Richard Arthur said: “The government’s Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) is the biggest, and most catastrophic, demolition of workplace rights in generations.
“The bill takes a hatchet to employment rights derived from the EU, which have provided much needed protection to workers for the last 50 years. Rights regarding safe limits on working time, transfers of undertakings, health and safety regulations, holiday pay and parental leave, at least, are now all under threat.
“The government is intent on removing all traces of EU law and its effects from the British legal system. The year 2024 is going to be ‘Year Zero’ for workers’ rights, and we have no idea what the government has in mind for its replacement – which is nothing short of disastrous.
- On 22 September, the government published its Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill in the House of Commons: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-03/0156/220156.pdf
- All EU-derived subordinate legislation and retained directly applicable EU legislation is to be revoked automatically from the end of 2023. The only exceptions will be where areas are specified in regulations made by a minister or devolved authority.
- This means that, unless preserved by specific regulations, protections such as TUPE, the Working Time Regulations, regulations protecting atypical workers (such as agency workers) and certain health and safety regulations, will potentially cease to apply. Various areas of protection from discrimination will also potentially cease to apply – such as some of the protections for equal pay for work of equal value. This includes not only where legislation was implemented under specific powers in the European Communities Act 1972, but also wherever legislation was introduced for the purpose of implementation of EU obligations – as was the case with some parental leave rights.
