UK
National Minimum Wage
Impact date: 6 April 2025 The Government has changed the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) remit, linking the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rate to the cost of living. It will also remove the age bands to equalize the rate for adult workers (removing the band for 18-20 year olds) and has committed to enforcing the payment of NMW for travel time, if applicable.
Equalizing the adult rate is expected to happen progressively. The rates which apply from April 2025 are:
- National Living Wage (21 years old and over): £12.21 per hour
- Rate for 18-20 year olds: £10.00 per hour
- Rate for 16-17 year olds: £7.55 per hour
- Apprentice rate: £7.55 per hour
Employer implications/action needed Employers should ensure that they pay at least the NMW. The NMW rules are complex, with risk of inadvertent breaches. Employers should therefore ensure that they regularly audit their pay practices.
Employer risk Employers should expect increased costs and compliance risks. HMRC’s enforcement policy makes no distinction between deliberate and accidental breaches and non-compliance risks reputational damage, large financial penalties and back pay to affected workers for up to six years.
Links Our webinar and common pitfalls briefing set out common risk areas and steps employers can take to mitigate risks.
Neonatal leave and pay
Impact date: 6 April 2025 A new day-one statutory right to neonatal leave has been introduced, and to neonatal pay if the parent meets eligibility requirements.
The leave, for parents of a child who is receiving or has received neonatal care (starting within 28 days of birth and lasting seven or more days), is set at a minimum of one continuous week and is capped at a maximum of 12 weeks (one week for every week a child spends in neonatal care). The entitlement will apply to employed parents of children born on or after 6 April 2025. The parent can take the leave when their child is still receiving neonatal care or after any other parental leave that the parent may be eligible for.
Further regulations have been published which implement the change, including defining the conditions of entitlement for parents and others with personal relationships.
Employer implications/action needed All employers should review, and update as necessary, their HR practices and policies to comply.
Employer risk As with other family leave, parents will be protected from detriment or discrimination arising from them taking, or seeking to take, neonatal care leave and will have a right to return to the same job.
Increase in Limits
Impact date: Effective from 6 April 2025 The annual “increase in limits” legislation has been passed in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
In Great Britain, the statutory limit on a week’s pay increased to £719, with impact on certain statutory payments, including the unfair dismissal basic award and statutory redundancy payment, where the maximum award has increased to £21,570. The cap on the compensatory award for ordinary unfair dismissal claims also increased to £118,223 (or 52 weeks’ gross actual pay, if lower).
In Northern Ireland, new amounts apply for a week’s pay (£749), guarantee pay (£39 per day), and other areas, including various automatic dismissal grounds. The limit on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal claims has been increased to £118,455.
Employer implications/action needed The figures in Northern Ireland are different to Great Britain and so too is the operation of the limit on the compensatory award in unfair dismissal claims, as there is no alternative 52 week’s gross pay limit.
Employer risk Employers with operations in Northern Ireland should be mindful of the differences in the figures, which can impact not just Tribunal processes and compensation but also any calculation based on “a week’s pay”, such as a statutory redundancy payment.
The definition of sex under the Equality Act 2010 (case law)
Impact date: 16 April 2025 The Supreme Court has ruled that the words “sex”, “woman” and “man” in the Equality Act 2010 mean biological sex, biological woman and biological man.
Whilst the case was to determine the narrow point of whether those with an acquired gender of female as a result of a gender recognition certificate fell within the definition of “woman” for the purposes of the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018, the significance of the decision is much wider.
Employer implications/action needed The case raises complex issues that will require careful and sensitive consideration. Employers should continue to monitor developments as updated statutory guidance is issued and case law develops further. Expert advice should be sought where necessary.
Employer risk Whilst some have hailed the decision as bringing clarity in this area, there has already been considerable debate and disagreement about what the decision actually means in practice. It may take some time for its full legal and practical implications to become clear.
Link N/A
Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023
Impact date: 1 September 2025 Legislation has introduced a new offence under which large employers may be criminally liable where an employee, among others, commits a fraud intending to benefit the employer (or, in some circumstances, to benefit a client) and it did not have reasonable fraud prevention procedures in place. The aim of the legislation is to encourage more employers to implement or improve prevention procedures, including a shift in corporate culture to help prevent fraud.
The employer will have a defense if it has reasonable procedures in place to prevent fraud, or if it can demonstrate to the satisfaction of a court that it was not reasonable in all the circumstances to expect the organization to have any prevention procedures in place.
