Doing Business in the UK: Overview

A Q&A guide to doing business in the UK.

This Q&A gives an overview of key recent developments affecting doing business in UK as well as an introduction to the legal system; foreign investment, including restrictions, currency regulations and incentives; and business vehicles and their relevant restrictions and liabilities. The article also summarises the laws regulating employment relationships, including redundancies and mass layoffs, and provides short overviews on competition law; data protection; and product liability and safety. In addition, there are comprehensive summaries on taxation and tax residency; and intellectual property rights over patents, trade marks, registered and unregistered designs.

This resource may be affected by Brexit. Please note the law-stated date of the resource, and that it may not incorporate all recent developments. The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020. The transition period ended on 31 December 2020 (see Brexit essentials: Q&As on agreements and operation of UK law: What happened at the end of the transition period?). This Country Q&A will be updated in line with our usual publication schedule following the end of transition (see Guide to assessing legal change after end of post-Brexit transition period and UK law after end of post-Brexit transition period: overview). If you require more specific information, please see Beyond Brexit: the legal implications.