BREXIT will usher in Victorian-style workplace conditions unless new employment rights are passed, it has been warned.

SNP MP Chris Stephens said workers' rights will deteriorate unless Westminster approves new laws before the UK leaves the EU.

Workers' rights, emanating from Brussels will no longer apply after Brexit. EU law guarantees women a minimum of 14 weeks maternity leave.

Legislation from Brussels also means employees cannot be forced to work more than an average of 48 hours a week.

Stephens claimed that the Tory government would not replace that protection.

He said the Tories will have the chance "they crave to reshape society and the economy in the way they want".

"Supporters of a hard Brexit have a vision for the world of work that hard wires inequality even further into an already deeply unequal society," Stephens added.

He warned that would mean the "vast majority of jobs becoming low paid, insecure and highly dependent on the worker being totally flexible".

He said the only way to protect workers was for Westminster to pass legislation matching that from the EU before Brexit in March 2019.

Stephens will publish a Commons bill this week to ban zero hour contracts. Stephens issued a plea for opponents of Brexit to back his ten minute rule bill when it comes before MPs.

He said: "It is frustrating to have the sense of the clock being turned back to Victorian standards of employment...With the exception of a small coterie of bonus rich executives, sport/entertainment stars, and some highly skilled people (unable to be replaced by a robot or an algorithm), [the Tory] vision if fully realised would result in the vast majority of jobs becoming low paid, insecure and highly dependent on the worker being totally flexible.

"Dismantling social protections is the key to maximising the opportunities for exploitation, whether it be eroding employment rights or dismantling the welfare state."

Stephens makes the remarks in the forthcoming edition of an influential political magazine - the Scottish Left Review.

A UK Government spokesman rejected the claims from Stephens, who is the SNP's spokesman on workers' rights at Westminster.

The spokesman said: “As the Prime Minister has made clear, we are committed to protecting and enhancing workers’ rights as we leave the European Union."