Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill Receives Royal Assent

Although the original Bill was significantly stripped back, the Act remains an important piece of legislation.

Ending the Supremacy of EU Law

Retained EU law is law that remains incorporated into our domestic legal framework following Brexit. The Government wishes to streamline and speed up the process of reforming retained EU law. Passing the Act is a key part of the Government's policy in this area.

Broadly speaking, the Act ends the supremacy of EU law from 31 December 2023, and removes all directly effective EU rights on that date too. It encourages the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court to make more use of existing powers to overturn EU-based caselaw including European Court of Justice and UK court decisions. It introduces a new process whereby lower courts can refer a point of law to these higher courts so a decision can be taken on whether specific EU caselaw should be overturned.

'Sunset Date' Scrapped

When the Act, then a Bill, was first introduced to Parliament, it contained a 'sunset clause' designed to automatically remove thousands of pieces of EU law from our domestic framework on the sunset date of 31 December 2023. Following significant criticism of the proposal, and uncertainty regarding the impact of the Bill, the Government reigned in its plans and replaced the automatic sunset date with a list of around 600 specific pieces of legislation which will be removed at the end of this year. These do not relate directly to employment law.

What’s Next for Employment Law?

In the short term, the Act does not make any express changes to key employment rights. However, the Government is likely to now consider areas where it wishes to reform employment law, and will have more freedom to depart from EU law in those areas. For example, consultation is already open on proposed changes to TUPE and the Working Time Regulations.

For more information on the Act, please contact Michael Halsey in our Employment law team on 020 7665 0842. Alternatively, please complete the form below.