LUS Brexit Changes FAQ

In short, not much.

There are no changes in the way you need to manage the health and safety of your employees or anybody else affected by your business. Similarly, there are no changes in the environmental standards to which you must manage your business.

There are however some procedural changes concerning registration and import or export of certain products, in particular in relation to CE marking, and concerning registration and authorisation of various chemical products (for which see below).

 

In order to avoid a sudden and dramatic change in regulation for businesses in Great Britain, the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 provides that all EU Regulations previously enforceable in the UK up to the end of the Brexit implementation period, are copied into law in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). This means that from 1^st January 2021 there will be two versions of EU Regulations in your registers:

• The original EU version which is unchanged;
• The new GB version which applies the Regulation solely within GB.

The new GB versions of EU Regulations are referred to as ‘retained EU law’.

 

The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 originally provided for EU law to be copied into UK law on ‘exit day’ which was 31^st January 2020. However, many EU Regulations contain references to EU terminology and delegate certain powers and responsibilities to EU institutions such as the European Commission, or the European Chemicals Agency. In order to ensure that the GB versions of the EU Regulations operate correctly (i.e. that they make sense in a GB context), multiple amendment regulations have been passed to revise the GB versions of the EU Regulations so that they contain UK terminology and confer powers on UK institutions. The GB versions of the EU Regulations, together with the various amendments to make them GB specific, were originally due to come into force on ‘exit day’.

The UK and EU then signed the Withdrawal Agreement which led to a transition period (known as the ‘implementation period’). During the implementation period, the UK continued to apply EU Regulations in full (i.e. rather than the GB versions and amendments). The date when the new GB versions of EU Regulations come into force, together with the various amendments needed to make those GB Regulations work, was postponed until ‘IP completion day’ (11pm on 31^st December 2020, i.e. the end of the implementation period).

Therefore, where Brexit amendments to legislation were due to come into effect on ‘exit day’, the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 overrides this and replaced ‘exit day’ with ‘IP completion day’.

 

Under the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which forms part of the Withdrawal Agreement, Northern Ireland is treated as though it remains part of the EU (though technically it has left the EU along with the rest of the UK). This means that EU Regulations continue to be directly enforceable in Northern Ireland. (In Great Britain, the EU Regulations will not be directly enforceable, but the new GB versions of the EU Regulations will be directly enforceable).

Therefore, if you are based in Northern Ireland, you continue to comply with the EU version of EU Regulations. The GB versions of the EU Regulations do not apply to you.

If you are based in Northern Ireland but trading with the rest of the UK, you will probably also need to be aware of the new GB versions of the EU Regulations. The GB versions of the EU Regulations contain special simplified provisions in relation to ‘qualifying Northern Ireland goods’ (in summary, these are goods made in or in some way closely connected with Northern Ireland). Generally, there will be a much-simplified process for export of qualifying Northern Ireland goods to Great Britain. The purpose of this is to protect Northern Ireland business as much as possible by making the trade of goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain as frictionless as possible.

Non-qualifying Northern Ireland goods (e.g. goods which are not connected with Northern Ireland and have simply been imported into Northern Ireland for onward trade to Great Britain) will be subject to the same restrictions as goods from elsewhere in the world entering GB.

If you are based in Great Britain but trading with Northern Ireland, those goods which are exported to Northern Ireland will need to comply with EU rules.

 

Brexit does not remove EU Regulations from UK law. There are several reasons why EU Regulations may continue to apply to you:

1. If you continue to trade with businesses in the EU, then you will probably still need to be familiar with relevant EU Regulations which apply to the products you are trading in.
2. Even though Northern Ireland has left the EU, Northern Ireland will continue to apply EU Regulations directly. If you are moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, you will need to be aware of relevant EU Regulations.
3. Following the end of the Brexit implementation period, EU Regulations are ‘copied’ into law in Great Britain, so that there are two versions of EU Regulations (the EU version and a GB version). See “Why are there two versions of EU legislation (an EU version and a new UK version) in my register?” Even if you only trade within Great Britain, the GB versions of the EU Regulations may apply to you.

 

The new GB versions of EU Regulations are not identical.

The GB versions implement the same standards as the EU versions (for example, chemicals must be labelled and packaged in the same way, products must comply with the same essential safety requirements etc). However, the implementation and regulation of the GB versions differ from the EU versions.

