Amazon has confirmed plans to cut 16,000 roles globally, following an internal communications slip that revealed the redundancies before an official announcement. The job cuts, affecting staff in the US, Canada and Costa Rica, form part of Amazon’s wider restructuring as it continues to reorganise its business around AI. Commenting to People Management, partner Alan Lewis , warned that in the UK, such missteps could have serious legal consequences for employers if proper co

Welcome to our first newsletter of 2026. As you will all know the long-awaited Employment Rights Act 2025 finally hit the statute books just before Christmas, which, as has been often repeated, represents the biggest shake up in employment law for 30 years. As the legislation is being implemented in stages, we have included a timeline on our website , tracking the changes from now through to 2027 and beyond, which we hope will provide you with a useful aide memoire. In the me

The Employment Rights Act 2025 is the most significant update to UK employment law in decades. With unfair dismissal reforms, zero-hours contract changes, and enhanced employee protections, the Act affects employers, HR teams, managers, and employees alike. Understanding the changes is crucial: businesses must adapt processes to reduce risk and strengthen workforce management, while employees gain greater clarity, security, and fairness in the workplace. Podcast Want to hear

With the Employment Rights Act finally gaining Royal Assent in December 2025, we take a look at what's in store for employment law in 2026. Our updated tracker highlights some of the key changes for 2026: April 2026 New pay rates: Each April new statutory minimum rates apply for the year ahead. From 1 April 2026, minimum pay rates per hour will increase to: · National Living Wage: o 21 and over - £12.71 – 4.1% increase (or £977 increase per year for full time staff o

Performance appraisals remain one of the most misunderstood and often disliked processes in the workplace. Despite good intentions, many organisations still rely on annual reviews that feel stressful, subjective, and disconnected from real performance. As businesses head into 2026, this approach is becoming both ineffective and risky. And that’s the topic up for debate in the latest episode in our We can work it out podcast series, with John Hayes and Amanda Rajkumar . Wh

An employment tribunal has ruled in favour of Sandra Moody, a black higher-level teaching assistant, who successfully proved race discrimination, harassment and unfair dismissal after being accused of having an “angry face” and intimidating pupils at a Southwark primary school. The tribunal found that complaints about her tone and facial expression were vague, exaggerated and influenced by negative racial stereotypes, with similar behaviour by white colleagues not scrutinised

Following the successful conclusion of the Tom James v Max Potter case in the High Court last month, Constantine Law Managing Partner, John Hayes, writes for The Times today (11 December) about the ease with which interim employment injunctions are granted in the High Court. John points out that this practice of “holding the ring” can lead to a hugely expensive and stressful speedy-trial process during which all the usual High Court steps are compressed into between two an

Before our readers unwind for Christmas, we thought it prudent to round up where we are with The Employment Rights Bill’s ping pong deadlock. As far as day one unfair dismissal rights goes the deadlock has finally broken with the government conceding a six-month qualifying period before the right applies. It also announced that the 52-week cap for compensation for unfair dismissal would be removed, currently the maximum award is £118,223. It is not however clear if the cap w

The Home Office has opened a major consultation on plans to overhaul the UK settlement system—proposals that could reshape long-term migration routes, employer sponsorship strategies, and the expectations of anyone currently working toward Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR). These changes, set out in the policy paper A Fairer Pathway to Settlemen t , are among the most far-reaching in years. In our latest episode of The Employment Law Podcast, our immigration partners, Alex F