Welcome to our Christmas edition of CL Q.E.B

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 will be increased or lifted entirely, but if the latter, more senior executives are likely to want to pursue unfair dismissal claims which could prove costly for employers. Another bone of contention, namely zero-hours contracts, remains in play but, given this major concession by the government, it is possible that the House of Lords may now be content to accept the government proposals. This is an important development for employers, particularly smaller ones who may struggle to afford the potential costs of making a recruitment error.

2025 has been dominated by the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) but the end must surely be drawing nigh, and Royal Assent cannot now be far off. However, that is just the first stage:  we will then be facing a raft of secondary legislation and, no doubt, more consultations.

Employment Rights Bill: consultations

In addition to the four consultations that are currently underway (see below), the Secretary of State, Peter Kyle, announced at the CBI conference that another 26 consultations would be launched once the ERB has finally made its way onto the statute books. Employers will have their say on how some of the new legislation will be implemented – but how many have time to respond to so many is another matter. In the meantime, we have summarised the essential elements of the four consultations launched in October on our website.

You just have time to respond to the Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces which is open until 18 December, as is the Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union. Leave for Bereavement including Pregnancy Loss and Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers are both open until 15 January 2026.

Non-compete clauses

The use (and misuse) of restrictive covenants is a subject close to our hearts. In November, our Managing Partner, John Hayes, successfully defended his client, Max Potter, against a claim by his US employer that he had breached his 12-month non-compete clause in his contract. The High Court ruled it was unenforceable, finding that the clause went “further than is reasonably necessary to protect the Claimant’s legitimate business interests.” You can read more about the case here.

On the same subject, Alan Lewis has recently commented on the rise in non-compete litigation in People Management. A new report reveals that it is climbing sharply, with High Court claims issued by employers against former staff up 43 per cent this year. Alan warns that October 2026 will mark a major turning point: the use of fire-and-rehire tactics to impose new terms, including introducing restrictive covenants, will automatically amount to unfair dismissal.

As part of the government’s desire to reform the use of non-compete clauses, it issued a working paper on the subject on 26 November seeking views on several options including a statutory limit on the length of non-compete provisions; a statutory limit linked to business size; restricting the use of non-compete provisions to high earners only; and an outright ban on any form of non-compete clause. The deadline for responding is 18 February 2026.

Acas: early conciliation

The Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 have been published. The regulations double the Acas early conciliation period from six to twelve weeks, and the new time limit applies from 1 December 2025 giving longer for the parties to discuss settlement and a longer period of uncertainly for employers with regards to potential claims.

Increase to national minimum wage announced

Increases to the national minimum wage will take effect from 1 April 2026 as follows:

1.             Age 21 and over - £12.71(up from £12.21)

2.             18 – 20 - £10.85 (up from £10.00)

3.             16 – 17 and apprentices - £8.00 (up from £7.55)

Constantine Law in the Legal Directories

We were delighted to achieve significant recognition in the legal directories, Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners last month. With our new rankings, we are proud to be the only boutique employment law firm ranked in Chambers for both Employer and Senior Executive work.

New Year podcast

It sometimes feels hard to keep up with the pace of change on the government's legislative agenda. In our New Year podcast episode, our resident ERB experts, John Hayes and Alan Lewis will talk through the twists and turns of the ERB so far and what's in store for 2026. Stay tuned!

The Constantine Law team wish all our readers a very Happy Christmas and Prosperous New Year and look forward to working with you in 2026.

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