UK Employment Law Round Up: Developments in Q3 and Looking Ahead to Q4

We look back at key developments in employment law over the past quarter and what’s coming next.

It has been a busy summer, and autumn is set to follow suit with the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) about to conclude its process in Parliament. After this, implementation is set to be staggered, and Human Resources (HR) will be busy planning for its first reforms coming into effect.

Q3 2025

• Review of Family Leave – On July 1, 2025 the UK Government launched a review of all parental leave and pay. The review is anticipated to run until the end of 2026. It will be a while before we see concrete plans – but watch this space. Our article explains more.
• Non-Financial Misconduct for FCA Regulated Businesses– On July 2, 2025, the FCA consulted on its proposed changes to the FCA handbook to deal with workplace harassment and non-financial misconduct. The consultation ended on September 10, 2025, and we expect final rules before the end of 2025, with commencement scheduled for September 2026. Clients are already looking at policies and procedures to align with the new expectations. We recently held a webinar on what this means. See our update for more.
• Potential Reform of Non-Competes – On July 21, 2025, during debates in the House of Lords on the ERB, the issue of reforming of non-competes in employment contracts was put back on the Government’s agenda. Details are still unknown, but employers will be watching for developments – see here for more.
• Immigration White Paper – The Government has been introducing changes to Immigration rules, following publication of its Immigration White Paper, the first of which were enacted on July 22, 2025. Employers should check their compliance and plan for future changes. We recently held a webinar on the future changes, and our article explains more.
• Failure to Prevent Fraud – On September 1, 2025, a new corporate criminal offence of “failure to prevent fraud” came into force. Although largely a compliance matter, HR teams may wish to check in to ensure proper implementation of any new internal measures that impact HR policies and procedures (e.g., any new anti-fraud policies). See our article for HR considerations.
• New CMA Competition Guidance – On September 9, 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority published guidance Competing for Talent– What businesses need to know when recruiting workers and setting pay and other working conditions, which explains what businesses can do to avoid breaking competition laws when working to recruit and retain workers.

Q4 2025 and Beyond

• NDA Restrictions Under the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 – From October 1, 2025, new restrictions in England and Wales will void any confidentiality clauses that seek to prevent “victims,” or those who reasonably believes they are victims, from disclosing information about criminal conduct to certain categories of persons. Employers should review and update NDA policies and practices. See our update>. Note that these are separate from new restrictions on NDAs coming under the ERB (see our Reform Hub).
• Reform of Senior Managers and Certification Regime – The FCA, PRA and HM Treasury have published consultation papers on reforming the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR), which closes on October 7, 2025. See our article for more.
• ERB and Related Consultations Pushing Forward – The biggest item on the horizon is the ERB, which is expected to pass this autumn. The ERB is expansive and will make significant changes to UK employment law (including day one rights to unfair dismissal). The Government has published a roadmap (see also here) setting out implementation timings and the plans for upcoming consultations to inform much of the detail. Start planning for the changes now and keep track via our Reform Hub. We wait to see if the Autumn Budget on November 26, 2025, will bring any surprises.
• Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Code of Practice – There have been several developments following the Supreme Court decision in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers (see update) (which held that the terms sex, man and woman in the Equality Act 2010, refer to the person’s biological sex). The EHRC published and amended its interim update and consulted on its revised code of practices for services, public functions and associations. The amended Services Code has now been passed to the Government for approval, following which it will need to be laid before Parliament before the final version comes into force, which we anticipate later this Q4. The law here is complex, and the decision continues to have practical implications for employers on policies and practices, who should consider taking legal advice.
• Preventing Sexual Harassment and Risk Assessments – The new duty to prevent sexual harassment came into force last October, but continues to keep us busy. Employers are undertaking risk assessments and looking at reasonable steps to take to prevent sexual harassment, including implementing regular training. Clients are seeking to re-evaluate their risks and the effectiveness of their steps as part of the ongoing nature of the duty and in light of upcoming changes in the ERB (see our Reform Hub).
• Pay Transparency – EU countries are required to implement the EU Pay Transparency Directive by June 2026 (see here for more). While the UK is not required to do so, there are strong indications that the Directive will have (and is already having) an impact on UK employers. A recent call for evidence on equality laws is also proposing to introduce some similar measures in the UK (see here). With this backdrop, global employers are looking at pay transparency compliance across their business and preparing themselves for the new pay reporting and information rights under the Directive.

If any of these issues are of interest, please get in touch with your usual Littler United Kingdom contact. If you wish to understand what training we offer, please reach out to Natasha Adom, Partner & Head of Client Training.

Note: This list is not intended to be comprehensive.

Also, we refer to the UK for ease of reference, however employment law in Northern Ireland and Scotland varies from that applicable to England and Wales. This article does not cover the differences between employment law in each U.K. jurisdiction but focuses on the law in England and Wales only.