Employment regulation adjustments in September 2025

Soon to be Employment Rights Act

With parliament in convention recess, progress on the Employment Rights Bill is presently paused. 

When parliamentary enterprise resumes in mid-October, the ultimate stage, the consideration of amendments (which can also be known as ping-pong) might be resolved. A date has now been set for the Lords to vote on amendments of the invoice – the 28 October. The Lords can both settle for Commons amendments or reject them. Either approach, the invoice will then go by means of the Lords and proceed to Royal Assent, at which level it turns into regulation.

What individuals professionals must know from the outset is that solely a small variety of measures will take impact instantly upon Royal Assent. Most provisions would require additional consultations. These will result in secondary laws, which is able to set applied at a later date. With the primary substantive date for brand spanking new measures being April 2026. 

To keep knowledgeable about what is going to occur at Royal Assent, members ought to confer with the roadmap accessible on the tracker. We’ll even be updating member content material, notably in areas associated to commerce union relationships.

Adding lastly, that additionally it is necessary to keep watch over the roadmap objects scheduled for April 2026, as these proposed adjustments are in depth and would require employers to arrange properly upfront. 

Dismissal following private use of a work laptop

The case of Miss A Lanuszka v Accountancy MK Services Ltd (2025) drew consideration this month for its concentrate on worker monitoring and dismissal linked to private use of a piece laptop.

Miss Lanuszka was dismissed after her employer put in spy ware on her work laptop. The spy ware recorded 1 hour and 24 minutes of private shopping (together with procuring and property searches) over two days. Her dismissal letter cited “engagement in private business activities during working hours” as a breach of the corporate’s code of conduct. However, the tribunal discovered the dismissal to be unfair. Key factors highlighted by the tribunal embrace:

• Personal use of a piece laptop could also be a conduct problem, however, on this case, there have been no clear insurance policies or restrictions in place prohibiting such use.
• Procedural equity was missing and the tribunal queried the timing of the dismissal: “The Tribunal concludes that it was Ms Krauze’s desire to dismiss Ms Lanuszka before Ms Krauze believed that she would accrue two years’ service that was the real reason for Ms Lanuszka’s dismissal and not conduct.”
• There was no documented historical past of conduct points and the tribunal discovered that a number of the alleged warnings and diary entries have been disputed.
• The claimant was dismissed with out a chance to clarify herself, additional “The Tribunal concludes that there were not reasonable grounds to support a conclusion that Ms Lanuszka was guilty of misconduct. Nor was there a reasonable investigation carried out.” Practitioners could want to seek the advice of steerage on efficiency administration for additional data on this space.

Lidl GB and EHRC sexual harassment prevention settlement and what it means for you

Practitioners ought to word the legally binding settlement introduced between the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and Lidl GB. 

This Section 23 settlement was made following a previous employment tribunal ruling, which discovered that Lidl GB had didn’t take affordable steps (see point 160) to forestall the sexual harassment of a younger feminine worker. The EHRC has since required Lidl to take proactive steps to scale back the chance of sexual harassment within the office. 

The settlement is an instance of enforcement motion beneath Section 23 of the Equality Act 2006, which permits the EHRC to intervene the place there’s proof of a breach of equality regulation. Lidl GB has dedicated to a spread of actions, together with reviewing inside insurance policies and coaching, conducting danger assessments, analysing complaints knowledge, and interesting with EDI teams to establish and mitigate dangers.  

Breaching a Section 23 settlement can result in additional enforcement, together with courtroom motion and monetary penalties. And additionally it is necessary for practitioners to know that the authorized responsibility on employers – to forestall sexual harassment – has additionally been strengthened because the tribunal ruling, please see member content material on this matter.