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Whatever your views on Brexit, the UK is slowly coming to terms with the fact that we will, at some point in the near future, be leaving the EU. Following what may be one of the most significant decisions in UK political history on 23^rd June there is much uncertainty in many sectors about what the future holds.

What is certain is that once the UK invokes Article 50 there is a defined process that means the UK will leave the EU two years after such date. Therefore we will not be exiting until, at the earliest, July 2018 and more probably not before September 2018.

Employment law implications 

Employment law in the UK is significantly influenced by European law in such areas as working time, discrimination, rights of employees under TUPE and family leave. Following an exit from the EU, in theory the government could repeal all of the European law currently in place. However, it is highly unlikely that any government would take such a step, even with the current turmoil within the major political parties.

Nothing will happen to UK employment law immediately given that we will not be exiting for at least two years. However, once we do exit much will be determined by the type of arrangement that is negotiated with the rest of Europe. We will still want to trade with Europe and therefore to maintain good relationships and satisfy European trading partners, much of the European legal framework may remain in place.

Furthermore, many employment rights are actually derived from UK legislation rather than what flows from Europe. As a country we have often gone beyond what is required by Europe, for example Europe sets minimum holiday at 4 weeks and in the UK we have 5.6 weeks. Many laws on employment rights could almost be considered to be fundamental rights and ones that we would not wish to erode, such as the right not to be discriminated against at work, rights which existed in the UK pre-Europe in any event.

There may be arguments for changes to some of the more unpopular pieces of legislation emanating from Europe; including the Agency Worker Regulations 2010, which are complex and problematic. Some businesses may well hope for an overhaul of TUPE legislation, although in reality it is unlikely there will be much more than minor tweaks to make it more business friendly.

There has been much input from Europe in relation to the law surrounding holidays over recent years. Whilst employers are now accustomed to the holiday entitlement brought in by the Working Time Regulations, one area ripe for change would be in respect of holiday accrual for employees whilst off sick and carry over of holiday into subsequent leave years due to sickness and absence, as these issues have been hotly disputed fairly recently in a string of high profile European decisions.

That said, it is highly unlikely that there will be a complete overhaul of the legislation in this area either. What is more likely is that Brexit will enable the UK to tidy up a number of areas of conflict between UK and European law and also remove some of the more unpopular pieces of legislation. However, again this will take a period of time to come to fruition in the Brexit process.

EU workers

Immigration was one of the hot topics in the referendum debate. Freedom of movement of workers is seen as one of the central foundations of being in the EU. Once the UK leaves the EU, all EU workers will no longer have an automatic right to reside and work in the UK. However if, for example, the government decides to deport all EU workers, this could result in the EU doing the same in respect of UK nationals working and living in EU countries. As part of the negotiation process with the EU, an amnesty on current EU nationals remaining in the UK, and UK nationals in EU countries remaining where they are, is probable.

However, the government will then need to look at how it deals with freedom of movement going forward and again much will depend upon the negotiation process with the EU. Trade and movement may well go hand in hand in these negotiations as far as the EU is concerned. It may be that the UK will look to adopt a points based system for EU workers in the same way as the current system utilised for non-EU workers when applying for visas. There could be wide ranging implications for many businesses with possible shortages of talent, skills and labour in less skilled areas of work. Much will depend upon the deal that Theresa May can negotiate for the UK.

Brexit may well provide the UK with the ability to put in place their own, more straightforward, immigration process and procedure and remove some of the EU regulation. Only time will tell as to how this area will develop.

As soon as the outlook becomes clearer we will provide further details on the legal implications of any changes. In the meantime should you have any queries about Brexit please do not hesitate to contact us on 01603 610911.