UK Employment Update – Summer 2019

In this, our 2019 mid-year alert, we look back at the key developments in UK employment law over the past six months and look forward to anticipated developments in the six months to come.

A brief overview of developments and key cases which we believe will be of interest to our clients is provided below, with more detailed information on each topic available by clicking on the links.

  1. Political Developments in the UK (click on link)

    We consider the impact of the plans of the recently appointed Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and his Conservative government for employment laws in the UK including in relation to the UK's departure from the European Union which will take place on 31 October 2019 absent any further extension.

  2. Changes in Corporate Governance (click on link)

    We consider those UK corporate governance measures which have come into effect in 2019, increasing large companies' reporting requirements. In particular, we consider the requirement to publish the ratio between CEO and workforce median pay and the impact of the introduction of the 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code, which places greater emphasis on employee engagement for listed companies.

  3. SMCR (click on link)

    We highlight those provisions of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (the "SMCR") which will be considerably expanded to apply to all UK financial services firms regulated only by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") with effect from 9 December 2019.

  4. #MeToo and Use of NDAs (click on link)

    We summarise recent developments in this area of law and consider government plans to change laws to stop NDAs purporting to prevent staff reporting allegations of illegal harassment and discrimination to the police.

  5. Restraint of Trade (click on link)

    We consider the impact of two recent cases in this area of UK law. First, the recent and much-anticipated judgment of the UK Supreme Court which has confirmed the circumstances in which courts have the power to strike out offending words from defective non-compete covenants. Second, a recent decision of the UK Employment Appeal Tribunal (the "EAT") confirming the validity of "bad leaver" provisions contained in a company's Articles of Association which required the forfeit of deferred earn-out shares and loan notes upon resignation.

  6. Whistleblowing (click on link)

    We consider the impact of a recent decision of the UK Court of Appeal concerning the application of UK whistleblowing protections to employees of a UK employer working overseas.

  7. SPL/Redundancy Pay (click on link)

    We report on two UK Court of Appeal cases which have provided welcome guidance for employers on the correct approach on payment for parental leave. Failure to pay a male employee enhanced shared parental pay was found to be neither direct nor indirect sexual discrimination, and did not amount to a breach of the equal pay sex equality clause. However, both employees are seeking permission to appeal to the UK Supreme Court.

  8. One Year On - General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") and Gender Pay Gap Reporting (click on link)

    We consider the impact of the GDPR one year on including the Information Commissioner's Office's (the "ICO"'s) outlook for the future.

    We also consider the reasons for the reported increase in the gender pay gap following the conclusion of the second full year of gender pay gap reporting.

    APPENDIX

  9. Political Developments in the UK

    Following Theresa May's resignation, the Conservative Party has elected a new leader and the UK has a new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. The new Prime Minister has undertaken a significant cabinet reshuffle. Along with a number resignations, half of Theresa May's cabinet are no longer in their roles. The new Government has not announced any changes to employment legislation, although it will be interesting to see whether they uphold the previous Government's commitment to extend the period of maternity redundancy protection to start at the point at which a woman notifies her employer of her pregnancy, whether orally or in writing, and to last until six months after the end of the maternity leave.

    As readers will be aware, the UK did not leave the European Union on 29 March 2019 as originally planned. Brexit is now due to happen on 31 October 2019, although there is an impasse at the moment with the European Union having offered a deal that it has said will not be improved, but that has not been passed by Parliament. Boris Johnson has renewed his commitment for the UK to leave the European Union on 31 October 2019, with or without a deal.

    The only thing that can be said for certain at this stage is that it remains impossible to predict how Brexit will unfold. As we previously reported, it is not currently expected that Brexit will have a substantial immediate impact upon employment rights in the UK, whatever form it takes.

  10. Changes in Corporate Governance

    Below we summarise the most recent important changes to UK corporate governance. Although the focus is on listed companies, these principles are likely to eventually be applied to private companies, and many non-listed companies are already voluntarily complying with various governance codes as best practice. Action will be required by heads of HR departments...

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