“Employers in the United Kingdom are continuing to face significant changes to employment law in light of the impending introduction of the Employment Rights Bill. Although many of these changes will not come into force immediately, employers will need to take a number of steps during 2026 to ensure they are fully prepared.”
This year has seen some changes in the United Kingdom for employers and, most significantly, has given us an insight into the many changes and likely challenges ahead in light of the current draft of the Employment Rights Bill. This article outlines the key highlights from 2025 and looks ahead to 2026.
1. Extension of the Acas early conciliation period: All new cases reported to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (“Acas”) for early conciliation on or after 1 December 2025 will be subject to a 12-week early conciliation period rather than the current six-week period. The reason given for the change is to ease the pressure on Acas following a rise in the demand for early conciliation; however, it remains to be seen how doubling the period for conciliation will achieve this. Given that the effect of early conciliation is to pause the limitation period on employment tribunal claims (usually three months), the change will significantly increase the period of time in which individuals can bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal. This will be extended further when tribunal limitation periods are doubled from three to six...
Donald Trump's claim that Nato troops avoided the front line in Afghanistan has sparked widespread outrage among veterans and their families. Ben Parkinson, a severely injured British paratroope...