2027
According to the “Implementation Roadmap”, Employment Rights Bill measures expected to come into force are: changes to the qualifying period of unfair dismissal; Gender Pay Gap and Menopause Action plans; enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers; guidance on what steps will help determine whether an employer has taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment; changes to the collective consultation threshold for collective redundancies; changes to flexible working; changes to bereavement leave; ending zero hours contracts and applying same measures to agency workers; and the regulation of umbrella companies.
January 2027
Government review of parental leave and pay expected to conclude. Further detail available here.
2026
October 2026
According to the “Implementation Roadmap”, Employment Rights Bill measures expected to come into force are: fire and rehire banned; requirement to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace; introducing obligation on employers not to permit the harassment of their employees by third parties; duty to inform workers of right to join a trade union; and extending the protection against detriments for taking industrial action.
7 June
Member States must implement the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Further details available.
April 2026
According to the “Implementation Roadmap”, Employment Rights Bill measures expected to come into force are: collective redundancy protective award doubled; day 1 paternity leave and unpaid parental leave; removal of the Statutory Sick Pay waiting period and Lower Earnings Limit; a Fair Work Agency body established; Whistleblowing protections; simplifying trade union recognition processes; and electronic and workplace balloting.
4 April
Next gender pay gap reports are due. Government guidance available here.
March 2026
London Employment Tribunal contact number to be centralised to: HMCTS National Services - 0300 323 0196.
January 2026
1 January
Provision 29 of the FRC’s UK Corporate Governance Code will come into effect.
2025
End of 2025
A draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill is anticipated.
A consultation on employment status is expected, confirmed during the Employment Rights Bill House of Lords report stage.
November 2025
30 November
The House of Lords Committee on Home-based Working will report on their inquiry into the effects and future development of remote and hybrid working.
26 November
The Autumn budget to address an economy that is “not working well enough for working people”.
October 2025
According to the “Implementation Roadmap”, Employment Rights Bill measures expected to come into force are: the Repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023; repeal of the great majority of the Trade Union Act 2016 (some provisions will be repealed later); removing the 10-year ballot requirement for trade union political funds; simplifying industrial action and ballot notices; protections against dismissal for taking industrial action.
30 October
The ICO consultation clarifying the new “recognised legitimate interest” for the processing of personal data closes. Further detail available.
19 October
The ICO consultation concerning new guidance on data protection complaints and the new lawful basis for processing personal data closes. Further detail available.
9 October
The call for evidence on unpaid internships closed. A response is expected early 2026.
7 October
The FCA Consultation Paper (CP25/21) and the PRA Consultation Paper (CP18/25) proposing “Phase 1” amendments to the SMCR and the HMT consultation on reducing the SMCR’s regulatory burden by 50% all close. Read more here.
1 October
The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 (Permitted Disclosures) Regulations 2025 is in force effecting enforceability of NDAs signed on or after this date.
September 2025
10 September
FCA Consultation Paper on non-financial misconduct CP25/18 closed. Further detail available.
1 September
Provisions relating to the failure to prevent fraud in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 came into force.
August 2025
31 August
Solo-regulated firms with a reporting period ending after 31 August 2025 are no longer required to submit nil returns for the annual REP008 form (detailing reportable Conduct Rule breaches by Conduct Rule staff (other than Senior Managers) for firms).
25 August
The Parental Leave and Pay initial consultation closed.
June 2025
30 June
The EHRC consultation on its proposed changes to the EHRC Code of Practice of services, public functions and associations following the Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland closed. Further detail available.
The Office for Equality and Opportunity (OEO)'s call for evidence closed, inviting feedback on existing equality legislation and possible equality law reform and seeking evidence to inform the drafting of the regulations specifying steps employers must take to prevent sexual harassment. Further details available.
26 June
The Public Interest Disclosure (Prescribed Persons) (Amendment) Order 2025 is in force adding HM Treasury as a new prescribed person for disclosures relating to breaches of UK financial sanctions, and expanding the matters that can be disclosed to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade and the Secretary of State for Transport expressly to include disclosures relating to sanctions.