For example, GB organisations will no longer be able to register chemicals with the European Chemicals Agency and therefore the UK* version of REACH delegates the HSE as the new UK REACH regulatory body. The GB versions of the EU Regulations also set out transitional arrangements detailing what happens to registrations and authorisations held by GB organisations with European bodies such as the European Chemicals Agency. The GB versions also change various definitions and references from EU to GB terminology and restrict the scope of the Regulations to GB.

Some of the LUS entries for GB versions of EU Regulations will be temporarily identical to the entries for the EU versions, apart from the amendments section which includes any amendments made to EU Regulations by UK Regulations that take affect after IP completion day. When reading the GB version of EU Regulations its important to also read the ‘Updates’ section to ensure you capture any changes. We are working through and updating the ‘Summary and Duties’ sections as fast as possible but due to the number of EU Regulations which are copied into GB law, and the number of regulations being issued by the UK Government to amend the GB versions, including many late in 2020, not all of these will be completed by 1^st January 2021.

*Confusingly, the Government and the HSE have adopted the term ‘UK REACH’ even though it only applies to GB. We have therefore adopted the same term. In relation to other Regulations, the Government has adopted the term ‘GB Regulation’ rather than ‘UK Regulation’.

 

If you continue to trade with the EU or with Northern Ireland, you will probably need to keep the EU versions of EU Regulations.

If you trade solely within Great Britain i.e. you are not importing or exporting any raw materials or finished products outside Great Britain, then you probably only need the GB versions of relevant EU Regulations.

If you do both, then you will need both the EU and the GB versions.

There is no way for Legislation Update Service to know which situation applies to each customer.  Therefore, wherever you had an EU Regulation in your register and you have ticked any UK jurisdiction in your register set up, you will also get the new GB version of the Regulation. You then need to decide whether to keep one or other or both versions. You can move any version you don’t need to ‘irrelevant’.

(N.b. if you are based solely in the Republic of Ireland and have not ticked any UK jurisdiction in your set up, you should not have any of the new GB versions of the EU Regulations).

 

On 1^st January 2021, the new GB versions of the EU Regulations implement the same standards as the EU versions of those Regulations. The implementation and regulation of those standards may differ (see above), but the standards themselves remain the same in the EU and the UK for the time being.

The EU frequently amends and updates EU Regulations in order to reflect amended and updated standards. In the past, those amendments applied automatically in the UK. From 1^st January 2021, any new amendments to the EU versions of Regulations will not automatically apply in GB. It is likely that UK legislators will choose to update the GB versions of Regulations so that they continue to mirror the same standards as the EU. However, the UK Government will no longer be bound to do so, and for that reason, it is possible that the UK Government will choose to diverge from some EU standards. In this manner, over time, GB versions of EU Regulations may diverge from the EU versions.

 

If you simply use chemicals (but you aren’t making or selling them to others) there is unlikely to be any change you need to be aware of.

If you do make or sell chemicals, you will probably already be aware of the following:

• The REACH Regulation concerning the registration of all chemicals and the authorisation or restriction of specified hazardous chemicals
• The CLP Regulation concerning requirements for labelling and packaging of hazardous chemical products
• The Biocidal Products Regulation concerning the approval of ‘active substances’ and the authorisation of biocidal products

The underlying requirements in these Regulations concerning the standard to which chemicals are made, packaged, labelled, etc are not changed. However, if you are placing chemical products on the market in GB (either by making them or by importing them), or if you are based in GB and placing products on the market in the EU/ Northern Ireland, there are significant changes in the procedure for registration and authorisation of various products. Note that these changes also apply to you where you are an organisation which has sites in GB and you also have ‘sister’ sites in the EU and you are importing chemicals from any of your EU sites to your GB sites (or vice versa). You will need to consult the relevant pages (i.e. the ones listed above) in LUS concerning the changes to those Regulations.

 

There is no change in relation to existing CE marked stock which has already been ‘placed on the market’ before 1^st January 2021.

The changes below apply to placing goods on the market for the first time on or after 1^st January 2021. The procedure for carrying out conformity assessment and marking of goods in the UK will change, but the standard to which goods must conform is not planned to diverge from existing EU standards (at least for the time being).

The rules are different depending on whether you are in Great Britain or Northern Ireland. The UK will introduce its own equivalent marks (‘UKCA’ in Great Britain, ‘UK NI’ in Northern Ireland).

 

Great Britain

Manufacturers, importers, etc placing goods on the market in Great Britain will need to UKCA mark goods from 1^st January 2022 (i.e. in 12 months time). Most new CE marked goods can continue to be placed on the market in GB until that date after which time they must be UKCA marked.

