Source · Select Committees · Business and Trade Committee
Recommendation 29
29
Deferred
Paragraph: 160
Careful review needed for employment regulations if Retained EU Law Bill receives Royal Assent
Conclusion
If the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill receives Royal Assent, a substantial body of regulations contained within EU retained law and covering employment standards and rights will cease to apply in the UK unless specifically preserved in some form. Great care will need to be taken in reviewing these regulations and determining how they should each be treated, to ensure that there is clarity and consistency in UK labour law.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government welcomes acknowledgement of its support for the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill and intends to make the right to request flexible working apply from the first day of employment, but this response is unrelated to the committee's conclusion about the Retained EU Law Bill and the need for careful review of EU retained employment law.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
160
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
The Government introduced the Retained EU Law (REUL) Bill so that we could end the special status of retained EU law. The Government tabled an amendment at Lords Report stage of the Bill, which replaces the current sunset in the Bill with a list of the retained EU laws that we intend to revoke at the end of 2023. This provides certainty by making it clear which regulations will be removed from the statue book. We will retain the vitally important powers in the Bill that allow us to continue to amend EU laws, so more complex regulation can still be revoked or reformed after proper assessment and consultation. We have identified several regulations where we see opportunities for improvements in retained EU employment law following our exit from the EU, including the Working Time Regulations and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment), or ‘TUPE’, Regulations. We are consulting on proposals to reduce time-consuming reporting requirements under the Working Time Regulations, which could save employers around £1bn a year. We are also consulting on simplifying annual leave and holiday pay calculations in the Working Time Regulations, and streamlining regulations that apply when a business transfers to a new owner. These proposals do not seek to remove rights, but instead remove unnecessary bureaucracy in the way those rights operate, allowing business to benefit from the additional freedoms we have through Brexit. The Government has been clear throughout the Brexit process that we have no intention of reducing the substantive legal protections for workers. To make good on this promise, we have also made clear in the consultation the areas of employment law where the Government will not make any changes, including the system of maternity, paternity, adoption, or parental leave.
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