The FCA's new rules on non-financial misconduct, which came into force on 1 September 2026 expand those workplace allegations that can now become a career-ending regulatory problem. Allegations of bullying, harassment or violence can engage the FCA's Conduct Rules and fitness and propriety regime and the consequences of getting that assessment wrong can be profound. For non-bank SM&CR firms, the Conduct Rules now expressly extend to serious bullying, harassment and violence

One in eight 16 to 24-year-olds are now out of employment, education or training, according to statistics released by the ONS. That's just short of 1m young people classified as NEET. Jobs outlook While these figures, which account for the period from April to June 2026, are slightly lower than the figures from January to March (when 1,011,000 young people were NEET), they are 3% higher than the same period from last year. These statistics are framed against a highly competit

For many UK businesses, recruiting international talent has become a vital part of growth. But sponsoring overseas workers also comes with significant legal responsibilities, and those responsibilities are coming under far greater scrutiny than ever before. The Home Office has always maintained that holding a sponsor licence is a privilege rather than a right. What has changed is the level of enforcement. Employers are seeing more compliance activity, more requests for eviden

The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 has introduced a new statutory right for individuals, including employees to complain directly to data controllers about alleged UK GDPR infringements. For employers and other data controllers, this is a significant practical compliance change, not merely a technical footnote. From 19 June 2026, privacy notices, DSAR templates and internal complaints processes will need to reflect this new change. Employers will have to be able to show that

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

Managing Partner, John Hayes' thoughts on the possible direction of travel for employment law under a government led by Andy Burnham have been picked up by the press. John's believes that a Burnham-led government may signal a more “interventionist” approach to workplace regulation, but that this must be balanced against the need to drive economic growth and maintain labour market flexibility. John urges employers to have their voices heard by engaging with the consultation on

The Government has launched a further series of consultations ahead of the implementation of key provisions of the ERA 2025. The latest consultations are: Employment rights for unpaid carers and parents of seriously ill children Misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) Reforms of zero hours and similar contracts We recognise the importance of these consultations to our client base and therefore urge you to get involved. This is your opportunity to have your voice heard 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