Key employment law developments: December 2019

General election: party manifestos and workers’ rights

With the General Election almost upon us, we highlight some of the employment-related proposals set out in the party manifestos.

• The Conservative Party clearly has ‘getting Brexit done’ at the top of its agenda. After Brexit, it promises to ensure a high standard of workers’ rights. There is a focus on flexible working, equality in the workplace and a new points-based immigration system.

• The Labour Party manifesto is potentially the most radical, offering “the greatest extension of workers’ rights in history”. It proposes a second referendum on Brexit. The most radical of its new protections for workers include:

  • an intention to reduce the average working week to 32 hours;
  • to end the opt-out provision from the limits under the Working Time Directive ;
  • one-third of boards being reserved for worker representatives;
  • a ban on the dismissal of pregnant women without approval of new inspectorate;
  • single status for employees/workers and full rights from day one;
  • four weeks’ paternity leave; and
  • four new bank holidays.

• The Lib Dems plan to modernise employment rights. There is a focus on flexible working and protecting gig economy workers, as well as fairer pay and promoting diversity in the workplace, for example by increasing paternity leave and extending pay gap reporting.

Read our full General Election update insight.

New SRA Code of Conduct and updated Warning Notice on NDAs

The SRA has published new Principles and a new Code of Conduct, as well as an updating its Warning Notice on NDAs. The updated SRA Warning Notice does not make any substantive changes to the use or drafting of NDAs, but rather updates the existing guidance in line with the new principles and Code of Conduct.

Members States must comply with EU whistleblowing directive by 17 December 2021

The EU whistleblowing directive was published in the Official Journal on 26 November 2019, triggering the two-year period for Member States to comply. The directive enters into force 20 days after publication on 17 December, meaning that Member States need to comply by 17 December 2021. The new directive gives whistleblowers who report breaches of EU law protection from retaliation and imposes new requirements on larger companies regarding their reporting and escalation channels.

Report published on court reform programme highlights concerns about new technologies

A new report published by the House of Commons Justice Committee raises serious concerns about the effect of the reforms on access to justice. It flags concerns about new technologies becoming a barrier to justice, such as digital processes blocking vulnerable users without access or poor digital skills, and video links and hearings being an issue for vulnerable people. Staff reductions and court closures have also caused difficulties.

ICO announces new accountability toolkit to help demonstrate compliance with GDPR

The ICO is developing a toolkit to help organisations demonstrate compliance with their obligations under the GDPR. Controllers must comply with the general principles of the GDPR, but also demonstrate their compliance in line with the accountability principle. They plan to launch the toolkit in 2020. They are seeking views and suggestions on their early ideas about the scope, structure and design of the toolkit.

The announcement is available in full.

For more key employment law updates from us:

• read our key cases over the last month;
• stay Ahead of the Curve with our summaries covering the key aspects of employment law under review by the government;
• scroll through our key dates timeline showing recent and anticipated changes to employment law; and
• attend our upcoming events or catch up on training.