A look back at key UK workplace law changes in 2025

It has been another busy year for HR professionals, in-house lawyers and employers. In this article, we look back at the key employment law changes and cases that have shaped the year.

The Employment Rights Bill has now been passed and has become the Employment Rights Act 2025, introducing significant employment law reforms that will take effect over the next few years. See UK workplace law changes in 2026 for the key dates and upcoming changes.

January 2025

Fire and rehire: higher protective awards – 20 January

Employers who unreasonably fail to follow the ‘fire and rehire’ Code of Practice risk a protective award increase of up to 25%. This means awards can reach 112.5 days’ uncapped pay per affected employee.

The Code does not prohibit dismissal and re-engagement but requires employers to engage meaningfully with employees or their representatives before imposing new terms.

April 2025

Increases to employer NICs, NMW and other statutory rates and limits – 1 and 6 April

Employer National Insurance Contributions rose to 15% of earnings, and the threshold for NIC liability dropped to £5,000 per year.

National Minimum Wage increases took effect on 1 April, while other statutory rate changes applied from 6 April.

Paid Neonatal Care Leave – 6 April

Eligible parents of babies born on or after 6 April 2025 who need at least 7 days’ continuous neonatal care within 28 days of birth are entitled to up to 12 weeks’ statutory neonatal care leave as a day-one right, to be taken within 68 weeks of birth. Those with 26 weeks’ service and earnings above the lower limit will also qualify for Statutory Neonatal Care Pay.

For more detail, see our commentary and the technical guidance. 

September 2025

Failure to prevent fraud offence – 1 September

Large employers are now liable for fraud committed by employees or associates unless they can show preventative measures were in place. The offence applies to organisations that meet at least two of these criteria: i) a turnover of over £36m; ii) total assets of over £18m; iii) over 250 employees.

See here for more details.

October 2025

Changes to non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) – 1 October

NDAs and confidentiality clauses cannot prevent victims from reporting crimes to certain individuals for specified purposes, including to: the police, qualified lawyers, regulated professionals, victim support services, regulators and close family members. 

December 2025

Acas Early Conciliation period increased – 1 December

The Early Conciliation period doubled from 6 to 12 weeks for claims notified from 1 December 2025, to ease pressure on Acas and address case complexity. A review is scheduled for October 2026.

Collective Redundancies: new digital HR1 form – 1 December

Employers proposing to make 20 or more redundancies within 90 days ‘at one establishment’ must notify the Secretary of State using the digital HR1 form.  Email submissions are no longer accepted.

Employment law cases

There have been some significant Employment Tribunal and appeal hearings and decisions this year - most notably:

For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers: Discrimination - the definition of “sex”

The Supreme Court confirmed that “woman”, “man” and “sex” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex, not gender identity. The Court stressed that this does not diminish protections for transgender people from unlawful discrimination and harassment, through the protected characteristic of gender reassignment and based on perceived sex. You can read our detailed update on this decision here.

The Government is considering the EHRC’s updated guidance on the implications of this decision, including how single sex spaces should operate - though this is unlikely to affect private employers that don’t provide services to the public.

The For Women Scotland judgment raises complex and sensitive issues for employers and service providers. We are starting to see Employment Tribunal decisions which take account of this judgment in relation to trans women’s access to female toilets and changing facilities.

• Sandy Peggie v Fife NHS: A nurse claimed harassment for being made to share a changing room with a transgender woman. The Tribunal found that employers must balance competing rights and apply a proportionate approach. It concluded that she suffered harassment in her employer’s handling of a trans woman’s access to female changing facilities, but rejected her other claims.
• Kelly v Leonardo UK Ltd: A Tribunal rejected a female engineer’s claims that allowing trans women to access female toilets disadvantaged her and other women, and created an unsafe environment.

Both decisions are first instance and aren’t binding on other Tribunals. The claimants in these two cases have confirmed that they are appealing the decisions.

Higgs v Farmor’s School: Discrimination - Religious or philosophical belief

Mrs Higgs, a pastoral administrator and work experience manager, was dismissed after complaints about her Facebook posts criticising sex education, particularly teaching “gender fluidity”. The school believed the posts suggested hostility towards the LGBTQ+ community, and trans people in particular. She claimed discrimination and harassment based on her protected beliefs.

The Court of Appeal held her dismissal was not objectively justified and amounted to direct discrimination on grounds of religion or belief. While her language was objectionable, it was not “grossly offensive”, and dismissal was disproportionate. There was no evidence of reputational harm to the school, and readers would not assume the posts reflected the school’s views.

This decision means that an employer’s response to how protected beliefs are expressed can be discriminatory unless it is both justified and proportionate.