The sunset clause in the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (the Bill), which would have meant that almost all EU-derived law would have been automatically revoked by 31 December, has now been abandoned by the government.
The government have set out proposals which will apparently cut red tape for companies instead, here’s what they are:-
- removing the reporting requirements on working hours, permitting rolled-up holiday pay practices and merging the two current streams of leave entitlements (i.e. the 4 weeks’ leave entitlement deriving from EU law and additional 1.6 weeks’ leave entitlement in the UK) into one “pot” of statutory annual leave;
- removing the requirement to consult with employee representatives under TUPE for businesses with fewer than 50 people, enabling employers to consult directly with the affected employees; and
- legislating to limit the length of non-compete clauses to 3 months, the rationale being that this will provide employees with more flexibility to join a competitor or start up a rival business after they have left a position.
Watch this space!