The Government on 10th May 2023 published guidance on growing the economy by smarter regulation that will impact upon certain employment law procedures.
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill intends to remove all EU law by 31st December 2023 unless laws are passed by the government to preserve it.
UK organizations were able to scrutinise the implications of the Bill by making representations to the parliamentary committee and by of example the Law society expressed concerns over the Bill stating that “The Retained EU Law Bill could have a devastating impact on legal certainty in the UK and negatively impact its status as an internationally competitive business environment”.
Further, Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said back in autumn 2022, “At a time when working people are experiencing huge financial pressures and uncertainties, we need certainty, stability and support – not a bonfire of workers’ rights……“This government doesn’t have any mandate to strip away paid holidays, health and safety protections or to roll back rights that support working parents”.
What are the main changes to Employment law being proposed by the government following Brexit?
- Government has announced that it is to abandon the sunset clause in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill. In its current wording it would have meant that the majority if not all of EU law would have automatically been revoked at the end of 2023, unless a statutory instrument was passed to preserve it. The removal of the sunset clause EU law will remain binding in the UK unless it is explicitly repealed and the government has published a list of EU based statutory instruments that it intends to repeal on 31 December 2023 and as regards to employment related matters, the government is looking at present to repeal The Community Drivers’ Hours and Working Time (Road Tankers) (Temporary Exception) (Amendment) Regulations 2006, The Posted Workers (Enforcement of Employment Rights) Regulations 2016 and The Posted Workers (Agency Workers) Regulations 2020.
- On TUPE, no significant changes are being proposed as yet other than where a business has between 10 and 49 employees, of whom 9 or fewer are transferring. They will be exempted from the collective consultation rules, more than likely to apply where there is the transfer of part of a business, not as a whole business hence limited impact.
- With holidays, the government will look to remove the restriction on rolled-up holiday pay and to merge ‘normal’ holiday leave with ‘additional’ holiday leave to create one entitlement. The intention being to reduce the administrative burden currently faced by employers and this could possibly mean excluding commission, overtime and bonuses from the holiday pay calculation, although the government has not made that clear.
- With regards to working time regulation reporting requirements, the government has decided to remove requirements on businesses for working hour records to be kept for almost all members of their workforce thus cutting red tape and saving businesses money.
- With non-compete clauses in employment contracts, the government has indicated that it will look to introduce legislation to limit the length of non-compete clauses to 3 months. This will provide employees with more flexibility to join a competitor or start up a rival business after they have left their employment. However, the government has emphasised that "limiting non-compete clauses will not interfere with the ability of employers to use (paid) notice periods or gardening leave, or to use non-solicitation clauses. These reforms will not cut across arrangements on confidentiality clauses, nor will they affect restrictions on (former) public sector employees under the business appointment rules".
No timetable has been announced over the implementation into law of the above provisions but likely to be relatively quickly thus employers and businesses must keep a watchful eye over developments to ensure they are not caught out by these changes.
The article is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal advice. If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our HR/Legal advice line team at 0116 274 9193.
