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ARTICLE · 08 JULY 2015

BREXIT: Some Thoughts On Employment Law Implications

Clyde & Co
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For the first time in a generation there is a real possibility of the UK leaving the EU.

United KingdomEmployment and HR
Nick Elwell-Sutton
Nick Elwell-Sutton
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For the first time in a generation there is a real possibility of the UK leaving the EU. Despite the Government's ongoing attempts to renegotiate the UK's obligations under the EU treaties, we nevertheless face the probability of an "in/out" referendum in late 2016 or 2017.

With this in mind we have considered the possible effect on employers in some key areas and a few "what if" scenarios.

The starting point is that if the UK votes to leave the EU, the Government would regain parliamentary sovereignty and so would no longer be bound to have national legislation reflecting the many EU directives covering laws in the workplace.  It would therefore be free to abolish or amend existing laws as it saw fit. This transcends many aspects of EU based workplace regulation from working time and discrimination to health and safety, immigration and some aspects of remuneration. Below we set out some thoughts on how this may operate in practice.

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