Commentary Ways in which provisions conferring rights on individuals may be made
269.Section 39 makes a technical amendment to section 23 of the 1999 Act.
270.Section 23 gives the Secretary of State the power by order to confer the employment rights contained in specified Acts and in subordinate legislation implementing European legislation on individuals that do not have the rights
271.As the words of the section stand, the order is only allowed to achieve these results by means of provisions that amend the legislation conferring the right, and not by means of a provision simply saying that the right applies to the individuals in question (a free-standing provision). New subsections (5A) and (5B) have the effect that an order will be able to extend employment rights either by the use of a free-standing provision or by amending the legislation conferring the right.