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A New Dawn As you will no doubt have read, last Thursday 23 June the British people voted with a majority of 51.9 % to 48.1% to leave the European Union. The vote to leave has created an unprecedented and complex range of legal issues and marks the beginning of a lengthy and complex process that will result in a significant and substantial change of the UK's relationship with the rest of Europe. Article 50 and withdrawing from the EU The formal negotiations of the UK's exit will only start once Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union is triggered by the UK. This clause sets out a skeletal process by which a Member State can voluntarily withdraw from the EU and provides for a negotiation period of up to two years. What happens now? However, for the present time it is important to emphasise that there is no immediate change to the current legal position / legal rights and obligations. The UK remains a full member of the EU until the terms of the withdrawal agreement are negotiated. There will be no immediate change in immigration status for example and the free movement of EU workers will still apply during the negotiation period. It is unlikely that there will be any real changes before 2019. What will happen to UK law down the line? In theory, EU Treaties and Regulations will cease to apply once a withdrawal agreement is concluded. EU Directives which have been implemented into national law will continue to apply until repealed. For example most UK employment law is derived from EU directives and therefore these protections would not automatically fall away upon the UK's withdrawal from the EU. What can I do? As an employer you may employ EU citizens here in the UK or you may have UK citizens employed elsewhere in the EU. As mentioned above, whilst there is no immediate change to immigration status you should keep the immigration status of employees under review. Whilst there are longstanding conventions protecting the rights of citizens acquired under international treaties, it remains to be seen what the position will be on immigration status after the conclusion of negotiations. Communicate with your employer/ employees if you have concerns over immigration status. If you are an employer you should also ensure that your employees are aware of and are complying with anti discrimination policies. A wholesale review of employment contracts and policies would be unnecessary at this stage as any provisions will not need to be amended until Brexit is confirmed. However, it may be worth considering whether specific provisions could be affected by a Brexit, for example, restrictive covenants with geographical restrictions linked to the EU. 1 Whilst we would not recommend implementing any fundamental changes until the UK's position becomes clearer, it may be advisable to carry out a review of the current or planned EU laws you rely on (if any) to conduct your business. If you are currently negotiating any contracts, you should think carefully about the dispute resolution and governing law clauses to ensure it is clear which courts are to have jurisdiction in the event of a dispute and which law is to govern the contract. It would also be advisable to review contracts you may currently have with TU companies to determine the commercial impact. It is apparent that there will remain a degree of uncertainty over the coming months and years and we cannot predict what an end agreement will look like. Please be assured however, that we will be monitoring the situation closely as negotiations develop and will be assessing what the outcome will mean for you and your businesses. 2