The following is an extract from the second instalment of Managing Partner John Hayes’s monthly Substack series "How to Run a Law Firm”.

With Andy Burnham expected to become the next Prime Minister later this month, it raises questions about the future direction of UK immigration policy. With the government facing pressure from business groups demanding labour market flexibility while simultaneously confronting the threat posed by Reform UK, immigration could become one of the defining tests of a Burnham premiership. Andy Burnham The key question is whether Burnham will soften some of Labour’s planned restrict

Managing Redundancies and Related Immigration Issues in Challenging Times Changes introduced under the Employment Rights Act mean that redundancies are getting riskier. If incorrectly managed, employers could face more time-consuming, expensive and reputationally damaging claims. The current economic climate, coupled with the AI revolution, seems likely to lead to more redundancies as businesses look to reshape their workforce. In our upcoming webinar, “Managing redundancies

With temperatures soaring, employers should take immediate steps to assess and manage heat-related risks, the HSE has warned. With temperatures forecast to reach 38°C and a rare red heat warning in place, the regulator stressed that extreme heat can affect worker health, safety and productivity. Employment partner Alan Lewis , commenting to People Management, highlights the legal consequences of failing to address heat risks: “Because heat is a hazard, failure to assess and

April is always a busy month for employment law with new minimum payment rates and legislative changes. April 2026 is no exception. Some of the initial provisions of the Employment Rights Act 2025 ( ERA ) will come into force in April, together with the annual increase in minimum rates of pay. Further there will be an increase in immigration fees. We have updated our ERA tracker, as the timetable for implementation has shifted – see below. Below is an overview of the chan

What steps is the Government taking to allay the pressures on the ET – and will these go far enough? A version of this article first appeared in Employer News 24 March 2026 Last week’s Employment Tribunal statistics show that pressure on the UK’s Employment Tribunal system continues to grow. In Q3 2025 there were around 52,000 open cases, increasing to 58,000 by the end of December 2025, an increase of roughly 11–12% in just one quarter. The widening gap between claims rec

Business immigration in 2026: The UK and US are converging, but not in the way employers expected In the latest episode of The Employment Law Podcast immigration series, Alex Finch and Rebecca Tester are joined by Nita Nicole Upadhye, Managing Partner of NNU Immigration , to compare the UK and US immigration systems from a business perspective. Listen to the podcast on your preferred platform: For employers, investors and internationally mobile professionals, the similarit

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