New bill to guarantee workers' rights after Brexit

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Legislation to preserve workers’ rights after Britain has left the European Union will come before Parliament on Friday, via a new bill that would safeguard every aspect of employment legislation currently protected under EU law.

When Britain leaves the European Union, the Government will introduce a Great Repeal Bill, that is expected to enshrine EU laws on workers’ rights into British law, but there are concerns that the process will weaken important rights for employees.

Currently, many rights, such as maternity pay and equal pay rights for part-time workers, are protected by the European Court of Justice. The concern is that the Great Repeal Bill would protect these rights but leave them open to be amended or removed via statutory instrument, not by an act of parliament, meaning a government could alter them without a parliamentary vote.

Melanie Onn, the MP for Great Grimsby who introduced the the Workers’ Rights (Maintenance of EU Standards) Bill, which will have its second reading before parliament on Friday morning, said: “Rights for working people in Britain have been hard-won, often the result of decades of pressure from the labour movement. Brexit gives the Government the opportunity to undo all that work.

“My bill would protect in the strongest form of UK legislation all workers’ rights which are derived from the European Union. It will be the first test of whether the Conservatives will keep to the promise Theresa May made at their Party Conference in October last year, that workers’ rights will be maintained after Brexit.”

The bill is unlikely to make it to a vote on Friday morning, but Labour’s Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer has said it should be seen as a “gold standard” for protecting workers’ rights after Brexit.

Many aspects of employment legislation have come to pass only via case law, and these too are protected by the European Court of Justice and so would be under threat after Brexit. The bill proposes transposing all existing rights guaranteed by the ECJ into British law, but not future ones.

Mr Starmer said: “It’s absolutely vital that leaving the EU does not lead to any reduction in workplace rights.

“That’s why this bill is so important. It would ensure that the workplace rights millions of people rely on – from parental leave to rights for agency workers – are enshrined in UK law and cannot be watered down as a result of Brexit.”