Brexit: What now for employment law and Scotland?

UPDATE

Since we wrote this blog, Brexit has of course continued to dominate the headlines. We've produced additional information via our EU Referendum Hub, specifically articles on:

Users of Workbox, the employment team's online HR site, can also access continually updated information on our dedicated Brexit: immigration and employment law page.

So...deep breaths all round...the UK has voted to leave the EU, though Scotland voted for the UK to remain by 62% to 38%.

What now?

The truth is that right now it is far too early to predict what will happen in the medium and long-term, either in terms of the UK's relationship with the EU or Scotland's relationship with both the UK and the EU.

For today and tomorrow...

What changes today? In terms of employment law, nothing changes at this point. Employment legislation remains unchanged, and the impact of European case law on how employers manage their workers remains unchanged.

Likewise, for EU nationals working in the UK, nothing changes today from a legal perspective. The UK is still a full member of the EU and will be until the date agreed for exit (for more on the exit process see here and here). EU nationals currently working for you are certainly still entitled to do so in the immediate future.

But going forward...

Many businesses will be reviewing their strategic planning in light of the referendum result. Our referendum hub will help you navigate through some of the possible scenarios that might emerge over the coming weeks and months and their likely impact on your business.

In terms of employment law, our blog earlier this year explained why changes in employment law might not necessarily be immediate or far-reaching. We will review this over the coming days in what is a very fast-moving political environment and will keep you posted, in particular, on any developments that might impact on your HR or recruitment strategy.

Ask us your questions

With the leading public and EU law practice in Scotland, Brodies is uniquely placed to help you navigate and understand the implications of this result. We are holding Brexit Briefings in Edinburgh (29 June), Glasgow (30 June) and Aberdeen (1 July). These open sessions will be led by Brodies' market-leading constitutional and EU law experts, with input from specialists in a range of sectors including employment law, banking and finance, data protection, agriculture and intellectual property. Click here to find out more and sign up.

Email updates

Our employment and public law teams will help you keep up-to-date and understand the practical implications for your business of any potential and actual changes - click here if you want to subscribe to regular updates.