Recent Changes

Date Implemented

1st December 2025

ACAS Early Conciliation - 

When an individual wants to bring a claim in the employment tribunal, they normally have three months less one day from the date of the issue they are disputing. This is known as the limitation period. For example, an ex-employee alleging unfair dismissal must submit their claim within three months less one day from their dismissal date.

Before a tribunal claim can be lodged, the individual must first take part in ACAS Early Conciliation. This process aims to resolve disputes without a formal tribunal hearing. An independent ACAS conciliator speaks with both parties to clarify issues, explore their positions, and encourage a mutually agreed settlement—often financial.

Under the Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, the ACAS Early Conciliation period will increase from six weeks to twelve weeks for all cases where conciliation begins on or after 1 December 2025.

Many employers already report that ACAS often fails to make contact within the current six-week window due to capacity issues. Extending the period to twelve weeks—combined with proposed reforms under the Employment Rights Bill to increase the primary tribunal time limit to six months—could significantly lengthen the time before employers even become aware of a potential claim.

Extended conciliation windows and longer limitation periods represent a substantial shift in the employment dispute landscape. While the changes are intended to encourage early resolution and reduce tribunal pressure, they also create increased uncertainty for employers—particularly where early engagement from ACAS is already inconsistent.

April 2025

Statutory Rates – In April each year, there is generally an increase in statutory rates. These include:

• National minimum wage
• Statutory maternity pay and payments relating to other family friendly rights
• Statutory sick pay
• Compensation for unfair dismissal

Please see the Employment Facts section for the latest rates. 

April 2025

Neonatal care leave - The overall intention of this Act is for a parent whose child is admitted to neonatal care (within 28 days from the day after birth) to have a new statutory right, from the outset of their employment, to take neonatal care leave. The maximum length of the leave and the eligibility conditions will be set out in the regulations (yet to be published). However, the Government has previously indicated that the maximum period of leave will be set at 12 weeks.

In addition, parents taking neonatal care leave who have at least 26 weeks’ continuous service will be entitled to neonatal care pay, subject to eligibility conditions which are likely to be similar to other types of statutory pay. Although, it is thought neonatal care pay will be calculated at the normal flat rate for statutory pay, rather than the enhanced rate that applies to the first six weeks of statutory maternity pay.

The bill received royal assent on 24 May 2023 however there is a considerable amount of detail still to be resolved, so this is not expected to be implemented until April 2025.

1 October 2024

Allocation of Tips – This requires 100% of tips to be allocated to staff and for tips to be shared fair between staff.

For guidance and templates, see the Allocation of Tips page.

26 October 2024

Sexual Harassment - This introduced a positive duty for employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers have to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, and failure to do so can incur an uplift in compensation awarded by a tribunal by 25%.

For guidance and templates, see Sexual Harassment – the Preventative Duty and Bullying and Harassment.

18 July 2024

Fire and re-hire code of practice – a new code of practice on fire and re-hire was introduced setting out the employer’s responsibilities when seeking to change an employee’s terms and conditions by way of dismissal and re-engagement (or “fire and re-hire” as it is often termed). It recommends that the practice should be used as a last resort. Failure to comply with the Code does not give rise to a standalone claim. However, where an employer fails to take the Code into account, an employment tribunal will have the power to apply an uplift of up to 25% to compensation awarded in a relevant claim such as unfair dismissal.

For further information, visit the section on Contracts of Employment and the Changing Terms page.

1 July 2024

TUPE – an amendment to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) 2006, extended an exemption relating to consultation whereby if there is no existing trade union or elected representation is in place employers may consult directly with employees where: 

• the business employs fewer than 50 employees, or,
• for businesses of any size, where fewer than 10 employees are affected. 

6 April 2024

Flexible working – This introduced the right to make a flexible working request from day one of employment. Previously, employees needed to have 26 weeks continuous service to exercise this right.

In addition to this, an employee can now make 2 requests in any 12-month period.

For more details, visit the section on Family Friendly and the Flexible Working page.

6 April 2024

Carers Leave – This introduced an entitlement to request up to 1 weeks unpaid leave to care for and/or arrange care for a dependent with long-term care needs. This is a day one right.

For more details, visit the section on Family Friendly and the Carers Leave page.

6 April 2024

Paternity leave – Allows eligibility employees to request paternity leave as either 2 weeks together or 2 separate blocks of one week.

In addition to this, the time employees have to take this leave has been increased from 56 days to 52 weeks from the actual birth of the child or placement.

For more details, visit the section on Family Friendly and the Paternity Leave page.

6 April 2024

Maternity and redundancy protection - Before you can make employees who are pregnant or returning from maternity, adoption or shared parental redundant, redundancy protection regulations will require an employer to give that employee first refusal on a suitable alternative vacancy where one exists. This gives employees on these types of leave priority access to redeployment opportunities over other redundant employees.

For more information, visit the Family Friendly and within the Redundancy section the Protection for Employees who are Pregnant or returning from Maternity, Adoption or Shared Parental leave page.

1 April 2024

Holidays for irregular hours and part-year workers – Various changes to calculating holiday for irregular and part-time workers. These included re-introducing the use of rolled up holiday in certain situations.

Please see the section on Holidays and the Calculating Holiday page for more information.