Employer implications/action needed Employers should familiarize themselves with the Home Office guidance, which sets out procedures that employers can put in place to prevent employees from committing fraud offences. Employers should refer to the guidance when developing or updating their fraud prevention policies and procedures. For example, conducting risk assessments, providing training and reviewing the effectiveness of whistleblowing procedures, among other steps.
Employer risk Organizations can be held criminally liable if an associated person (such as an employee, agent, or subsidiary) commits fraud intended to benefit the organization, and the organization did not have reasonable fraud prevention procedures in place. A court will take adherence to the Home Office guidance into account when considering liability. Employers should therefore ensure adherence to the guidance to mitigate risk.
Paid miscarriage leave (Northern Ireland)
Impact date: There is a longstop date of 6 April 2026 by which paid miscarriage leave must be introduced in Northern Ireland, but it could be earlier than that In March 2022 Northern Ireland introduced parental bereavement leave and pay equivalent to the entitlement in Great Britain. In time the Northern Irish law will also introduce paid miscarriage leave. In Great Britain, the Government has also indicated its support for leave for pre-24 week pregnancy loss, however it is currently unclear whether such leave would be paid or unpaid.
Employer implications/action needed Employers should follow developments and amend their policies and practices to accommodate miscarriage leave, once in force.
Employer risk N/A
Link N/A
Employment Rights Bill
Impact date: Awaited. With the exception of a small number of changes, many of the legislative changes are not expected to take effect until 2026
On 10 October 2024, the new Government unveiled the UK Employment Rights Bill* and a supporting document (“Next Steps to Make Work Pay”), the breadth and depth of which is likely to transform employment law and significantly change employer practices. The Bill is currently moving through its parliamentary stages and the Government has published a number of amendments to it.
In summary, the Bill includes measures to:
- Require employers to publish an equality action plan on addressing gender pay gaps
- Take ‘all’ reasonable steps to prevent workplace sexual harassment and to prevent third party harassment
- Strengthen flexible working rights
- Make paternity and unpaid parental leave day-one rights
- Extend bereavement leave
- Extend protection from dismissal during pregnancy, maternity and other leave and upon return
- Reform trade union, industrial action and statutory recognition legislation
- Introduce new zero-hour contract (ZHC) and ‘low-hour’ contract workers’ rights
- End most ‘fire and re-hire’
- Introduce day-one unfair dismissal rights subject to a probationary period
- Adjust employment tribunal time limits to six months for all claims
- Extend SSP entitlements
- Widen the duty to collectively consult on redundancies and increase employer penalties
- Introduce a Fair Work Agency – a new enforcement body
The recent amendments include further changes to statutory sick pay, collective redundancy consultation, trade union legislation and extending ZHC and low-hour contract worker rights to agency workers.
Further employment policies will be subject to future consultations, to follow during the life of the Parliament (until approximately 2029). This includes a proposal to consult on creating a single status of worker for all but the genuinely self-employed.
Employer implications/action needed The Bill contains significant changes and employers should assess the impact on their workplaces. With some measures, further details, including secondary legislation, are awaited before employers can fully prepare their response, but initial preparations can be made.
Employer risk The Employment Tribunal enforcement route will remain, but a new single enforcement body is also expected to take a targeted approach to enforcement. The Government has identified enforcing the minimum wage, including on travel time between multiple working locations, and the treatment of migrant workers, as priorities.
Link For more detail on these changes and anticipated timescales see our tracker: Home – Preparing employers for workplace changes (eversheds-sutherland.com)
The “Good Jobs” Employment Rights Bill (Northern Ireland)
Impact date: There is no definitive timeline at present, but we expect to see the Bill introduced in 2026 and the legislation passed before the mandate of the current NI Assembly expires in 2027 On 28 April 2025 the Minister for the Economy provided an update on the proposals for the “Good Jobs” Employment Rights Bill. It was confirmed that the key areas of focus will include amendments and/or new rights, entitlements and obligations in relation to (a) zero hours contracts (b) fire and rehire (c) agency workers (d) tips (e) holiday pay (f) trade unions and industrial action, and (g) family related rights, including paternity leave, carer’s leave, neonatal leave and flexible working.
Employer implications/action needed The Minister for the Economy described this as the “biggest upgrade in workers’ rights since the Good Friday Agreement [in 1998]”.
Any employer with a presence in Northern Ireland should monitor developments closely and prepare for the introduction of the legislation as it develops. The changes are likely to be significant.
