The UK Votes to Leave the EU

24th June 2016

Legal Experts Comment On Implications Of The Brexit Result For Sheffield Businesses Please see below comments from a selection of our lawyers in Sheffield following the UK's decision to leave the EU.

Andrea Cropley, Corporate partner at Irwin Mitchell in Sheffield, said: -The uncertainty in the run up to the EU referendum vote has dragged levels of M&A activity down compared to last year and although the outcome of the vote is now known, I think it is fair to say the market will remain jittery in the short to medium term. -It will however be interesting to see what happens as the year progresses. There is currently uncertainty about future trading opportunities for UK companies, but ambitious businesses will need to review their strategic options and this could drive a wave of transactions as businesses look to bolster their domestic and international sales channels.   Kirsty Ayre, employment law partner at Irwin Mitchell in Sheffield, said: -All employers will have to continue to follow all existing UK laws for two years after the exit notice is served. European Directives, such as those regulating working time and holiday entitlement, TUPE, collective redundancies, discrimination and agency workers have been implemented via primary legislation in the UK and the UK Government will have to decide whether to amend or repeal these. They will not however fall away automatically, simply because of Brexit.  Employers, for example, will not therefore suddenly be able to insist that their staff work over 48 hours per week or take fewer holidays. Laurence Gavin, partner and regulatory partner at Irwin Mitchell in Sheffield, said: -Much of our economy is subject to regulation, and most regulations are EU-driven, so uncertainty is going to influence corporate decisions and we can expect an impact on activity while businesses take advice.  In principle little should change in the short term,and it may feel like a normal summer slowdown.  Come the autumn we will see whether the government has a grip on the situation.  Litigation in areas such as procurement and competition law will be watched closely as it will test the UK judges' willingness to push back against European measures.