The Impact of the Retained EU Law (Revocation & Reform) Bill 2022 on Agency Workers

The EU Law (Revocation & Reform) Bill which is currently before parliament contains a mechanism that it will turn off certain employment rights arising from EU legislation and European court decisions covering issues such as holiday pay, agency worker rights, part time and fixed time workers, maximum working week time for office workers as well as not preserving the contracts of employment for those workers whose employer is acquired by another.

The Bill seeks to remove various interpretive principles and settled court decisions which the employment tribunals and courts have relied upon over the years to give predictable meaning to many employment law rights with effect from 31 December 2023.

If the Bill in its current form becomes law then certain laws will disappear which would include the right of agency workers to receive after 12 weeks the same working conditions such as pay or rest periods as directly employed workers. Other rights that could be affected include rights of part timers to be treated pro rata to similarly employed permanent workers as well as paid holidays at the same rate that workers would get whilst working full time as well as the right not to be dismissed if the worker's business is sold.

The Government of course could positively legislate to prevent such rights from disappearing but we haven’t seen any sign of that at the moment. At this time employers and recruitment agencies need to keep a watchful eye on further developments over the next 12 months.

For further information please contact Michael Delaney in our Employment Law team on 07909 912 564, 01923 919316, or complete the form below.