Employer risk While some of the proposed reforms will make Northern Ireland more closely aligned to Great Britain (for example, regarding flexible working and family rights), others will create further divergence and this will pose an additional risk to multi-jurisdictional employers, in addition to those already present. The differences/risks will be even more pronounced as Labour’s proposals will not apply in Northern Ireland.
Report published following consultation on changes to race relations legislation (Northern Ireland)
Impact date: With the consultation complete, the legislative process will commence The Executive Office has published a Response Report following the completion of a consultation in relation to amending the Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997. Amendments to the legislation are likely to follow and proposals include in relation to taken place by the Executive Office following a review of the Race Relations (NI) Order 1997. Legislative developments are anticipated, including making victimization claims more straightforward and widening the definition of racial harassment.
Employer implications/action needed Employers with a presence in NI should monitor developments, particularly following the publication of any draft legislation.
Employer risk N/A
Link N/A
Safe leave for victims of domestic abuse (Northern Ireland)
Impact date: Awaited The Domestic Abuse (Safe Leave) Act 2022 makes provision for an entitlement to paid safe leave for victims of domestic abuse in Northern Ireland. Regulations are awaited that will set out the details of how safe leave will work.
Employer implications/action needed While the exact details are awaited, we know from the framework that this will be a ‘day one right’ (i.e. no length of service will be required) and that it will provide for leave relating to domestic abuse, such as for the individual to obtain legal advice and find alternative accommodation, with their employment terms protected in the meantime.
Employer risk N/A
Link N/A
Pay gap reporting
Impact date: Awaited Already well established in Great Britain, in Northern Ireland the Employment (NI) Act 2016 provides for a gender pay gap regime to be introduced, as well as ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting. The relevant Regulations have been delayed and are expected later this year at the earliest, which will outline the practical workings of the scheme. There are likely to be some differences with Great Britain, but the methodology as proposed reflects the position in Great Britain regarding gender pay gap reporting, including provisions like mean and median pay, bonuses and information being published in quartiles.
In Great Britain, the Employment Rights Bill (see above) includes a requirement for employers to publish an equality action plan on addressing gender pay gaps. In addition, with a Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill (yet to be published), it is proposed to mirror the existing legislation relating to equal pay and gender pay reporting to introduce mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for employers with 250 employees or more and to enshrine in law the full right to equal pay for ethnic minorities and disabled people.
Employer implications/action needed Employers should continue to monitor developments and ensure that they have the infrastructure in place to comply with updated reporting requirements, once in force.
Equality Commission for Northern Ireland Submission into Gaps in Equality Legislation (Northern Ireland)
Impact date: There will be no immediate reform of this area, but it is likely in the future In September 2024 the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) filed a submission to the Committee for the Executive Office Inquiry into gaps in NI equality legislation. ECNI’s submission highlighted “clear and persistent weaknesses in equality law” in NI (where the Equality Act 2010 does not apply), including disparities between the equality protection offered by different equality laws and “increasing shortfall” when compared to other jurisdictions, including Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. Recommendations have been made in reform, including in age discrimination (access to goods facilities and services), race, disability (including the lack of discrimination arising from disability, which does not apply here) and in respect of sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy, as well as religious belief and political opinion.
Employer implications/action needed NI employers should continue to review developments in this area and, in the meantime, ensure that they are aware of the differences in legislation/approach in NI compared to other jurisdictions.
Employer risk N/A
Link ECNI Submission
Immigration – labour and migration
Impact date: There are no confirmed dates for implementation yet. Some of these changes will likely be implemented in a statement of changes in coming months, others will be phased in over a longer period or consulted on first In May 2025, the UK Government published a new immigration white paper outlining its continuing commitment to reducing net migration. The paper proposes reforms across key visa routes, including Skilled Worker, Family, Student, and Graduate visas, aimed at curbing migration and boosting domestic talent. Key changes include raising the skill threshold for Skilled Worker visas to RQF Level 6, increasing salary thresholds for Skilled Workers, extending time in the UK required for settlement, closing the social care route to new overseas applicants, shortening the Graduate visa to 18 months, and tightening university compliance standards.
Employer implications/action needed Sponsors in particular should consider reviewing their current sponsored workforce and those in the pipeline timing of sponsorship given the increased Immigration Skills Charge and also changes to Skilled Worker and potential settlement, and how to communicate with the current population of sponsored employees. Employers should stay ahead of the curve with compliance training and timely applications before these reforms take full effect.
Employer risk Employers should prepare for higher recruitment costs and tighter regulations on sponsorship.
*Applies to England, Wales and Scotland only.
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