298.Section 32 repeals section 285(1) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 and section 196 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. These provisions limit the application of certain employment rights, broadly, to those who ordinarily work in Great Britain. The repeal will remove these limitations.
299.The effect of subsection 196(5) of the 1996 Act, which relates to those employed on UK-registered ships, will be retained by means of an amendment to section 199 of that Act. Seafarers will therefore continue to qualify for certain employment rights under the 1996 Act if and only if the ship on which they are employed is registered as belonging to a port in Great Britain, they are ordinarily resident in Great Britain and the work is not wholly outside Great Britain.
300.This section also makes a technical amendment to section 287 of the 1992 Act to provide that where employment rights are extended by Order in Council to those who are employed offshore (primarily on rigs in the North Sea), the Order is subject to Parliamentary control under the negative resolution procedure. Currently, no procedure is specified for making these Orders.
Commentary on Sections Miscellaneous Section 32: Employment rights outside Great Britain