Revocation of EU Law

David Reid
Director
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At the end of last week, the Government presented a Bill in the House of Commons addressing  what is to happen to European (EU) laws that have continued to remain in force in the UK since Brexit.

The Bill proposes that, by the end of 2023, all retained EU law will be revoked and will therefore no longer apply in the UK, unless a positive decision is made to retain particular laws.  This is a significant piece of proposed legislation that could alter or affect the future applicability of current UK employment law obligations which come from the EU, including the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE).

As you will be aware, aside from TUPE, many of the rights currently enjoyed by UK workers are derived from EU law, including minimum annual holiday entitlement, maximum hours of work per week, and protections for part-time, fixed-term and agency workers. Therefore, unless action is taken to retain any of these EU-derived rights, they will no longer apply after 31 December 2023.

The Government has not yet indicated which employment law rights may be kept and which rights may be amended (or dropped altogether). However, it appears safe to say that significant developments in UK employment legislation are on the horizon.

The Government may well seek to simplify some of the more complex current areas of our employment laws.  This may also present an opportunity to modernise other employment laws that have not kept up with developments in the modern workplace.

We will be keeping a close eye on progression of the Bill through Parliament, and we will update you on any further developments, and what they may mean for you as an employer, as they happen.

If you would like to discuss this development, or if we can support you on any other employment law matters, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the team on 0141 331 5150.

Topics: Bank Holidays, Contract Of Employment, Holidays