On 2 March 2015, new legislation on drug driving will come into force in England and Wales, making it illegal to drive with a specific controlled drug in the body above the accepted limit for that drug. As with drink driving, these new rules, which set limits for eight illegal and eight prescription drugs, will mean it will be an offence to be over the specified limits for each drug while driving. The new legislation is aimed at making it easier for the police to deal with drug driving and offenders can face a 12-month driving ban, fine of up... Continue reading

Over the past year, the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) has been busy forging links with professional bodies in allied disciplines, including the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM). The BIFM and CIPD announced their intention to form a collaborative partnership during last May's BIFM Think FM conference. Meanwhile, the CIPD and CIMA announced a strategic collaboration last July to foster closer working links between the finance and HR professions t... Continue reading

Most employers will still be uncertain about how best to manage the use of e-cigarettes and questions arise as to whether e-cigarettes should be treated as if they are cigarettes or if they should have different rules for their use. The Employment Tribunal in the recent case, Insley v. Accent Catering, considered a claim by a school catering assistant that she had been constructively dismissed by her employer. Ms Insley was employed as a catering assistant and was engaged in providing catering services at a secondary school. The Headteacher o... Continue reading

During the recent Workplace Futures conference 2015, Kath Fontana, the Managing Director of BAM FM gave an eloquent explanation on why Building Information Management (BIM) is bringing about the convergence between facilities management, design and construction. BIM in many ways is really not about building information modelling, but more about Digital Information Management, she said: "But of course that acronym would be DIM! "But really it is about buildings being managed digitally – it's about having the graphical data so you can throw a... Continue reading

The CDM 2015 Regulations are almost upon us and the dust is beginning to settle. These regulations can be seen to be needed for a number of reasons but not least to embed Healthy Design and Creative Safety into designer’s everyday activities whilst encouraging innovative thinking. In this blog, Paul Bussey, RIBA, RMaps, author of ‘CDM 2015 – A Practical Guide for Architects & Designers’ discusses the forthcoming changes which will take effect from 6 April 2015. The evolution of an independent profession of health and safety “coordin... Continue reading