I am pleased to welcome you all to this issue of TRENDS.

One of the characteristic features of employment law is its wide impact and influence, and its development over a period of time. One of these ever-growing and changing areas, which is of particular interest to HR professionals, lawyers and other legal practitioners alike, is that of data protection.

We have therefore produced this TRENDS issue which includes information on data protection in a number of countries around the world. This first publication deals with the issue of data protection in employment at the recruitment and on-boarding stage. The information is set out as a response to a number of key questions. A subsequent publication will deal with data protection issues in the ongoing employment relationship and the final publication will cover data protection issues at the end of the employment relationship.

This guide has been created thanks to the joint efforts and close cooperation of the members of The Law Firm Network and their partner law firms. There has never been a better time for close co-operation with colleagues across all jurisdictions and we are very pleased that, despite the many demands of the last 12 – 18 months, we have again been able to gather so many high quality submissions from colleagues for this new TRENDS publication.

We are delighted to be able to deliver this issue of TRENDS and we extend our sincere thanks to all the contributors who made this possible.

We sincerely hope that you will find this a useful guide in your day-to-day work.