Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

General Data Protection RegulationBrexitEmployment lawTUPEWorking Time Regulations

Repeal Bill: No immediate change for workers’ rights

by Jo Faragher 14 Jul 2017
by Jo Faragher 14 Jul 2017 Amer Ghazzal/REX/Shutterstock
Amer Ghazzal/REX/Shutterstock

EU-derived legislation such as the Working Time Directive, TUPE and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will continue to apply once the UK formally leaves the union, it has been confirmed.

The 66-page Repeal Bill, otherwise known as the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, was published yesterday, aimed at bringing reams of EU law into the UK statute book.

Brexit resources

How to prepare for Brexit

Brexit: Practical five-point checklist for employers

How will Brexit affect employers with EEA workers?

The bill will be debated in parliament in the autumn, and its first measure is to repeal the European Communities Act, which gave the UK membership of the bloc in 1973.

Brexit secretary David Davis said:

“It is one of the most significant pieces of legislation that has ever passed through Parliament and is a major milestone in the process of our withdrawal from the European Union.

By working together, in the national interest, we can ensure we have a fully functioning legal system on the day we leave the European Union.”

In terms of workers’ rights, the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) has confirmed that regulations derived through the Working Time Directive and the Agency Workers’ Directive will continue to apply after the formal leaving date.

It has also indicated that “where rights have been extended by CJEU [European Court of Justice (ECJ)] judgments, those rights will continue to be protected in the UK once we have left the EU, with those judgments having the same precedent status as the Supreme Court’s own judgments”.

This means that ECJ judgments cast before Brexit will remain binding. It adds: “To maximise certainty and continuity, retained EU law will continue to be interpreted in accordance with the pre-exit case law of the Court of Justice”.

Rachel Farr, senior lawyer in the employment, pensions and mobility group at law firm Taylor Wessing, said: “The Bill makes it clear that EU-derived UK legislation, such as TUPE 2006, will continue to apply after the exit day, whilst EU Regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation will also remain in effect in the UK.

“This confirms that companies and their HR teams should continue to think about how they will be handling employee data in compliance with the new rules.”

One area that has concerned opposition politicians, however, is the scope to use ‘Henry VIII powers’ within the bill, which allows the UK to change laws with limited parliamentary scrutiny if they find any deficiencies in EU law as it is worked into UK legislation.

Furthermore, UK courts are not bound by any decisions made by the ECJ after Brexit, so could potentially ignore key employment rights decisions granted in EU countries in the future.

In response to this, Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC, described the bill as a “Downing Street power grab that puts workers’ rights at risk”.

She said: “The PM promised to protect all workers’ rights after Brexit. But there is nothing in this Bill to stop politicians shredding or watering down our rights in the future.

“Nobody voted for Brexit to make life harder for working people. That’s why any deal with the EU must ensure that workers’ rights in Britain don’t fall behind the rest of Europe.”

The Government said that it “has shown its commitment to extending workers’ rights when this is the right choice for the UK, and will continue to do so as we leave the EU”.

Jo Faragher
Jo Faragher

Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.

previous post
Winners of enei equality and inclusion awards announced
next post
Swipe right for the best candidate? Recruitment enters the Tinder age

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

You may also like

Will the Scale-up visa increase the UK’s flow...

18 Aug 2022

Uber has more drivers than ever as worker...

11 Aug 2022

HMRC looking to recoup £1.4bn from businesses’ use...

1 Aug 2022

Ministers release guidance to clarify UK employment status...

28 Jul 2022

Unions fear for workers’ rights after Truss pledge

25 Jul 2022

Underpayment not reported due to ‘fear and insecurity’

25 Jul 2022

Ryanair boss urges ministers to help hire more...

22 Jul 2022

Supreme Court: Holiday pay for part-year staff should...

20 Jul 2022

The risks of sexual harassment in the metaverse

14 Jul 2022

One in nine UK workers is in insecure...

12 Jul 2022
  • 6 reasons why work-based learning is better than traditional training PROMOTED | A recent Fortune/Deloitte survey found that 71% of CEOs are anticipating that this year’s biggest business disrupter...Read more
  • Strengthening Scotland’s public services through virtual recruiting PROMOTED | This website is Scotland's go-to place for job seekers looking to apply for roles in public services...Read more
  • What’s next for L&D? Enter Alchemist… PROMOTED | It’s time to turn off the tedious and get ready for interactive and immersive learning experiences...Read more
  • Simple mistakes are blighting the onboarding experience PROMOTED | The onboarding of new hires is a company’s best chance...Read more
  • Preventing Burnout: How can HR help key workers get the right help? PROMOTED | Workplace wellbeing may seem a distant memory...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+