British prime minister is planning on opting-out of the EU’s employment social protection laws, according to Conservative political sources.

The working time directive, as well as the agency workers’ directive are among the laws which are expected to be avoided should the demands of the EU partners renegotiation be achieved. David Cameron has pledged to hold a referendum for the terms by 2017 despite the fact that the renegotiation for employment law was not included in the list of demands handed to the EU.

No 10 said: “This is just more of the speculation we said there would be during the negotiation."

“The prime minister has set out the four priority areas for reform and made clear that cutting back on unnecessary EU regulation is part of making Europe more competitive. As the prime minister has said before, Europe if necessary, national when possible.”

The move to exclude Britain from employment laws has been described as a high-risk political as it would fracture the already tense relationship Britain has with the EU. Businesses for the EU vote would have to decipher wither the risk of a defeat would be worth the results of the opt-outs.

Unions and have already warned they would challenge any attempt by the government to opt-out of social employment laws.

Details of the discussions have been kept out of the public eye in a bid to keep the Conservative party manageable and safe from difficulty in the upcoming autumn party conference.

A political source in Brussels was quoted in The Times saying: “A big item is the return of the opt-out from social and employment legislation that would include the working time and temporary worker directives,.”

“For later on, we want a protocol and line in a future treaty saying employment conditions are the responsibility of member states.”

Conservative MP, Bernard Jenkin said the opt-outs are “not worth the paper they are written on”.

He added: “It has to be treaty change in advance of the referendum, returning employment and social legislation to national parliaments,”