A long & winding road?

• Three possible models for uncoupling from EU law include “Brexit-max”, “Brexit-lite” and “steady-state Brexit”.

We still do not know when Brexit will happen, or what form it will take, but Prime Minister May has said that the UK government will not trigger the formal withdrawal process until the start of 2017 (at the earliest). If the UK adopts something similar to the “Norwegian model”, and joins the EEA, there will be relatively little scope for changes to employment law. However, if the UK government negotiates a relationship with the EU outside the EEA, more significant changes are, in theory, possible. This article looks at three ways in which such changes might be brought about and some possible ramifications of each.

Three possible models

One option, referred to here as “Brexit-max”, would be a wholesale repeal of all EU derived law, including primary or secondary legislation. This option would clearly have a significant impact on employment law but