20.05.2025

On 25 April 2025, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) issued an interim update on the practical implications of the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers – which we explored in our recent e-alert here. In its interim update, the EHRC committed to providing by the end of June a revised Code of practice to support service providers, public bodies and associations to deal with the implications of the Supreme Court judgment. However, on 14 May, the EHRC announced plans to extend the length of its consultation period (see here). It is reported that, subject to ministerial approval, the EHRC still expects the revised Code of practice to be laid before Parliament ahead of the summer recess, albeit later than originally intended (see here).

If this is an area in which your organisation would benefit from support, Make UK can provide further advice on how to adapt to the Supreme Court ruling and EHRC interim update. In addition, and more generally in the area of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), we can provide a suite of products including general awareness training for employees and specific training for your HR and leadership teams.

If you are a Make UK subscriber, you can speak to your regular adviser with any queries you may have and/or to request further consultancy support. Make UK subscribers can also access guidance on a wide range of employment law topics including template policies and drafting guidance in the HR & Legal Resources section of our website.

If you are not a Make UK subscriber, you can contact us for further support. Please click here for information on how we can help your business.

On 12 May 2025, the Government published an immigration white paper – “Restoring control over the immigration system” – which details its plans to overhaul the UK’s immigration framework. Some key proposals include the following:

  •  Increasing the immigration skills charge which is payable in sponsorship cases.
  • Restricting skilled worker sponsorship to graduate-level roles.
  • Establishing a new Temporary Shortage List and increasing English language requirements in various respects.
  • Doubling the qualifying period for skilled workers and other applicants to qualify for settlement/indefinite leave to remain (from five years to 10 years).
  • Reducing the period graduates can remain in the UK after their studies (from two years to 18 months).
  • Closing the care worker visa pathway to new applications from abroad.

To read the Government’s press release see here. As a package, these plans aim to tighten up the current visa rules to safeguard border security, to reduce migration levels, and to introduce a link between immigration policy, skills and training. Various rule changes will be required and, in some cases, new legislation. At this stage, the planned timetable for implementation is unknown. 

To read Make UK CEO Stephen Phipson CBE's reaction, see here.

If you are a Make UK subscriber, you can speak to your regular adviser for guidance on immigration issues. If you are not a Make UK subscriber, our expert HR and legal advisors can offer guidance on a consultancy basis. For further information, click here.

The answer to this depends on how long the individual has been employed by you. If an employee has two or more years' continuous service and is under notice of dismissal for redundancy, they are entitled to time off during any notice period that they work out to look for new work or arrange training. Note though that this right applies only to employees who are under notice of dismissal for redundancy. It does not apply, for example, simply because a company has announced redundancies or put employees at risk of redundancy.

There are no statutory rules about exactly how much time off is 'reasonable', but there is a limit to the amount you are required to pay an employee who exercises this right. Legally, an employer is only obliged to pay the employee a total of 40% of one actual week's pay for time they take off during their notice period to look for another job or arrange training, no matter how much time they actually take. The employee can take additional time off if this is reasonable, but it will be unpaid.

If you are a Make UK subscriber, you can speak to your regular adviser for further guidance and/or access information about redundancies, including template policies and drafting guidance, in the HR & Legal Resources section of our website.  Make UK also offers a range of training, including for line managers/HR on how to undertake redundancies - speak with your adviser if you would like further details.

If you are not a Make UK subscriber, you can contact us for further support on this topic. Please click here for information on how we can help your business.
 

In employment litigation where a hearing has been listed for at least six days, a judge may order the parties to attend a Dispute Resolution Appointment (‘DRA’). A DRA is similar to mediation, but unlike mediation, which is voluntary, the parties must attend. DRAs tend to be more evaluative than a mediation – the judge will typically give you a view on the merits of each side of the case. 

DRAs are confidential, aimed at settlement, and will generally happen by video for two to three hours. A settlement via DRA can include a range of terms which cannot be ordered by a tribunal at a hearing, such as a reference or wider exit package. If there is no settlement, the case proceeds to a final hearing with a different judge. What happened in the DRA should remain confidential.

Although parties are required to attend a DRA, they are not required to reach a settlement - that is entirely down to the parties. However, parties who are forced to attend a DRA may decide it makes sense to consider judicial or other mediation at an earlier stage, to attempt settlement before incurring the costs of preparing the case.

To get the most out of a DRA, and make settlement more likely, an employer should look forwards, not backwards. Focus not on what has happened so far, but on how you can move on, and what the organisation needs from the settlement to achieve that. Rather than focusing on the principle of the case, take into account the time, cost and welfare impact of a long tribunal hearing on your managers and any other staff. Ensure the person attending has authority to agree a settlement and doesn’t need someone else’s approval. Be prepared to suggest or consider creative options for settlement, for example in terms of references, an agreed announcement, an apology (if relevant) or a commitment to review particular processes. Most importantly, go with an open mind.

The Employment Tribunals have produced this video about DRAs. If you are a Make UK subscriber, you can speak with your regular adviser about DRAs and the rest of the tribunal process and/or access further information in our HRL Resources. If you are not a Make UK subscriber, you can contact us for further support on this topic. Please click here for information on how we can help your business.

No, there is no statutory requirement for an employee to tell you their reason for making a statutory flexible working request. However, it can help to explore why the employee wants the change to their working arrangements. Knowing the reason for a request will often help both the employer and employee to have a productive discussion about the request and can highlight potential discrimination risks. (We therefore include a voluntary question about the reasons for the request in the application form attached to our template policy (available to Make UK subscribers here)).

Note that if an employee tells you their reason for making a flexible working request, this may reveal information that counts as 'special category' personal data under data protection law, meaning that you will need a 'special category legal ground' to justify your processing of that information. For example, if the employee asks to change their working hours so that they can attend regular religious services, this reveals information about their religious beliefs. You could argue that processing that special category data is necessary for you to comply with a legal obligation in relation to employment (i.e. your obligation under the Equality Act to avoid discrimination when considering the employee’s request for flexible working). For further details on the legal grounds for processing special category data and related issues, see the webpage Processing personal data lawfully in the Employee data and monitoring section of our website.

Looking ahead, it is worth noting that the Employment Rights Bill includes provisions aimed at making flexible working the default from day one of employment (see here for further details).

If you are a Make UK subscriber, you can speak to your regular adviser for further guidance and/or access information in the HR & Legal Resources section of our website.

If you are not a Make UK subscriber, you can contact us for further support on this topic or to access our resources. Please click here for information on how we can help your business.