UK retailers have a legal obligation to comply with UK law. If the UK government does not comply with an EU Directive by not having implemented its provisions into domestic law then the UK, and not the retailer, is in breach of its EU obligation.
UK consumer law already met or exceeded most of the directive's requirements, except for the specific provisions in regard of a right to repair or replacement. All EU countries are meant to ensure a retailer could be held liable for all non-conformities which manifest within two years from delivery. However, this is not a two-year guarantee (although eurospeak does not help by describing this as the 'legal guarantee'), because goods are not required, in law, to last for those two years. Uk law allows that a retailer could be held liable for six years but with a burden of proof upon the consumer after six months.