Key takeaways:

• On 4 September, the UK Government published its Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, the beginning of the UK’s implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, one of the first countries to produce such a plan.
• The Action Plan emphasized that the UN Guiding Principles guide the approach UK companies should take to respect human rights wherever they operate. UK companies will be expected to respect internationally recognized human rights when operating in the UK and overseas, and treat as a legal compliance issue the risk of causing or contributing to human rights abuses, wherever they operate worldwide.
• The Government confirmed that, from 1 October 2013, company directors for large companies must report on relevant human rights issues in their annual reports.