Many of the UK's elected members of the European Parliament (EP) have vowed to work until they lose their jobs as a result of Brexit.
Up to the point the UK formally exits the union, which could follow two years of negotiations, the country's 73 MEPs can still take part in votes, a spokeswoman for the Brussels chamber said.
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Some representatives have indicated they will do so until the day they leave office, with those from Ukip saying they will abstain from decisions that do not impact on Britain.
The current set of UK MEPs, who are paid a basic salary of £5,200 a month after EU taxes are deducted, were elected in 2014 on a turnout of 35.6% and the next European election is not until 2019.
Olga Dziewulska, of the EP Information Office in the UK, said: "MEPs have a democratic mandate until 2019 but their fate will be decided in the renegotiation package.
"For now, technically, until things are decided, the UK remains a member and MEPs retain the mandate."
She added that the treaties that form the foundations of EU law do not contain anything to prevent MEPs taking part in EP business during the withdrawal process.
An extraordinary session of the EP has been called on Tuesday to discuss the impact of Brexit, while the union has already commissioned research into how a withdrawal might work.
A briefing note circulated among MEPs in February, as David Cameron tried to renegotiate Britain's membership, said that while the UK's member of the European Council cannot take part in decisions on their own state's exit deal, there is "no similar provision" for MEPs.
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It said: "This has led some to conclude that the treaties therefore do not prevent MEPs elected in the member state in question from participating either in debates in the parliament and in its committees, or from voting on parliament's motion to consent to the withdrawal agreement."
Any exit deal would need the approval of the 751-strong EP, the note said, adding that either the seats of the leaving state would be redistributed among the other 27 members or the chamber simply reduced in size.
Ukip MEP Mike Hookem said the party's 24 representatives in Brussels, including leader Nigel Farage, should be central to the negotiations.
He said: "Yes we have achieved our Brexit aims of an independent United Kingdom, but the mandate we were given as MEPs by the voters is to stay there until the day we leave to ensure the best interests of the country.
"That means staying on committees to vote on legislation that will affect the UK whilst we are still members and most importantly, taking a significant role in the renegotiation process which would not be taking place if it wasn't for Ukip and Nigel Farage."
Not all MEPs were disappointed to be staring at redundancy.
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Brexit campaigner Amjad Bashir, Conservative MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, said: "The next two years or more will involve a lot of work in Brussels ensuring that we get the best agreement possible in our separation from the EU.
"To be honest, I have no idea yet what I will do after that.
"I cheerfully spent the campaign telling people they should vote to sack me - because after all, it's the future of our country that matters, not the future of MEPs."
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