Brexit – the story for employers so far
The UK electorate voted to leave the European Union in a referendum on 23 June 2016. The legal process for exiting the EU began when the UK notified of its intention to withdraw under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty on 29 March 2017. The UK and the EU had two years to decide on the terms of the withdrawal, particularly the extent of the UK’s access to the single market versus the degree to which EU workers retain freedom of movement to the UK.
On 21 March 2019, eight days before the scheduled departure date, the EU offered to delay Brexit until 22 May if MPs approve the deal that has been negotiated. If they could not, a no-deal Brexit would happen on 12 April.
On 11 April, the EU allowed a “flexible extension” to 31 October 2019. The UK could leave the EU earlier if a withdrawal agreement is ratified by MPs. Britain must now take part in European elections on 23 May – if it does not, the UK has to leave the EU on 1 June without a deal.
Our Brexit pages provide news and guidance on all aspects of the UK’s exit from the EU.
Migrant salary threshold should be £20,000, say business leaders
Business leaders have called for a number of reforms to the immigration system, including lowering the salary threshold and revising...
Business secretary: ‘no-deal Brexit will cost thousands of jobs’
Business secretary Greg Clark has warned that 'many thousands' of jobs will be lost if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
More than half of employers will be worse off under proposed immigration rules
More than half of UK employers with staff from outside the UK will be negatively...
Deutsche Bank to cut 18,000 jobs in reorganisation
Deutsche Bank has announced it will cut 18,000 jobs over the next three years as part of a major reorganisation....
Post-Brexit regional skills funding under threat
Regions of the UK are at risk of losing out on £2.1 billion of funding per year, which includes subsidies...
Hunt threatens to cancel civil servants’ August annual leave
Conservative leadership contender Jeremy Hunt has threatened to cancel all August annual leave across the civil service in order to...
International expansion: three HR essentials that get overlooked
With Brexit encouraging a growing number of organisations to establish themselves abroad, Ben Wright explores three people management challenges that...
Post-Brexit regional salary thresholds for migrants to be considered
The Migration Advisory Committee is to consider how salary thresholds should be calculated under a future immigration system – including...
EU settled status: how employers can help their European staff
Last week Personnel Today ran an opinion piece which criticised the EU Settlement Scheme, the process that EU, EEA or...
EU settled status scheme looks far from settled
Home Office cannot afford to ignore the lessons of the Windrush scandal and suffer the resulting reputational damage.
MPs say EU settlement scheme risks Windrush re-run
The scheme could lead to the unnecessary and unlawful deportations of people who should be entitled to live and work in the UK.
British Steel collapse puts thousands of jobs at risk
British Steel is to go into administration, putting some 5,000 UK jobs at risk and endangering 20,000 roles in its...
Unemployment lowest since 1974 as candidate shortages bite
The unemployment rate in Britain has fallen to the lowest rate since 1974, with just over a third of those...
What does Brexit teach us about negotiation and litigation?
After more than two years of watching politicians grapple with one of the most complex negotiations the UK has ever...
No EU settlement scheme applications rejected in initial phase
The Home Office has announced that more than 600,000 EU citizens had applied to stay in the UK in the...
