What is Regulatory Compliance and how it affects your business

Data Protection is a major issue in the digital age. The EU has taken steps to protect its citizens by implementing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The GDPR is designed to protect the personal data of European Union (EU) citizens and residents. It regulates how this data can be collected, stored, and processed. 

The GDPR has many implications for companies that collect, store, or process personal data of EU citizens. Under the GDPR, companies can no longer store personal user data without explicit permission from the individual and they are required by law to report any data breaches within 72 hours of discovering them.

You can find more about GDPR here: Are you and your staff GDPR Compliant? 

These regulations have been created to protect the environment from pollution and degradation. They are usually enforced by governments and agencies like EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in the US and the Environment Agency in the UK.

Environmental compliance is often the most expensive to an organization because it includes emissions regulations that have a big impact on operational activities. For example, emissions can be generated by factories or air filtration systems at power plants. These things need to be taken into account when deciding what type of industrial equipment will be used in a facility. It's also possible that an organization might need to procure new equipment to comply with environmental regulations, which can be a significant cost. Environmental compliance is typically the second most expensive type of regulatory compliance, after health and safety regulation.

Healthcare regulations cover a wide range of topics, including how drugs and medical devices are manufactured and how they should be used by doctors, nurses, patients, and consumers. In the US, healthcare regulations are enforced by the United States Food and Drug Administration, which makes sure that food, drugs, and medical devices are safe for use by consumers.

Additionally there are many healthcare standards such as WHO (World Health Organization) and JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) to provide patients with a standard of care.

Human resources regulations govern all aspects of employment including hiring, firing, promotions, benefits and wage and hour laws. Equal Employment Opportunity regulations govern the recruitment, hiring and promotion of employees. 

An example of such regulation is The Equal Employment Opportunity Act in the US which prohibits discrimination based on race, ethnicity, sex, religion, age and disability. Employment agencies are also subject to the law. The law has two main sections: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Equal Pay Act is also relevant to employment.

You can find more information about the Equal Employment Opportunity Act  here:  Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Health and safety regulations are the rules and laws that are put in place to ensure that everyone has a safe working environment. The goal is to prevent accidents and injuries from happening. If a company doesn’t follow these regulations, it can lead to serious consequences for the company and the people working there.

Many companies are unaware of the regulations and how they affect their employees. It is important that companies take this into consideration before they start hiring new employees or expanding their business.

There are lots of different types of health and safety regulations. Some of them include:

• Workplace safety
• Fire safety
• Chemical safety
• Electrical safety
• Food safety
• Personal protective equipment (PPE)

For more information on how Health and Safety regulations may affect your business have a look at Health and Safety Made Simple.

This can be done by the employees themselves to identify gaps in the organization and help identify where there is room for improvement. By comparing risk levels with compliance standards, one will be able to know what areas need attention. It is important to look at a few different factors such as: which individuals and departments are responsible for creating the Policies and Procedures that will ensure the identified compliance standards are communicated and enforced.

Compliance is the cornerstone of any business, but it presents a difficult challenge for many organizations. A compliance program should be created to ensure that the company is abiding by the laws and regulations in its industry as they are putting themselves at risk of legal consequences if they aren't complying with them. There are many ways in which businesses can develop a compliance plan, including developing an operational manual for payroll, having regular meetings with employees, providing training sessions for supervisors on how to conduct themselves in the workplace.

Compliance manuals are documents that contain a list of all the policies, standards and legal requirements that an organisation has to comply with and must be made readily accessible to employees. These manuals are usually created by combining a template for the manual with company-specific information such as job descriptions and company rules.

Employees are often not aware of the regulations that govern their industry. By providing training on regulations to employees, companies will be better equipped to adhere to these rules and avoid penalties in the event that they are violated . The employer is responsible for the actions of their employees. If an employee commits a violation that leads to the termination or injury of another individual, the employer will be held liable if they were negligent in providing proper training. Many employers offer refresher courses in an effort to gain compliance and reduce penalties associated with violating regulations and standards.

In the age of technology, there are multiple ways to track reader engagement with your policies and procedures. If you have an intranet you can use third party tools like DocRead to target your policies and procedures to the relevant people and ensure that they are read on time and fully understood.