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

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

Non-compete litigation is climbing sharply, with High Court claims issued by employers against former staff up 43 per cent this year, according to a new report. A rise in business creation (up 3.5% year on year) and a slowdown for permanent hiring sending professionals into self-employment are cited as two possible reasons for this rise. Commenting to People Management, Constantine Law partner, Alan Lewis , warns that October 2026 will mark a major turning point: the use of

The Employment Rights Bill should receive Royal Assent this month.  On 28 October 2025, the House of Lords considered the House of Commons’ amendments to the Employment Rights Bill.  The Lords proposed changes to: 1.       zero-hours clauses (amending their own amendment); 2.       the day-one right to unfair dismissal protections (insisting on a 6-month qualifying period, rather than day-one); and 3.       industrial action ballot thresholds (disagreeing with the proposal t

The House of Lords has this week stood firm against the government’s proposal to introduce "day-one" unfair dismissal rights, and have once again reaffirmed their position that there should be a six-month qualifying period. Peers argued that businesses need greater clarity and stability before such sweeping changes take effect. Speaking to People Management, Constantine Law partner, Alan Lewis , pulled no punches, describing the proposed shift from a two-year qualifying perio