Brexit and UK Employment Legislation – the impact and what you can do about it

May 11, 2017

With 4 weeks to go to the UK General Election, and Brexit high on the agenda, HR Manager Laura Rigby, takes to look at (so you don’t have to!) the Government’s 4 most likely priorities to review in respect of Employment Legislation.

hr180.co.uk Employment Law post Brexit Top 4 UK Government priorities

By Laura Rigby

As we know, the UK will leave the European Union in March 2019, but what will this mean for employment legislation?

The short answer is nothing… initially.

Which means?

All EU law which is directly applicable in the UK, will remain UK law. Courts will continue to be able to look to the provisions of EU treaties to interpret laws and case law will be given the same precedent status as previously.

However, it is inevitable that the Government will want to make some changes and that these will be gradually rolled out into employment law. It is expected that the following will be the priority for revision.

Top 4 Government priorities

1 The Calculation of Holiday Pay

The Court of Justice of the European Union determined that holiday pay should include all ‘normal’ elements of pay, including overtime and commission, which can be very complicated to calculate. The expectation is that there will be a U-turn on this and that holiday pay will go back to being calculated on basic rate.

2 TUPE (the Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment)

This is arguably one of the most complex processes in employment legislation and it is expected that the Government will look to make the process simpler, particularly in regard to the harmonisation of terms and conditions after a transfer.

3 Awards for Discrimination Claims in a Tribunal

Currently, there is no cap on the amount that may be awarded by a Tribunal for a successful claim for discrimination. It is understood that the Government will aim to put a cap in place.

4 Agency Worker Regulations

Since 2010, the Agency Worker Regulations were implemented, which requires Employers to provide agency workers with the same pay, conditions and benefits as their permanent employee counterparts once they have worked for them for 12 continuous weeks. The current thoughts are that the UK may look to scrap these regulations post Brexit.

So what does that mean for me?

Until the new legislation changes are beginning to be put in place no one can categorically confirm what you will need to do (other than someone with a fully functioning crystal ball). However if you have policies in place already, the post-Brexit potential changes should be easily handled. If these are not in place, then you really need a chat with us!

We get straight to the focus of your people issues and find the best possible solutions just for you and your business (not something ‘off the shelf’) so give us a call…

Leeds based HR180 is a team of superheroes in HR Outsourcing, Projects and Consultancy committed to work in partnership with organisations of all sizes to establish working policies to go above and beyond Employment Law requirements, to protect both employees and employers alike. We love to hear from you, so call us on 0113 287 8150 or hit the Rescue Me button.

Why not join our mailing list...

×

DON'T PANIC!

WE'RE HERE TO HELP

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.