Home World News Europe Employment lawyers confirm Brexit threat to workers’ rights, says TUC

Employment lawyers confirm Brexit threat to workers’ rights, says TUC

0

A new report published today (Tuesday) by GQ Employment Law confirms that workers’ rights are at risk if the UK votes to leave the EU, says the TUC.

The report says that even if the UK were to remain in the single market, but outside the EU, some rights would be at risk, including working time protections, discrimination compensation, and protections for agency workers.

The assessment of GQ Employment Law follows a more substantial independent legal opinion by Michael Ford QC, the Employment Silk of 2015. In his view, Brexit would mean that “all the social rights in employment currently required by EU law would be potentially vulnerable”.

GQ Employment Law only looked at one Brexit scenario, in which the UK negotiates a deal similar to Norway of paying to remain in the single market and abide by all its rules, but outside the EU and without a say in making those rules. Under this scenario, they found that several protections for working people could be reduced.

However, many leading Brexit campaigners, such as the free-market group Economists for Brexit, say they want complete withdrawal from the single market so that employment laws can be repealed. The TUC says that this would allow a government with a deregulatory agenda to make much more sweeping changes to employment law, such as reducing paid holidays, parental leave entitlements, and discrimination protections for pregnant workers.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “A lot of the debate has focussed on how many people might lose their job because of Brexit. But even people whose jobs are not a risk would still face the threat of losing hard-won rights at work.

“GQ Employment have optimistically assumed that the UK would negotiate a similar Brexit deal to Norway. But even on this basis, they think that some important employment rights will still be at risk.

“Nobody knows for certain how bad it could get. But all the employment law experts agree that it will be worse for workers’ rights.”

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here