The economy may be stagnating with redundancies and a difficult job market but on the face of it there is good news for employees, trade unions and staff associations with the coming into force of the Employment Rights Act 2025. Key changes in the law As of January 2027, the qualifying period for issuing unfair dismissal and most other claims in the Employment Tribunal is reduced from two years to just six months and the statutory cap on the amount of compensation recoverable

Belief is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, which makes it unlawful for a person to treat another less favourably because of their belief in a variety of situations, including at work. The Act confirms that belief means any religious or philosophical belief and a reference to belief includes a reference to a lack of belief (section 10(2)) A religious belief is probably easier to identify than a philosophical one, and perhaps the absence of a philosophica

The Courts have grappled with when a person will be an independent contractor rather than an employee in a variety of contexts, including tax and employment law as well as vicarious liability. Per Lord Justice Newey in the recent Burger case Introduction Over recent years there have been a series of leading cases on vicarious liability. Since November 2018, when my book A Practical Guide to Vicarious Liability was published, there have been four decisions of the Supreme Court

Introduction Last month’s blog on sexual harassment focussed on its recent inclusion in the list of wrongdoings protected by the whistleblowing legislation. In a pincer movement designed to provide even more protection to employees the Employment Rights Act 2025 extends the obligations on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Since 26 October 2024 employers have been required to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. It is de

In general, unwise or even irrational decisions made by individuals with capacity are considered legally binding. Per Warby LJ: RTM v Bonne Terre Limited and another [2026] EWCA CIV 488 Introduction An online betting and gaming business has successfully appealed against a High Court decision that it was unlawful to place cookies on a gambling addict’s devices and to send him targeted marketing emails. The addict had not given effective consent because it was “insufficiently f

Introduction Employees and workers assume they are protected whistleblowers, when a close reading of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) confirms their disclosure of wrongdoing does not satisfy the various conditions necessary. This is a precise and technical area governed by Part IVA ERA 1996. When a disclosure is protected, the person making it acquires the right not to suffer a detriment or be dismissed because of it. It is a valuable protection with no cap on the c