In the wake of last year's general election, 2025 was widely anticipated to be a year of significant change for employment law.
Whilst the raft of proposals contained within the new Employment Rights Bill raised eyebrows in some quarters, little did we know that it would be the autumn budget that would grab the headlines for Labour, and not necessarily in a good way.
With a larger than normal increase on National Minimum Wage on the way, employers have been hit with a triple whammy, with an increase in employers' National Insurance Contributions and changes to business rates also due to come in shortly.
As part of our day-to-day contact with clients, it appears businesses in the hospitality and retail sectors will be hit the hardest. Unfortunately, business planning has started early, with a number of redundancy instructions coming through at the beginning of the year. Cost saving is clearly at the forefront of employers' minds for 2025 and it will be interesting to see how Labour addresses the criticism in the spring budget on Wednesday (March 26).
2025 is certainly shaping up to be a difficult year for businesses and below we cover some of the upcoming changes to keep an eye on throughout the year.
April 1, 2025: The first real change of the year takes place on April 1 with the rise in minimum wage.
Labour has been clear that it wants a single minimum wage for adults, and we are therefore seeing a large 16% increase in minimum wage for 18- to 20-year-olds this year to...
CNN — On Friday, before signing his massive domestic policy bill, President Donald Trump proclaimed at the White House that “it’s the most popular bill ever signed in the history of our country,” ...