Did you know that the government has identified 4,829 pieces of EU retained law. Even calculating that total took a huge amount of time. This means nearly 5000 legislative provisions need to be amended, repealed or replaced. The original plan was that all retained EU would be automatically revoked on 31st December 2023. This was known as the ‘sunset clause’. It is no surprise to hear that there is insufficient parliamentary time to deal with this and the amount of drafting required to revise and replace the legislation is a monumental task that would take civil servants years to accomplish. Instead, the plan is for just 587 pieces of retained EU law to be revoked. If you have time on your hands, you can read the list here! schedule of retained EU law. Fundamentally, the list includes legislative schemes or requirements that are no longer operational or relevant in the UK. The rest will be dealt with in due course. So, where does that leave employers and employment law?
It is business as usual for now. The Department for Business and Trade has launched a consultation on retained EU employment law reforms and the topics for consideration are holidays and business transfers. The plan is to simplify annual leave and holiday pay calculations under the Working Time Regulations 1998. These changes will remove the administrative burden on employers and clarify commission payments, overtime, part-time working and holiday entitlement. There is no suggestion that the right to 5.6 weeks annual leave will change. The Transfer of Undertakings 2006 is also derived from EU law. It provides protection to employees when business ownership or service provision change occurs. At the moment, the law demands that consultation is required for all transfers. The plan is for this obligation to be removed for small transfers and SMEs. An exemption which will almost certainly appeal to business owners wanting to make swift changes.
So, what to say? The sun will set on EU law but enjoy the long summer nights for a while yet?
