The United Kingdom is no longer a member of the European Union and has entered into a transition period until December 31 2020, unless an extension of 1 or 2 years is agreed by July 1 2020 (the Brexit Long Stop Date).
During this transition period, the UK will continue to trade with the EU in much the same way as it did before its exit. Negotiations will take place throughout this year to determine the future permanent relationship between the UK and the EU.
The UK’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has repeatedly stated that the transition period will not be extended beyond the end of this year. This is an ambitious deadline to reach a comprehensive agreement with the EU and the possibility of a “no deal” Brexit remains an event for which companies should prepare.
Against this backdrop, this update summarises the current status of the UK’s relationship with the EU and sets out some of the key legal implications associated with a “no deal” scenario for certain areas—one of which being employment, which we examine here.
Whilst 2017 was anticipated to be a fairly static year for UK employment law, that did not in fact prove to be the case, and there were various notable developments. To a large degree, 2018 is likely to be defined by the ongoing Brexit negotiations and the passage of the EU Withdrawal Bill, which will, amongst other things, lay the framework for the future movement of EU workers to the United Kingdom. Employers should, however, be aware of some additional key developments on the horizon.
The EU General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 4 May 2016 following the compromise agreed among the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.
The GDPR will essentially affect any business coming into contact with European personal data.
Read the full article here to learn of the impact and next steps.
With the United Kingdom having voted to leave the European Union (Brexit) on 23 June 2016, the free flow of personal data between the United Kingdom and EU and European Economic Area (EEA) countries is at risk. Should the United Kingdom also leave the EEA and thus become a “third country” for the purposes of data transfers, EU/EEA businesses that are currently retaining UK service providers or data centres to handle or store personal data, or are planning to do so, would have to carefully re-evaluate this decision.
Don’t panic. The United Kingdom will continue to be an EU Member State until procedures are completed for exiting the European Union, which is likely to be at least two years. Until a withdrawal agreement is reached, EU laws and treaties will still apply, including the right for EU nationals to work in the United Kingdom. This means that all current EU-derived employment laws should remain in place for at least two years.
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