Essentially surveillance cameras must only be used as a necessary and proportionate response to a real and pressing problem.

The updated guidance also explains the data protection requirements for new surveillance technologies, for example drones and body worn video cameras.

If you need some help, for example to carry out a privacy impact assessment, please get in touch.

Is there a business risk in paying suppliers late?

The simple answer is – yes absolutely!

At the risk of teaching you to suck eggs when someone buys goods or services a contract is formed. This is just an agreement between the two parties to the transaction. If one of the terms of the agreement is not met then there is a breach of contract.

One potential area of agreement could be when payment should be made and penalties if it is late i.e. a pre-agreed sum due if the terms are broken by paying late. Without this it is ultimately for the Courts to decide the penalty. Pre-agreement simplifies the process and as a consequence reduces potential costs.

If there is no written agreement, or nothing in it about late payments, many businesses think this is the end of the matter. In fact the law implies statutory late payment penalty clauses into commercial contracts. The parties are unable to exclude the terms and they set out a fixed penalty and an interest element.

So where is the risk?

 

Well these penalties can be pursued for up to six years. Many businesses are completely unaware of the legislation or suppliers chose to preserve goodwill with their clients by holding back. However if a supplier gains insight or has a change of management, there is a strong possibility that this could change. Worse still, if the supplier goes bust, it would be slap dash for a receiver to ignore the potential assets that 6 years of uncollected late payment penalties represents. So to pay invoices late on a regular basis is to build up a potential future debt.

I know there are new food labelling requirements which will be applied in December 2014 but what will it mean for me as a food producer?

The new legislation is the Food Information for Consumers Regulations and will come into force on 13 December 2014.

It will change the way allergen information appears on labels and on food that is pre-packed, sold loose or served when eating out.

If any of 14 listed allergens are used as ingredients in a pre-packaged food, they will need to be emphasised on the label. Businesses can choose the method of emphasis e.g. by listing them in bold, italics, highlighted or underlined. The information about allergenic ingredients must be located in a single place, i.e. the ingredients list on pre-packed food. This means that the voluntary use of the current types of allergy boxes (such as: ‘Contains nuts’), will no longer be allowed.

If any of the 14 allergens are used as ingredients in loose foods (those that can be bought without packaging) for example in supermarkets, delicatessens, cafes and restaurants the information will also need to be provided.

Food producers will need to comply and if they wholesale products make sure they facilitate the compliance of their clients.

Which allergens are covered?

  • eggs

  • milk

  • fish

  • crustaceans (for example crab, lobster, crayfish, shrimp, prawn)

  • molluscs (for example mussels, oysters, squid)

  • peanuts

  • tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, brazils, pistachios, macadamia nuts or Queensland nuts)

  • sesame seeds

  • cereals containing gluten (wheat (such as spelt, Khorasan wheat/Kamut), rye, barley, oats, or their hybridised strains).

  • soya

  • celery and celeriac

  • mustard

  • lupin

  • sulphur dioxide and sulphites (at concentration of more than ten parts per million)