As part of the government’s Plan to Make Work Pay, it committed to strengthening equal pay and ending pay discrimination. On 14 July, the government launched a consultation seeking views on how to deliver a comprehensive reform of the current equal pay framework, including measures designed to proactively prevent pay discrimination, ensure enforcement agencies are
Amanda Sanders (UK)
Trade Unions’ Right of Access to Workplaces: Government Consultation Response and Draft Legislation
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA2025) introduces a statutory right for independent trade unions to access workplaces for the purposes of meeting, supporting, representing, recruiting or organising workers and facilitating collective bargaining. The underlying policy objective is to support fair, modern and effective industrial relations by enabling unions to communicate directly with workers…
Updates to the Trade Union Reforms
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) introduces significant changes to trade union law. The government has recently published its proposals regarding the prohibition of detrimental treatment related to industrial action, and the introduction of electronic and workplace balloting for industrial action.
Protection Against Detriment for Taking Industrial Action
The ERA 2025 introduced Section 236A…
Unfair dismissal changes – commencement regulations made
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
- The qualifying period for
Government Consultation on Zero Hours Contracts Reforms
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
On 2 June 2026, the government published its consultation on reforms to zero hours contracts: Make Work Pay: ending one-sided flexibility – reforms of zero hours and similar contracts.
The reforms which are contained in the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) have not yet taken effect. Regulations are required to outline key details…
Preventing the misuse of non-disclosure agreements
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
On 15 April 2026, the government launched a consultation on regulations to prevent the misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in cases of workplace harassment or discrimination.
NDAs
NDAs are formal agreements or clauses used to keep information confidential by preventing disclosure. Historically, they have been used to protect commercial data, trade secrets and sensitive business…
Can an employer withdraw a conditional offer?
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
A recent Employment Appeal Tribunal decision is a timely reminder that, without clear wording on conditions and notice, withdrawing an accepted job offer may expose employers to contractual liability.
Background
Mr Kankanalapalli (K) was offered a project manager role with Loesche Energy Systems Ltd in September 2022, with a proposed start date of 1 November…
Trade Union Access to Workplaces: What Employers Need to Know About the New Draft Code of Practice
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
The UK government has published a consultation on a draft statutory Code of Practice on trade unions’ right of access to workplaces. The draft Code of Practice was published on 8 April 2026, with the consultation closing on 20 May 2026. These proposals signal a fundamental shift in the landscape of trade union access —…
Mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting: government response
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
On 25 March, the government published its response to the consultation on mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting, confirming its intention to proceed with a new reporting regime for large employers. Reporting will apply to organisations with 250 or more employees, aligning with the existing gender pay gap framework and avoiding additional regulatory burden…
Employers’ duty to record annual leave and pay
By Amanda Sanders (UK) on
From 6 April 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 (the Act) will place a new duty on employers to create and retain records that are adequate to show they comply with statutory holiday entitlement rules, covering both leave taken and the pay associated with it.
The Act inserts a new regulation 16A into the Working…