Employment Law developments – Autumn 2025 Roundup
As we approach the end of the year, a number of notable employment law developments have come into force or will do so by the end of this year. These updates will have practical implications for employers and HR professionals, making it essential to understand what’s changing and how to prepare. This article provides an overview of the key developments and what they mean in practice.
Increases to National Minimum Wage
Ahead of the Budget, the Government confirmed increases to the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage from April 2026 as follows:
| Increase to National Minimum Wage | 2025/6 | 2026/7 | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Living Wage Age 21+ | £12.21 | £12.71 | 4.1% |
| NMW Age 18-20 | £10.00 | £10.85 | 8.5% |
| NMW Age 16-17 | £7.55 | £8.00 | 6.0% |
| NMW for apprentices | £7.55 | £8.00 | 6.0% |
| Accommodation offset | £10.66 | £11.10 | 4.1% |
The 8.5% increase in the 18-20 NMW rate makes progress towards the government’s promise to extend the NLW to all adults by the end of this Parliament, but it is lower than the double-digit increases in recent years.
Whilst the increases are lower than in previous years, many businesses are anxious about how they will deal with further increased costs at a time when many businesses are already struggling.
The Employment Rights Bill- Where are we now?
The long-awaited Employment Rights Bill is now in its final stage of parliamentary debate, with amendments currently being exchanged between the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Most recently, the House of Lords returned the following issues to the House of Commons without agreement:
- Day one unfair dismissal rights: The Lords continue to insist on a six-month eligibility period for claiming unfair dismissal, rather than day one rights.
- Guaranteed hours: The Lords continue to advocate for a scheme whereby workers can choose to opt-out of receiving guaranteed hours offers.
- Trade Unions: The Lords continue to disagree with the proposal that union members be automatically opted-in to a Union’s political fund.
- Industrial Action: The Lords continue to contest the removal of the requirement that there is a turnout of at least 50% for ballots on industrial action.
While the passage of the Bill has been delayed by the back and forth between the Lords and the Commons, at present, overall implementation is not expected to be affected with changes anticipated from April 2026 through to 2027.
That being said, this week during the CBI conference, Business Secretary Peter Kyle announced that he would launch 26 consultations on aspects of the Employment Rights Bill. Depending on how the consultations progress, delays to implementation may be possible.
We will keep you updated with the progress of the Bill in the coming weeks and months.
ACAS Early Conciliation
For any claims where early conciliation is started on or after 1 December 2025, the ACAS Early Conciliation period will be increased from six weeks to up to twelve weeks.
For context, the Early Conciliation (EC) period is a mandatory process whereby ACAS (the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service) helps employers and employees to resolve workplace disputes before a claim is made at the Employment Tribunal. If settlement is not achieved within the EC period, ACAS will issue an EC Certificate which formally concludes the process. This certificate is needed to issue a claim in most Employment Tribunals.
When taken together with the proposal in the Employment Rights Bill to extend the limitation period for bringing an ET claim from three to six months, in some situations, employers may be unaware of a potential claim for nine months or more.
In light of this, employers should ensure that thorough notes and records are maintained of key employment decisions as witnesses’ recollections may inevitably fade over time.
Furthermore, employers should review their data retention policies to ensure that documents, particularly those relating to disciplinary processes, grievances, and other employment related matters. This will ensure key information can be retained for a sufficient period after an employee’s termination to enable the organisation to respond effectively to any potential claims.
Settlement and Non-Disclosure Agreements
As of 1 October 2025, confidentiality clauses in settlement agreements, as well as Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), will be unenforceable if they prevent a victim from reporting a crime to the police or seeking certain support services.
This measure, introduced under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, now makes any confidentiality clause or NDA unenforceable if it prevents a victim of crime from reporting the offence to the police, or from seeking confidential advice and support from a designated professional or family member.
In light of this development, employers that have not already done so should ensure their template settlement agreements are updated to reflect this change.
Employers should note that the Government has announced plans to expand these rules to allow victims and witnesses of crime to share their experiences even further with anyone, for any purpose, including friends, wider family members and journalists, without any fear of legal action under the settlement agreement or NDA.
This is in addition to changes under the Employment Rights Bill, which in the future will make NDAs that prevent employees from reporting workplace harassment or discrimination void and unenforceable.
We will keep you updated with developments in this area.
Collective Redundancy – Changes to the HR1 Form
Where an employer is proposing to make 20 or more redundancy dismissals within 90 days at a single establishment/site, the collective consultation rules will apply and the employer has a legal obligation to notify the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service (RPS) using form HR1.
From 1 December 2025, employers will no longer be able to submit the HR1 form in paper format and must instead complete it online. In addition, the information required from employers has been updated. Key changes include:
- It is now no longer necessary to provide a full break down of the affected employees by occupational group.
- The new form no longer allows employers to specify consultation dates which fall in the future; the consultation must have already commenced or commence the day the form is submitted.
Employers should note that information cannot be saved on the form once it has been started, so should ensure they have all the necessary information they need before starting the form.
The digital form also includes a declaration confirming that copies have been provided to all trade union and elected representatives. However, the form cannot be exported, so you must save and print the summary page before submitting it and then circulate that page to employee representatives manually.
These above changes highlight the continuing pace of developments in employment law and the need for employers to stay alert to new obligations. If you have any queries relating to the above, or any other employment law matters, please do not hesitate to contact us contact us here.
Disclaimer: General Information Provided Only
Please note that the contents of this article are intended solely for general information purposes and should not be considered as legal advice. We cannot be held responsible for any loss resulting from actions or inactions taken based on this article.
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