Employment law in 2023 - a bumpy road ahead?
Released On 15th Dec 2022
It is fair to say that 2022 has been something of a rollercoaster. In the employment sphere, the dawn of the year saw HR teams continuing to grapple with Covid-19 testing and self-isolation requirements, as well as managing a shift towards more formalised home and hybrid working arrangements. More recently, the cost-of-living crisis has led to strained pay negotiations and increased trade union activity (including strike action). On top of this, HR have had to deal with travel chaos caused by transport strikes and various holiday and other issues thrown up by unusual national events, such as the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the State Funeral, and sports championships like the FIFA World Cup.
Sadly, there appear to be more tricky times ahead, with the Government’s Autumn Statement on 17 November confirming tax rises and spending cuts and the Bank of England warning of a prolonged recession. So what employment law issues lie in store for HR during 2023? Below, we explore some possibilities.
Brexit Freedoms Bill
There are various draft bills progressing through Parliament which could become law in 2023. One such bill is the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (known as the 'Brexit Freedoms Bill' or 'REUL Bill') , which the Government first presented to the House of Commons in September 2022.
The aim of the REUL Bill is to remove (“sunset”) from the UK statute book all retained EU law by 31 December 2023, except for those pieces of legislation which the Government specifically decides to preserve. (Retained EU Law is a category of UK law which was created at the end of the Brexit transition period and consists of EU-derived legislation that was kept in our domestic legal framework by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018).
This bill is significant as there are over 2,400 pieces of retained EU law which need to be reviewed by the December 2023 sunset date and there is a risk that swathes of legislation could disappear without anything to replace it if the Government has not been able to review it and decide its fate in time. Make UK has prepared a response to the REUL Bill Public Bill Committee setting out the potential consequences this draft bill could have on the manufacturing sector. For further details, please contact Jamie at JCater@makeuk.org.
Data Protection and Digital Information Bill
The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, which the Government introduced to Parliament in July 2022, aims to ease the burden of data protection compliance and better regulate the use of digital information. It is currently going through the House of Commons. Make UK has submitted a response to the proposed changes. For further information, please contact Bhavina at BBharkhada@makeuk.org. In other data protection news, two consultations by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) - the first on guidance concerning monitoring at work and the second on information about workers' health - will close on 11 and 26 January 2023 respectively. It will be interesting to see what, if any, changes the ICO chooses to make to its guidance in response to these consultations.
