Brexit Changes to Employment Law

Working Time Regulations

• Introducing ‘rolled-up’ holiday pay which will allow workers to receive their holiday pay with every payslip. This is technically unlawful under EU law, although the remedy for breach is limited if the rolled-up element is shown clearly on payslips.
• Merging the current two separate leave entitlements – ‘normal’ and ‘additional’ holiday leave, into one pot of statutory annual leave.
• Removing the requirement for record-keeping under the Working Time Regulations for working hours.

The above changes should reduce the administrative burden and complexity of calculating holiday pay for employers, and hopes to save businesses £1 billion per year on time-consuming and disproportionate requirements surrounding record-keeping.

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE)

• Removing the requirement to consult with appointed representatives when there are fewer than 50 employees in the business and fewer than 10 transferees, allowing businesses to consult directly with the affected employees. In reality, this can only apply where there is a transfer of part of a business, because of the existing micro-business exemption (where consultation wasn’t required for businesses with fewer than 10 people). So, if a business has between 10 and 49 employees, of whom 9 or fewer are transferring, they will also be exempted from the collective consultation rules.

We are currently unaware of a timeframe for introducing these changes, but with few procedural constraints regarding legislation, they could be done quickly.

If you need assistance or advice on the contents of this article, please contact the Employment Team at Thackray Williams LLP on 020 8290 0440.