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Protecting and enhancing worker rights after the UK leaves the EU 20 March 2019
Following the Government’s commitment to the largest upgrade to worker rights in a generation in the Matthew Taylor Review (Good Work Plan), new measures are being introduced which will protect worker rights after the UK leaves the EU.
This document ‘Protecting and enhancing worker rights after the UK withdrawal from the European Union’ sets out draft legislation regarding worker rights after the UK Withdrawal from the EU.
Geographical extent – the legislation will apply to England Wales and Scotland
The Government has stated that it is absolutely committed to protecting and enhancing the protections workers enjoy and that fulfilling the result of the referendum and leaving the EU will not come at the expense of workers’ rights.
In order to protect common UK-EU workers' rights provided for in EU law, which have been transposed into UK law, the Government will legislate such that where a Bill could affect employment or workplace health and safety standards, a Minister of the Crown in charge of that Bill must, before its Second Reading:
a) Make a Statement of Compatibility of the Bill with the commitment to nonregression; and b) Provide explanatory information to Parliament in support of the statement.
The UK already exceeds EU standards in many aspects of workers’ rights, and in that context, the Government believes that after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU it should be for Parliament to determine what rules are most appropriate, rather than automatically accepting EU changes. However, the Government also believes that Parliament should have the opportunity to consider any future changes to EU law after the Implementation Period which strengthen employment or workplace health and safety standards. For this reason, the draft clauses also provide for a process to enable Parliament to consider whether the UK should align with EU employment and health and safety rules on a case-by-case basis.
The Government believes that the approach set out in these draft clauses will provide a robust framework for the maintenance and strengthening of employment and health and safety standards as we leave the EU.
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Scotland calls for more talks following EU Exit delay 12 April 2019
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has written to the Prime Minister following the extension of Article 50 calling for ongoing talks over EU exit to include the devolved administrations, and for any deal agreed by the UK Parliament to be put to a second referendum. The First Minister reiterated that people in Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU but have been ignored by the UK Government throughout the Brexit process, and said that must now change. She stressed that it is essential that this additional time provided by the extension until the end of October 2019, is used constructively and is not wasted. In her letter to Teresa May she wrote: “Notwithstanding the clear remain result in Scotland, the Scottish Government has sought to engage meaningfully on the terms of the UK’s departure from the EU and has called consistently for genuine efforts to reach consensus across party lines and with the devolved administrations. However, it is still not clear that even at this late stage and following the repeated defeat of your proposals that you are willing to drop your red lines which have restricted what can be achieved in the future relationship.
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
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