The Sunset Clause Removal: retaining and discarding EU Law – The Bitesized Edition

Following Brexit, in September 2022 the government introduced the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill. This Bill created powers to revoke, amend, replace, restate or assimilate approximately 2,400 pieces of EU Law.

The Bill included a sunset provision which meant that if the government did not set out EU law in UK legislation by 31 December 2023 it will disappear.

This could have had a huge impact on employment law due to there being several EU regulations in place providing protection to employees in the UK. These Regulations include Agency Worker Regulations, the Working Time Regulations, TUPE, Maternity and Parental Leave Regulations, and many more.

There had been pressure on the UK government to remove this sunset clause from the Bill, and on 10 May 2023 the Government announced it was going to scrap the sunset clause, meaning most EU law will remain in place.

Instead, around 600 pieces of retained EU law will be set out in a revocation schedule and any laws not listed in the revocation schedule will be retained automatically. Currently, the only Regulations relating to employment being revoked do not impact on UK employment law.

This is not to say that what EU Regulations are currently in place will not change. The government has committed to making changes to “reduce burdens on business” and intends to improve the regulation framework. The government created the Smarter regulation to grow the economy policy on 10 May 2023. It appears the government may amend legislation that impacts on holiday pay entitlement, TUPE consultation requirements and working hours records.

There are likely to be some changes to employment law this year so businesses will need to ensure that they keep themselves informed of any further changes being announced.  As things change we will release bite sized updates, so keep your eyes peeled!

Need to know more?

For more information on these changes or assistance with updating your policies or contracts, you can contact our Employment Client Services team here, or by calling the team 0344 2640102.