Observations

The case and its implications

The original case was brought by a Spanish trade union seeking to force a bank to monitor its employees’ time and overtime worked. However this ruling creates obligations which affect every business, no matter how small, and which affect every person employed in the UK.

Under this ruling, we believe that the UK government will have to pass a new law requiring all employers to monitor the times each day when their employees are at work, when they are on a lunch break, etc.

The precise type of time-control system is left up to member states to legislate for, but failure to have a system in place could render even the smallest employer liable to prosecution, and would undoubtedly be used in employment tribunal cases across the country.

This will also place a burden on employees. It seems every employee will have to clock themselves on and off each day - and during the course of each day.

The reality of the EU and May’s Surrender Treaty

This is the reality of Mrs May’s surrender treaty – her so-called “Withdrawal Agreement”.

The difference between today, and the situation we would be in if we left under May’s surrender treaty, is that the UK will no longer have any say at all. In the ruling yesterday the UK had a say and was overruled.

If Mrs May’s ‘deal’ were passed we would no longer even be able to protest, as we would not even be present.

Caveat: We are not lawyers and have seen no legal opinions on this news, as it hasn't been publicised until now. The facts are as presented but we are not able to say exactly how the UK Government will draft a new law or amend existing ones. What we do know is that the precautionary principle will apply as it always does. In other words the rules and regulations will be drawn widely, as always happens when the EU uses a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

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