May 2018 sees the introduction of GDPR which will replace the Data Protection Act, however this is not the only change that is being proposed this year when it comes to Employment Law.
Although they may not be implemented by the end of 2018, here are some others pieces of legislation to keep an eye on:
CEO/Worker Pay Gap Reporting 
The department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has announced that draft legislation requiring all listed companies to reveal the pay ratio between their CEO and an average worker is likely to be published before July 2018.
The government already announced a range of corporate governance reforms in August 2017 which included:
- New measures on ‘Employee Voice’ in company boardrooms
- A public register of listed companies that have faced significant shareholder opposition to executive pay packages
Trade Secrets Directive
This directive introduces an EU wide definition of ‘Trade Secret’. Information will be considered a trade secret if:
- It is secret, in the sense that it is not generally known or readily accessible to persons within the circles that normally deal with this kind of information
- It has commercial value because it is secret
- It has been subject to reasonable steps (under the circumstances) to keep it secret by the person lawfully in control of the information.
There is currently no definition of a trade secret in the UK, therefore the introduction of this directive may lead to some debates, especially surrounding unlawful acquisitions of this information.
Grandparental Leave
In March 2016, the government announced that they were looking to extend shared parental leave and pay to grandparents by 2018. The May 2016 consultation did not take place and the current government hasn’t indicated whether they will be pursuing this policy.
This will be an interesting development and many are calling for it as grandparents are playing an increasing role in caring for children, as well as individuals working till later in their lives.
Parental Bereavement Bill
The government confirmed its backing for a private members bill called the Parental Bereavement (Leave and Pay) Bill which is currently progressing through parliament.
This will entitle employees who lose a child under the age of 18, to two weeks leave, paid at the statutory rate if they have been an employee for at least 26 weeks.
If you would like to talk to our HR Consultancy Team, please call for Angela, Louise, Jodi or Kris on 01302 341 344.