The Top Ten Things You Should Know About UK Employment Law

What 2016 lacked in employment law changes, it made up with political surprises (Brexit) and sweeping data protection changes (the GDPR). Due to these dynamic changes and in anticipation of what lies ahead, our UK employment team published the Top Ten Things to Know About the UK Employment Law Landscape in 2017. In this briefing, we highlight recent legal developments, look ahead to what's coming in 2017 and provide practical steps companies can proactively take to respond to this ever-changing landscape.

1. Brexit

   The UK's vote to leave the EU, on 23 June 2016, surprised many, including commentators, the political establishment and businesses alike. Questions about how and in what way the UK will disentangle itself from the EU still remain.

   In client alerts we examined what Brexit meant for the UK and for employment law. We also looked at the impact that Brexit would have on data protection in a blog post in June. Since then, it has been confirmed that the General Data Protection Regulation will apply to the UK, despite Brexit.

   In terms of changes to employment law, though employment law is often cited as an area where European legislation has a big impact on UK law, and despite the danger of making predictions, we do not anticipate there to be any radical changes in either the short, medium or long term. We expect this to be the case for the following reasons: (i) much of UK employment law is UK specific e.g. statutory notice periods, and the national minimum wage; (ii) indeed the UK has introduced some rights such as shared parental leave, that are significantly beyond EU minimum standards; and (iii) some of the EU legislation such as the discrimination laws are derived from UK laws, and in any case where these rights have been refined, they are now so enshrined in UK employment law and culture that we do not anticipate that they will be radically altered. However, the law will not remain static. In particular, we anticipate that EU-derived rights in respect of atypical workers, such as the rights of part-time, agency and fixed term workers, will be subject to close scrutiny, particularly in light of an increased focus on the burgeoning "gig" economy, and UK-specific laws may develop that depart from EU law. A sign of this are the various ongoing inquiries and consultations into the "gig" economy (see section 4. below)

2. General Data Protection Regulation

   The General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) ("GDPR") was finally agreed after many years of controversy, negotiation and wrangling. It comes into force automatically in each EU Member State on 25 May 2018. It has also been confirmed that the GDPR will come into force in the UK despite Brexit. The GDPR, contains numerous, substantial and far-reaching amendments to the EU Data Privacy Directive (95/46/EC) that was implemented in each EU Member State through national legislation in differing ways. In the UK it was implemented through the Data Protection Act 1998.

   The GDPR aims to harmonise data privacy laws across the EU and also takes into account the technological advances and developments over the past 20 years. Its changes include:

   Data will need to be processed fairly, lawfully and transparently. This will require businesses to provide information about how and why data is processed in a clear and intelligible way. Businesses will not be able to hide behind technical jargon. If consent is used, it must be "freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous". In cases...