Be Aware UK

News and views from DLA Piper's Employment team

Reform

Employment Rights Act: Preparing for change: Contract change update and action points

/ , , / Employment, ERA/Insights, ERA/latest news, Reform

Following the Employment Rights Act (ERA) receiving royal assent late last year, early 2026 has already seen some further activity in relation to the Act’s provisions on contractual change. The Government’s revised timetable for ERA implementation has moved commencement of the so-called ‘fire and rehire’ provisions from October 2026 to 1 January 2027, tying in […]

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Changing employment terms: Revised fire and rehire rules under the Employment Rights Bill

/ Employment, Reform

The Employment Rights Bill (ERB) has almost completed the legislative process with the final report stage in the House of Lords scheduled for 3 September 2025. The ERB is likely to receive Royal Assent in the autumn and then there will be consultation about the content of secondary legislation and work will begin on supporting

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Government launches review of parental leave regime

/ , , , / Reform

The government has launched a comprehensive review of the system of parental leave and pay entitlement, publishing terms of reference for the review and a call for evidence. All current and upcoming parental leave and pay entitlements will be in scope of the review, namely: Maternity leave and pay. Paternity leave and pay. Adoption leave

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The Future of Work: Insights into the new Employment Rights Bill: #3: Impact on contractual change and redundancy exercises

/ Employment, Reform

The dynamic nature of business means that employers and their workforces must sometimes go through evolutionary changes to keep pace with, for example, economic shifts,  technological developments,  market trends,  or legal/regulatory requirements. Current UK employment legislation permits evolution of this type, albeit with certain protections for employees built in.    Redundancy dismissals are possible provided that

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Labour and Conservative manifesto pledges on employment law: What do they mean for employers?

/ , , , , / Employment, Reform

The Labour party launched its 2024 General Election manifesto on 13 June; coming 2 days after launch of the Conservative manifesto, we are now able to assess how the main parties’ respective pledges on workplace rights could affect the employment law landscape. Labour manifesto As heavily trailed, there are not many surprises in Labour’s manifesto.

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Consultation on proposal to reintroduce fees in the Employment Tribunals

/ , , , / Employment, Reform

The government has published a consultation paper on proposals to reintroduce fees in the Employment Tribunals and Employment Appeal Tribunal The proposal is for a one-off fee of £55 payable on presentation of the claim There will be no fee payable at the hearing stage There will be no distinction between types of claim There

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Government announces five-point plan to cut migration figures to the UK

/ / Employment, Immigration, Reform

At a glance: Minimum salary threshold for Skilled Workers set to increase from GBP26,200 to GBP38,700 per annum (a third) from Spring 2024. The 20% reduction which can currently be applied to a role’s ‘going rate’ salary threshold for occupations that appear on the shortage list will be removed. Care workers sponsored under the Health

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Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act receives Royal Assent

/ , / Reform

  At a glance The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. The Act introduces a duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees in the workplace. It will come into force one year after the day on which it

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Post-Brexit regulatory reform of employment law

/ Brexit, Employment, Reform

Following last week’s publication of its policy paper “Smarter regulation to grow the economy”,  the Government has now published a consultation on retained EU employment law and a response to its consultation on reform of non-compete clauses. Consultation on retained EU employment law The consultation paper confirms the Government’s intention to retain the UK’s strong

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Government to publish guidance on voluntary ethnicity pay gap reporting but will not make reporting mandatory

/ / Employment, Reform

On 17 March the Government published a policy paper “Inclusive Britain: government response to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities”  in response to the Commission’s 2021 report. Inclusive Britain sets out a wide-ranging Action Plan of measures on race equality across Government as part of a three-part strategy: to ensure that prejudice and discrimination have

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Information Commissioner’s call for views on employment practices: a survey for employers

/ / Employment, Reform

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is calling for views on data protection and employment practices to help them shape their upcoming guidance products which will see existing guidance replaced with “a new, more user-friendly online resource with topic-specific areas”. DLA Piper’s employment group will be submitting a response to the ICO’s call for views and

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New workers’ watchdog announced today

/ , , , , , / Employment, Reform

Today the government has announced the publication of its response to consultation on establishing a new single enforcement body for employment rights, and confirmed that a new workers’ watchdog will be set up. The consultation dates back to July 2019, and was one of a myriad of consultations published in a flurry of activity in

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Are you ready for the impending changes to the IR35 regime?

/ , / Reform, Tax

With just 2 months to go until the changes to the IR35 regime come into force on 6 April, are you aware of what those changes will mean and do you have the necessary preparations in place? HMRC introduced IR35 (or the “off-payroll working rules”) in 2000 to tackle so-called “disguised” employment. It is designed

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Government publishes detailed guidance on Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and details of the Self-employment Income Support Scheme and announces relaxation of holiday carry-over rules

/ , / Employment, Reform

On 26 March the Government published more detailed guidance on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) originally announced on 20 March. The CJRS is designed to support employers whose operations have been severely affected by coronavirus (COVID-19). Under the CJRS, UK employers with a PAYE payroll scheme as at 28 February 2020 will be able

Government publishes detailed guidance on Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and details of the Self-employment Income Support Scheme and announces relaxation of holiday carry-over rules Read More »