After a turbulent passage through Parliament, the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (REULA) revoked some 600 pieces of retained EU law at the end of 2023.
We previously reported on the Equality Act 2010 (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (Equality Regulations), which protect certain EU-derived discrimination protection that would otherwise have disappeared under REULA. The practical effect of the Equality Regulations is to retain the status-quo so that equality law continues to have the same effect in 2024 as it had in 2023.
The Equality Regulations ensure that the following discrimination protections continue to apply in light of REULA:
The second new set of regulations in force is the Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023 (Employment Rights Regulations). The Employment Rights Regulations amend the Working Time Regulations, including in respect of part-year and irregular hours worker's holiday entitlement. They introduce an accrual method to calculate holiday entitlement for part-year and irregular hours workers, at 12.07% of the hours worked in a pay period.
The Employment Rights Regulations also introduce legal definitions of "part-year" and "irregular hours" workers and will entitle employers to pay rolled-up holiday pay at the statutory rate of 12.07% for these workers.
These changes take effect for leave years starting on or after 1 April 2024. The Government has also put forward guidance relating to the Employment Rights Regulations which we discuss in a separate article.