News & Blog

Welcome to our employment law Newsletter – another bumper edition!

There continues to be much debate, discussion and change in employment law circles so we’ve a lot to tell you about in this issue.

Firstly, no-one will have missed the Supreme Court’s judgment this week, that for the purposes of equality law, ‘woman’ means ‘biological woman’.  If you’ve got teenagers in your house you may, like some of the team at Menzies Law, be experiencing some rather heated discussions!  The positive is that the decision has provided clarity in some areas and importantly the judgment made it clear that trans people continue to be protected from harassment and prejudice.  We anticipate the most likely question from clients will be; ‘so what should we do about toilets?’.  We have consistently recommended and will continue to recommend that business have unisex toilets.   Ultimately the EHCR will draw up statutory guidance about how the Equality Act now needs to be interpreted in practice.  We will of course update you on that in due course.

Here’s what we’re covering in this issue;

• Legislative changes – important updates on the Employment Rights Bill amendments and consultations, the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act, increases to Discrimination awards, Statutory payments and Tribunal awards
• Have your say in Consultations on ethnicity and disability pay reporting (open until 10 June)
• ACAS Guidance on Neurodiversity at Work has been updated
• Summaries of 6 employment cases, including 2 keenly anticipated Court of Appeal decisions

For employers sponsoring workers from overseas, there are important business immigration updates; right to work checks have changed, plus, the Home Office has increased it’s visa application fees for new applications.

And one last thing, you might like to read Luke’s blog about the impacts of the increase in Tribunal time limits which the Employment Rights Bill introduces.  Forewarned is forearmed, so the saying goes.

We hope our Newsletter brings you up to speed with employment law developments. As always, we’re here for any questions you may have, just get in touch: enquiries@menzieslaw.co.uk / 0117 325 0526

Best wishes from the Menzies Law team    

Consultations:

Last July it was announced in the King’s Speech that the Government intended to bring forward the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, introducing a requirement for large employers (those with 250 or more employees) to report on ethnicity and disability pay gaps.

The Government has now published a consultation which runs until 10 June 2025.  More here

Guidance for Employers;

ACAS has updated its guidance on ‘Neurodiversity at work’.

This was originally produced in 2019  and the updates seek to help employers create inclusive organisations and raise awareness at work.