United Kingdom: Employee Rights/ Labour Relations

The Employment Rights Act introduces sweeping reforms to UK employment law, from unfair dismissal protections and zero-hours contracts to enhanced family rights and trade union access. This comprehensive dashboard tracks every change, clarifying current law versus what's coming, with detailed implementation timelines and expert analysis to help employers navigate the transformation.

The UK Government has introduced new public procurement rules that double the weighting of social value criteria to 20% for contracts over £5 million, with trade union access and representation now explicitly factored into bid evaluations. This development creates a commercial incentive for employers to engage with unions, working in tandem with the Employment Rights Act 2025's new workplace access regime. Employers bidding for government contracts must now consider union relations not just as a compli

From 1 October 2026 UK right to work checks and liability for failing to prevent illegal working expand beyond traditional employment to cover subcontractors, gig workers and supply chains. What should you do now to avoid penalties?

When Andy Burnham took a family holiday just two weeks into his tenure as Prime Minister, the public reaction revealed deep-seated assumptions about leadership, availability, and rest. The controversy raises fundamental questions about whether constant presence truly defines effective leadership, or whether the ability to delegate and step away demonstrates greater organizational strength and trust.

On 14 July 2026, the UK’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published Consultation Paper CP11/26 and Consultation Paper CP26/29, respectively, within which proposals, including draft rules, have been put forward for the introduction of a “tailored regime for captive insurance” in the UK (the Consultation Papers).

The UK Home Office has issued significant updates to sponsor guidance, including a reversal of controversial right-to-work check requirements and expanded record-keeping duties. These changes affect all UK employers holding sponsor licences and introduce stricter criteria for licence applications and revocations.

As we have previously reported, since October 2024, UK employers have had a proactive duty to take “reasonable steps” to prevent the sexual harassment of their workers. However, from October 2026, that duty will become tougher.

The UK Government has launched a comprehensive consultation on reforming the equal pay framework for England, Scotland, and Wales, proposing the most significant changes since the Equality Act 2010. The reforms are structured in two phases: first streamlining procedures and strengthening transparency, then broadening protections to ethnic minorities, disabled people, and addressing pay equality in contractual arrangements.

The expanded illegal working regime introduces new categories of working arrangements requiring right to work checks and extended liability provisions. Businesses responsible for compliance may need to allocate resources over the summer to operationalise expanded checking processes ahead of the October 2026 implementation date. This Q&A addresses frequently asked questions from a recent webinar on preparing for these regulatory changes.