Brexit has the potential to have a significant impact on UK employment law with many significant elements of UK employment law deriving from European Directives. For example, the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE), which apply on acquisitions of businesses and outsourcings, derive from the Acquired Rights Directive; obligations to collectively consult in advance of multiple redundancies, derive from the Collective Redundancies Directive; and many elements of discrimination legislation, as well as the Working Time Regulations, also derive from EU Directives.

In practice, however, it seems unlikely that there will be a wholesale repeal of all UK employment legislation deriving from EU Directives as many elements of this legislation provide significant and relatively uncontentious employment rights which it would be politically difficult to remove. 

What is likely is that much of the existing legislation will be retained in its current form, but that UK legislators will take the opportunity to amend or remove particular parts of legislation perceived to be most burdensome to business. For example, some elements of TUPE and the Working Time Regulations, as well as the Agency Workers Regulations.

It is also important to note that a number of key elements of UK employment law, for example, the right not to be unfairly dismissed and to a redundancy payment, do not derive from EU Directives and, therefore, should not be impacted by Brexit.