What is on the horizon in Employment law

This included a technical notice on workplace rights which confirms that, on the day the UK exits the EU, EU law will be converted into UK law under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 so that workers in the UK will keep any rights derived from EU law. There are two areas where the legal position will change:

• UK employees working in an EU country are protected under the Insolvency Directive, which requires member states to have procedures in place for making claims in the case of employer insolvency. After a no-deal Brexit, UK and EU employees working outside the UK in an EU country for a UK employer may still be protected under the relevant national guarantee fund. However, this may not always be the case.
• The statutory framework that applies to European Works Councils would cease to apply to the UK in the event of a no-deal Brexit, which may affect the validity and operation of current Works Council agreements.

Childcare vouchers

The current childcare voucher scheme was expected to be closed to new entrants from April 2018. It will now close on 1 October 2018. Existing arrangements will be protected until April 2018 (or April 2021 for cars, accommodation and school fees).