Government Stalls Controversial Retained EU Law Bill and Unveils List of EU Laws to be Withdrawn!

Government u-turn on the “sunset” of Retained EU Law Bill by the end of 2023!

The Retained EU Law Bill is something we have been keeping a very close eye on here at Avensure. The Retained EU Law Bill (REUL) could potentially have seen approximately 4000 pieces of EU-derived legislation- including some employment legislation- simply ‘expire’ at the end of this year, these plans have now been stalled.

So, what does this mean for employers who were expecting the "most significant overhaul of employment law in recent history"? Instead, the government has published a list of EU laws that are to be withdrawn.

Here is a summary of some of the key employment legislative changes:

??Removing the requirement to keep records on the number of working hours to show hours do not exceed statutory minimums under the Working Time Regulations.

??Allowing the use of rolled-up holiday pay. This is where staff receive holiday pay included in their basic pay. Rolled-up holiday pay is unlawful as it could discourage staff from booking annual leave and just receiving payment instead.

??Holiday entitlements are to be merged. The statutory minimum annual leave entitlement in the UK is 5.6 weeks but this is made up of 4 weeks leave under EU law and an extra 1.6 awarded in the UK. The plans to merge these entitlements will not affect the amount of leave employees are entitled to but it may affect how holiday pay is calculated i.e., whether payments such as commission should be included.

??Restrictive covenants which are agreements that restrict employees' work activities after they leave, will see non-compete clauses have a time limit of 3 months.

HR Support Through Legal Changes:?

Navigating through changes in employment law can be overwhelming. Although these changes have not yet taken effect, additional information will be provided in the near future. With Avensure, you can have peace of mind knowing that you have a dedicated team of experts by your side.