Legal changes for employers after Brexit...
There has been much comment in the media about the Government’s Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, which set out to remove thousands of EU Regulations by the end of the year. In the face of severe criticism from businesses, unions and lawmakers, those plans have been abandoned and a much more considered approach is being taken.
As part of this approach, the Government has launched a consultation that sets out proposals for key areas of retained EU employment law that the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) wants to reform.
The consultation seeks views on 3 main areas of EU employment law which are as follows…
- Record keeping requirements under the Working Time Regulations
- Simplifying annual leave and holiday pay calculations
- Consultation requirements under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE)
The Working Time Regulations 1998
Speculation that the 48-hour weekly limit would be abolished turned out to be unfounded and the Government will enshrine this, and other WTR rights, in domestic legislation.
However, the Government wishes to relax the WTR record-keeping requirements for employers, who must have a reliable system for recording the number of hours normally worked by their employees.
There is also a proposal to merge the different annual leave entitlements, i.e. the statutory 20 days and the additional 8 days for bank holidays. Currently, there are different rules about how these leave entitlements can be paid and administered.
The DBT also wants to re-introduce the right of employers to ‘roll up’ holiday pay, where employees are routinely paid a sum of money with their usual wages which is labelled as “holiday pay”, even though they are not actually taking any time off. This was declared unlawful in a court case brought against Rolls Royce under EU law.
TUPE
The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 protects employees’ rights when they are transferred to a new employer. The Government wants to change the rules on workplace consultations to simplify the TUPE process.
Other matters derived from EU laws
It has been confirmed that Regulations protecting the work rights of parents, adopters, part-time and fixed term workers will be preserved. Many parental rights are already more generous in the UK than provided for by EU Regulations.
It may come as a surprise to some that The Agency Workers Regulations will also be preserved. There had been much speculation that they would be revoked, being unpopular with business organisations and trade unions.
If the WTR or TUPE changes are likely to impact your business then you can respond to the consultation by visiting this page.
Written by Paul Murphy
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