Brexit Health and Safety

Brexit – the British exit from the European Union. What effect will this have on Health and Safety Law in the UK? Brexit Health and Safety – it is unlikely to lead to rapid major changes.

Image created by Starline – Freepik.com

To provide legal continuity, the government will prepare a Great Repeal Bill while it negotiates Brexit with Europe. In the February Brexit white paper, it was stated that this will “remove the European Communities Act 1972 from the statute book and convert the ‘acquis’ – the body of existing EU law – into domestic law”.

According to Geoffrey Podger, a former chief executive of the HSE: “It is then open to the UK government, if it wishes, to amend or alter that law subsequently … Inevitably – and to some extent quite properly – the government, the HSE as regulator and both sides of industry will want to have another look at some of the requirements, both to update them in light of new knowledge, but also to look again at whether they are really worthwhile.”

It should also be noted that the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is UK primary legislation and does not derive from European legislation. Mike Appleby (Solicitor and Partner with Fisher Scoggins Waters) talking at the Westminster Legal Policy Forum commented about Brexit Health and Safety “I don’t see in the short term or medium term that much will change with the way we regulate health and safety.”