The British government has confirmed that the GDPR data rules will come into force in May 2018. Yet one survey says that most UK businesses remain unaware of the requirements, the solutions – and the multimillion pound fines – that the new legislation will entail.

Why GDPR is serious business

This week, the British government confirmed that General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will become a part of UK law by May 2018 – meaning that businesses have only nine months to guarantee compliance, or face potentially devastating fines.

GDPR replaces the existing legislation as defined by the Data Protection Act (DPA). It provides private individuals with a greater degree of control over how their personal information is stored, shared, and used: allowing individuals to “opt out” of having their data stored by any company or organisation. Failure to follow the new laws can result in a substantial fine of €20 million, or 4 per cent of global turnover. A breach of the current DPA laws carries a maximum fine of only £500,000.

Yet the polling agency YouGov found in May of this year that just 29 per cent of organisations in the UK have begun to prepare for GDPR changes. Data law expert and founder of DigitalLaw UK, Peter Wright, believes that this week’s announcement represents the final warning for companies wishing to avoid the fines – but he added that it “may already be too late” for some larger organisations with complex infrastructure.

GDPR is a subject that we have talked about before – and we will be looking at it again in depth in the not too distant future. In the meantime, it is vital for every recruiter to begin taking steps to ensure compliance. Mr Wright advised that up-to-date recruitment software must be at the top of every firm’s shopping list. A premium software-as-a-service product will provide out of the box GDPR compliance as standard; many firms, including eBoss, offer an end-to-end solution that secures data at each stage of the recruitment process.

Existing eBoss clients have GDPR compliance support as a standard part of the eBoss service. If you are unsure if your business is currently fit to avoid the fines, talk to us today, for professional guidance.

The conundrum of Britain’s post-Brexit workforce

Although the government drew a line in the sand for EU migration this week, it also signalled an overseas recruitment drive to replace Britain’s dwindling pool of teaching talent.

March 2019 will become the official cut-off date at which point EU citizens will no longer be able to exercise their right to free movement when gaining entry into the British Isles. Home Secretary Amber Rudd assured business leaders there would be “no cliff edge”; instead supporting a transitional approach.

Meanwhile, the government has also announced a £10 million drive to source overseas educators to fill the skills gap in Britain’s classrooms.

The drive aims to address the poor retention rates of British schools: one quarter of educators who have qualified since 2011 have already left their posts. A Department for Education spokesman said that, while new teaching appointments outnumber those leaving the profession, it was necessary to attract overseas talent “as a supplementary avenue of teacher supply”.

The funding would amount to almost £17,000 per placement. The first intake for the three-year initiative will commence in September 2018.

Do banking vacancies hint at a change in culture?

The Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo) has released data for the financial sector, showing a near thirty per cent jump in vacancies within the financial sector between May and July of this year.

Commercial banking was responsible for the largest portion of those vacancies, with more unfilled positions than consumer finance, investment banking, and insurance combined.

Despite the sharp rise, the figures actually represent a year-on-year fall in the number of banking vacancies. They also arrive at a point when several major chains are engaged in nationwide branch branch closures – meaning a smaller number of total positions within the commercial banking sector. Yet despite fewer positions to fill, the numbers suggest comparatively even fewer candidates to choose from, too.

Banking has long been considered an attractive profession, so why has that seemingly now changed? Public perception of the banking profession has altered over the years: from one of stable, steady employment to that of affluence and risk. But are we now seeing another change, where a new generation – aware of the risks of future jobs obsolescence – is rejecting the uncertainty that a career in banking may now represent?

Visit our GDPR hub for more information on the law.