The Repeal Bill, formally titled the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, has now been published. This is the most important preliminary pieces of legislation that is created to repeal the European Communities Act and take the UK out of the European Union (EU).
The government is insisting the bill is providing “maximum certainty, continuity and control”. The initial form of the legislation confirms domestic legislation or rights derived from the EU and direct EU legislation that is in force in the UK before the day of exit will be brought in to UK domestic law and continue to have effect after the exit. This means worker rights from the EU, for example TUPE, working time and agency worker rights, will continue to have effect from the date of exit and for the foreseeable future.
This continuation of employment law and worker rights, however, does not commit the government to keep these the same forever. The current Conservative minority government used the Queen’s Speech to reiterate their intention to enhance rights and protections at work but this does not prevent the amendment of legislation in the future. The Bill also confirms any future EU laws will not take effect after the exit; a provision the Labour Party is opposed to as this could result in UK worker rights falling behind those in the EU.
EU case law will be retained and workers can continue to rely on judgments of the European Court of Justice that have been decided before the date of exit. Interestingly, the bill sets out that the Supreme Court will not be bound by this case law and can depart from these decisions where it appears right to do so. Although this is a difficult test to prove, in theory, it allows European decisions such as commission and holiday pay to be brought through the domestic court system again where, upon reaching the Supreme Court, the outcome could potentially be different.
