Where now for the Brexit Bonfire?
I don’t think I have met a lawyer who had anything good to say about the government’s proposed ‘bonfire of EU laws’. The proposal – supported naturally enough by the arch-Brexiteers (Rees-Mogg et al) was to ‘sunset’ all and any remaining links with European Law from the end of 2023.
The practical difficulty with this was that after 50 years of varying degrees of integration between UK and EU law, it was never going to be easy to unpick the enormous legal jigsaw puzzle that remains post-Brexit.
Indeed, the government was not even able to put a figure on the number of laws that were likely to be automatically repealed in this way. ‘About 4,000’ seemed to be the general consensus, but it is passing strange to think that we might have abolished 100 or 200 fewer (or additional) laws than was intended!
An army of civil servants tried valiantly to complete the puzzle, but in a surprise to no one, the task proved too great. Accordingly, the government has now announced a climb down so that perhaps 600 laws will be repealed by the end of the year – and we will, at least, know which laws they are.
This is good news, and a triumph for common sense, but it may be overshadowed by other changes the government now intends to make, directly on the back of Brexit, as we have been predicting over the last few years.
The proposals include:
- Allowing ‘rolled up’ holiday pay. In some sectors this may be a practical solution to an administrative problem. In others, it will likely discourage employees from taking paid leave.
- Holiday entitlement calculations are likely to change – and there are no prizes for guessing which way that will swing. Holiday pay is likely to decrease since commission and overtime and the like are probably going to be ignored in future for calculation purposes.
- The ‘Tupe’ Regulations, that require an employer to consult in the event of the sale of a business, will probably be watered down.
There’s a concern that Brexit is going to ultimately lead to reductions in workers’ rights. On the upside, the government has announced new legislation to create carer’s leave, changes to how tips operate, as well as neonatal care leave, but those are not expected to apply until spring 2024 onwards. Let’s see what 2023 and 2024 brings for UK workers.
Author: Paul Scholey, Employment Consultant