19 June
The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 received Royal Assent amending the Data Protection Act and UK GDPR. Changes are expected to be phased in between June 2025 and June 2026. Further detail available here.
10 June
The government consultation seeking views on how to implement mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for employers with 250 or more employees closed. Further details available.
May 2025
21 May
The new Employment Tribunal Practice Directions take effect. ET3 response may no longer be filed by email as a matter of course. Emailed responses will only be accepted in exceptional and evidenced circumstances. Further details available.
19 May
The Tribunal Procedure Committee consultation on proposed changes to the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024 closed. Further details available.
April 2025
25 April
Submissions in response to the House of Lords Committee on Home-based Working’s call for evidence closed.
6 April
Changes to compensation limits awarded by Employment Tribunals to increase. Further details available here.
Key employment law rates including national minimum wage, statutory maternity, adoption, paternity, shared parental and parental bereavement pay will increase. Further details available.
The Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act will come into force, giving day-one rights to eligible employees to be able to take up to 12 weeks of paid leave in addition to their other family leave entitlements. Further details available.
4 April
Gender pay gap reports were due.
March 2025
The Director of Labour Market Enforcement (DLME) strategy for 2025/26 is due to be submitted to the government.
The Parker Review update report considers the progress which has been made by FTSE 100 and 250 companies against their Board targets. Further details available.
21 March
The WEC inquiry examining issues aiming to understand specific challenges facing Muslim women in the UK closes.
13 March
The PRA / FCA joint consultation proposing changes to the senior banker remuneration regime closes, with implementation expected Q2 2025. Further details available.
6 March
ACAs publishes guidance and an independent research paper on neurodiversity at work. Further details available.
February 2025
13 February
The House of Commons Joint Committee on Human Rights inquiry into forced labour in global supply chains closed.
12 February
Government Guidance has confirmed that individuals applying overseas and granted permission to enter the UK for more than six months will receive a 90-day vignette in their passport. Further details available.
7 February
The Women and Equalities Committee's inquiry into Equality at work: paternity and shared parental leave closed.
1 February
The Employment Appeal Tribunal (Amendment) Rules 2024 and the new EAT Practice Direction come into force. From this date documents with the EAT must be filed using the online secure portal (CE-file). Government guidance is available.
January 2025
20 January
The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (Amendment of Schedule A2) Order 2024 (SI 1272/2024) came into force. This gives employment tribunals the power to increase or reduce any award it makes by up to 25% for any unreasonable failure to comply with the Code or another applicable code of practice.
6 January
The new Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules (ETPR) are in force.
1 January
The FRC’s UK Corporate Governance Code will come into effect ((except for Provision 29 which will come into effect on 1 January 2026).
2024
December 2024
The new Central London Tribunal Centre is expected to open.
16 December
The Lloyds’ consultation on a proposed New Conduct Framework, including Enforcement Byelaw amendments closes. Further detail available.
4 December
Making Work Pay consultations closed on: SSP consultation and Potential remedies for unfair dismissal claims re collective redundancy and fire and rehire. Further detail here.
2 December
Making Work Pay consultations closed on: The application of zero hour contracts measures to agency workers and Trade Unions - creating a modern framework for industrial relations. Further detail here.
November 2024
18 November
SRA publishes final guidance materials to support in-house solicitors and their employers (particularly for governing boards, chief executives and directors of organisations which are not regulated by the SRA) by assisting them to understand the SRA's regulatory regime and how this might impact on in-house lawyers' work in practice. We have produced a placemat summary of each of the guidance materials. Further details available.
October 2024
29 October
The Practice Direction on ET and EAT panel composition took effect. Further detail available here.
26 October
The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act comes into force. The EHRC has published an updated version of its technical guidance, together with an 8 step guide. Further detail available.
22 October
The Tribunal Procedure Committee consultation focusing on the provision of written reasons for decision closes. Further detail available.
10 October
The Employment Rights Bill, together with Next Steps to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Bill: supporting documents was published. Further detail available.
1 October
The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2023 bringing into force s.6 of The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 Act (role of the courts) which sets out the mechanism for domestic appeal courts to depart from retained EU case law come into force. Our thoughts on this new legislation are available here.
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