Brexit FAQs - Contracts, NDAs and GDPR

Brexit - Contracts, NDAs & GDPR

What impact will Brexit have on contracts, NDAs and GDPR?

Contracts form the glue which binds commerce. It is no surprise, therefore, that many businesses contact us seeking clarification around how Brexit will affect their existing and future agreements.

With data protection and cybersecurity dominating risk management agendas, post-Brexit GDPR is also high on the list of client queries.

It is vital that you review your current agreements as some clauses may require revision post-Brexit, especially if the UK leaves without a deal. Contractual obligations may be subject to change after Britain leaves the EU. It is therefore prudent to future-proof existing contracts and to seek business legal advice before discussing Brexit-related issues with contractual parties.

When it comes to data protection, although British businesses will still be bound by the GDPR, it is worth understanding the implications of the UK’s status of a ‘third country’.

If you are concerned about how Brexit will affect your business, talk to one of our friendly lawyers.

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Frequently asked questions

LawBite is the modern way for SMEs to get the high quality legal advice they need, but faster and cheaper.

As we look to revolutionise the traditional legal process, this may raise a number of questions on how we operate to provide your business with legal advice for your business that is; easier to access, clearer to understand and more affordable.

We have brought together the most frequently asked questions from our customers.

Data protection presents two very distinct challenges:

a) The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has issued guidance to businesses to the effect that, in the event of a no-deal outcome, the UK will be considered a third country from 00.00 hrs 1 November 2019. If this occurs, then there is currently no adequacy decision in place (which is the necessary indication that the EU considers the data protection environment of a third country as meeting the standards required of a member country). If this remains the case, any transfer of data to the UK from an EU member state will need to be made on the basis of the current and developing procedures for transfer to a non-member state (with the exception of the USA):

standard contractual clauses (SCCs)
binding corporate rules (BCRs)
codes of conduct and certification which the EDPB is in the process of developing, or
potentially one-off derogations from the standard procedures.

The EDPB has advised that businesses prepare to:

Identify what processes in business require data transfer from the EU to the UK.
Put in place the appropriate process to manage the safe transfer of data (SCCs; BCRs etc.) before 30 March 2019 at the very latest, where the impact would be most detrimental
Heighten awareness amongst staff involved where transfers to the UK occur
Update privacy policies to reflect the change in procedure and in UK status

b) Data transfers to the USA which have to date been protected under the Privacy Shield arrangement which the EU has in place with the USA (and which are still being challenged in EU courts by Austrian Max Schrems) will no longer automatically apply to UK data transferred to the USA.

The US Dept. of Commerce issued advice at the end of last year indicating that unless the US corporations involved indicate in their published materials (including privacy policies) that the Privacy Shield Framework will still apply to data transfers from the UK, the data transferred will no longer be protected. The cut off (“Applicable”) date will be 31 October 2019 in the event of no-deal and 31 December 2020 if a deal has been agreed. Either way it is incumbent upon US corporations to make the necessary changes and UK business, charities and individuals should pay heed to the actions of US corporations who host their data on servers beyond the EU and UK.

It is advisable to have your contracts reviewed by a lawyer if they cross the UK/EU border in some way (for instance, one party is EU-based, goods are sold in the EU etc.)

The key points to consider within contracts are:

Does your contract refer to the EU? If so, how is ‘EU’ defined? It is important that the UK isn’t accidentally included or excluded from your contract
Are the references to legislation correct? For instance, does the contract refer to EU legislation that is no longer applicable to the contract?
Is Brexit covered in force majeure scenarios? Do you want it to be if it becomes unprofitable or administratively burdensome to continue with the contract after Brexit?
Are there VAT changes, import tariffs etc. that should be reflected in the contract?

What is important to bear in mind is that parties are contractually obliged to perform a contract, even if that contract is no longer financially or otherwise viable, unless these issues are considered and addressed. Therefore the scope for future contract variations to be required is extensive and the sooner you realise that a contract requires variation the sooner you will repair or avoid potential injury or loss to your business.

Depending on the basis on which the UK leaves the EU it’s safe to assume that in most instances entirely new agreements will not be necessary. Amendment of pre-existing agreements more than likely will require the following questions to be answered however:

Will the Brexit outcome affect the rights, obligations, costs and/or fees of performance of the contract by one party or both?
Would the changes best be dealt with by a pre-existing Force Majeure clause dealing with matters which are beyond the ability of a party or the parties to control and which as such may frustrate the contract or is this an over-reaction to the disruption or difficulty the parties might face?

What is important to bear in mind is the fact that parties are contractually obliged to perform a contract, even if that contract is no longer financially or otherwise viable. Unless these issues are considered and addressed and so, therefore, the scope for contract variations to be required is extensive and the sooner you realise that a contract requires variation the sooner you will repair or avoid potential injury or loss to your business.

If there is no Brexit deal by the end of October 2019, the UK Government intends to write GDPR into UK law. However, there will still be some issues, particularly for international data transfers, as the UK will no longer be recognised as part of the EEA (i.e. where personal data can be freely transferred). This is, of course, unless the EU formally recognises the UK as having an equivalent data protection regime in place.

If a UK business is looking to transfer data outside the EEA, the UK Government will permit these transfers, and those EEA businesses will already have GDPR-compliant processes in place. So there are unlikely to be significant issues with such transfers.

However, a transfer from the EEA to the UK is likely to be more problematic. If the EU doesn’t recognise the UK as adequate for personal data transfers, then the EEA sender must have put in place appropriate safeguards (e.g. standard contractual clauses) to allow the personal data to be transferred to the UK.

The other alternative is that an exception applies, which allows the data to be transferred without these safeguards (e.g. an individual has consented to the transfer, or the transfer is necessary to perform your contract with an individual). It is likely that businesses will need to update their contracts to ensure that standard contractual clauses are included, where needed.

A Brexit clause will try to anticipate likely outcomes of the Brexit negotiations:

Will a Brexit outcome affect the rights, obligations, costs and/or fees of performance of the contract by one party or both?
Does the clause therefore need to be drafted to the benefit of one party or both parties?
Does a clause need to identify specific outcomes in relation to specific obligations/costs etc?
Would the changes best be dealt with by a pre-existing Force Majeure clause dealing with matters which are beyond the ability of a party or the parties to control and which as such may frustrate the contract or is this an over-reaction to the disruption or difficulty the parties might face?

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