Goods placed on the market in the EU

Goods placed on the market in the EU will continue to need to be CE marked (the EU will not recognise UKCA marking). This means that in time, GB manufacturers may need to both CE and UKCA mark their goods.

Mandatory third-party assessment

Under the EU system, goods are sometimes conformity assessed and CE marked by the manufacturer, and sometimes by an independent ‘notified body’ which is a third-party assessment body recognised across the EU. If the goods are of a type which requires mandatory third-party assessment, and the conformity assessment was completed by a UK notified body (i.e. not a notified body registered in an EU Member State), the conformity assessment files must be transferred to an EU recognised notified body after 1^st January 2021 in order to maintain the CE mark, failing which the goods must be UKCA marked.

From 1^st January 2021, UK recognised notified bodies will no longer be recognised in the EU (but they will automatically become ‘approved bodies’ which can carry out third-party conformity assessments in the UK). For UKCA marking, where third party assessment is required the conformity assessment must be carried out by a UK recognised ‘approved body’. For CE marking, where third party conformity assessment is required the assessment must be carried out by an EU recognised ‘notified body’.

 

Northern Ireland

The rules in relation to Northern Ireland are different and somewhat complex (and may be subject to further change).

Northern Ireland will continue to apply EU rules directly. Goods manufactured in Northern Ireland to be placed on the market in the EU must be CE marked. Where third party conformity assessment is required the assessment must be carried out by an EU recognised ‘notified body’.

If the goods will be placed on the market in Northern Ireland but not within the EU, they can either be CE marked or UK NI marked. Note that if the conformity assessment is required to be carried out by an independent body, it must be an EU recognised notified body if a CE mark is to be applied (a UK recognised approved body cannot carry out the conformity assessment).

If the manufacturer intends to UK NI mark, the conformity assessment can be carried out by a UK recognised approved body. (Where a UK NI mark is to be applied, it is applied together with a CE mark, but note that this is not recognised in EU Member States, i.e. only a CE mark on its own will be recognised in the EU).

Businesses in Northern Ireland will continue to be able to place CE or UK NI (or in some cases UKCA) marked goods on the GB market. This is particularly complex and we recommend that you review the Government’s own guidance here and here.

 

Where either you or we have previously completed an audit and recorded audit compliance comments and traffic light status against an EU Regulation, those comments and status should remain against the EU version of the Regulation. This is because at the time the audit was completed and the comment posted, the EU Regulation applied directly to you. You do not need to move the comment across to the new GB version of the Regulation, though you can copy it across if it is relevant and applicable to you as at 1^st January 2021.

 

An EU Regulation is directly enforceable against individuals and organisations in all EU Member States (and in the UK until the end of the Brexit implementation period). A business which breaches an EU Regulation can be prosecuted by state prosecutors.

EU Directives are instructions from the European Union to EU Member State governments to enact national legislation to implement requirements in the Directive. The Directives have never been directly enforceable against individuals or businesses in EU Member States (or the UK).

 

EU Directives are instructions from the European Union to EU Member State governments to enact national legislation to implement requirements in the Directive.

Directives frequently contain annexes which set out standards or criteria which are then enacted by national legislation. For example, Directives set out the standards to which machinery must comply in order to be safe prior to being CE marked. Legislation in the UK often refers to the annexes in Directives and will continue to do so even after the end of the Brexit implementation period. For that reason, Directives may continue to be relevant to your business even though they do not create duties which apply directly to you.

 

LUS endeavours to ensure that all new regulations and all amendment regulations are added to the registers monthly. Where amendment regulations are issued, we add these in the ‘updates’ section for each entry, and we also periodically update the relevant text in the ‘Summary and Duties’ section for each entry so that it reflects the amendments in the ‘updates’ section.

Brexit has been an unprecedented challenge for us, given the volume and complexity of legislation issued, much of it very late in 2020, and all of it planned to go live on 1^st January 2021. This is compounded by ongoing uncertainty regarding negotiation between the UK and the EU late into 2020, the position relating to Northern Ireland, and the associated uncertainty regarding implementation dates.

We have endeavoured to ensure that relevant updates have been included in the ‘updates’ section. We therefore recommend that you check the ‘updates’ section to see what updates have been issued. Not all ‘Summary and Duties’ text will have been updated by 1^st January 2021 but we ware working through all the entries as fast as possible. For that reason, we ask you to bear with us while we update the entries as soon as we can.