Employment Law Newsletter – Autumn 2025
It’s been a busy few months and likely to get busier in the months ahead. The Employment Rights Bill has continued to make its way through the Parliamentary process and we are now at the final stages. On 28 October 2025, the House of Lords will consider the reasons for the House of Commons’ rejection of the House of Lords’ amendments to the Bill and will also vote on the current version of it. If as expected, they accept the House of Commons’ changes, the Bill will then go back to the House of Commons for Royal Assent. This may be given in early November.
There have also been significant case law developments relating to a range of topics including a high-profile decision about transgender issues, a Court of Appeal judgment about race discrimination and a costly constructive dismissal claim. There will be important changes to the Immigration Rules, many effective in November 2025 and we have already seen wide-ranging changes to the skilled worker route as well as important developments regarding non-disclosure agreements.
Please do take a moment to consider the articles in this autumn newsletter, where we provide an update on a range of employment, pensions and immigration developments.
Articles
No discrimination when excluding transgender pool player from women’s teams
In the first decision relating to transgender issues since the Supreme Court’s ruling about biological sex, it was held that excluding a trans woman from playing and competing in women’s teams was not gender reassignment discrimination.
Race discrimination claim upheld against Council
Subjecting a senior social worker to a disciplinary investigation and transferring her temporarily from her role as Head of Service raised an inference of race discrimination which the Council failed to rebut.
Further important changes to the Immigration Rules
Many key changes come into force over the next few months and the first one, relating to High Potential Individual visas, is effective from 4 November 2025.
Constructive dismissal following sick leave absence
The EAT ruled that the Employment Tribunal misapplied the law relating to constructive dismissal and the claimant, who had been absent on sick leave being treated for cancer, was subsequently awarded compensation of more than £1 million.
Measures introducing inheritance tax on unused pension funds and death benefits
Following the Government’s consultation response, stakeholders say that more work is needed on these measures.
Closing the disability employment gap
Around 700,000 disabled people are currently not in work but who want to work and a new inquiry has been launched about how to tackle the persistent disability employment gap. The call for evidence ended on 29 September 2025.
The changing landscape of non-disclosure agreements
Recent and future legal reforms fundamentally alter the scope and enforceability of NDAs in the context of discrimination and harassment.
Constructive dismissal and the last straw
A recent EAT decision illustrates how the concept of the “last straw” applies in constructive dismissal claims and how multiple incidents can trigger such a claim.
Important changes to skilled worker route
Wide-ranging changes to the skilled worker route came into effect on 22 July 2025 and these include an increase in the skills level and salary thresholds and an increase in the minimum salaries required for a sponsored skilled worker.
Team news
I am very pleased to inform you about the new member of the team who recently joined the firm. Legal Director, Jonathan Walsh is based in our Cardiff office. Jonathan is a very experienced employment lawyer who advises on a full range of employment issues. We are delighted to welcome Jonathan to the team.
I am also delighted to mention that Blake Morgan have ranked highly in the Legal 500 UK 2026 Guide for another year. We received the prestigious Top Tier ranking for Employment recognising the firm’s excellent advice and client service. Many individuals in the team were also recognised in the latest rankings. Madeleine Mould as “Leading Associate”, Gillian McCue as “Next Generation Partner” and Jo Davies, Paula Kathrens, Matthew Smith, Rajiv Joshi and myself as “Leading Partners”. We are all delighted with this recognition for the quality of the team’s work.
Webinar
Thank you to those who attended Blake Morgan’s recent Employment webinar – Mitigating the risks when employees leave.
If you were unable to attend, please click here Employment webinar: Mitigating the risks when employees leave to view the recording and please feel free to share this with any of your colleagues who might find this content useful.
Employment Rights Bill Hub
We can expect significant developments in the months ahead regarding the Employment Rights Bill. Royal Assent is imminent and a number of consultation papers on significant measures are expected in autumn 2025. These include the consultation papers on the day-one right protection from unfair dismissal, fire and rehire, bereavement leave and zero hours contracts.
The Employment Rights Bill Hub on our website includes links to all our articles about the Bill as well as a timeline of the next steps. The Hub can be accessed HERE. We will continue to write about the Bill to help keep you up to date with developments.
I hope you will find all the articles above informative and helpful, and if you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to get in touch with your usual Blake Morgan contact.
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