Felicity Aris

What you need to know about the new Charity Governance Code

The charity sector has had its own governance code for twenty years: the latest iteration was released today (check out the new Code here). It’s evolution, not revolution, but there are some important changes. We take a first look here: 1. It is still fundamentally what it has always been: aspirational best practice for charities. …
Read more

Extended parental rights: an innovative new approach to supporting early years’ parents in the workplace

The UK currently provides the ability, in many circumstances, for either parent to care for a new child during the first twelve months after their birth. The availability of Shared Parental Leave has, in theory at least, promoted more options for sharing of childcare between parents and more opportunities for parents to balance work and …
Read more

Navigating neurodiversity: practical recommendations for building an inclusive workplace

What is neurodiversity? Neurodiversity refers to the fact that some people function and process information differently to what clinicians have traditionally classed as “typical”. Being neurodivergent describes a wide range of experiences. It’s not itself a clinical diagnosis but rather an umbrella term to refer to conditions including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and DCD. The number …
Read more

Charity legacies round-up – legal updates and what’s on the horizon

How can you make use of new powers in the Charities Act 2022 to unlock restrictions? Should you give an indemnity when asked for one? And what’s on the horizon for legacy fundraising? We recently hosted our annual Charity Legacies Round-up for legacy professionals, sharing legal updates and practical insights across a range of topics. …
Read more

Employment law round-up – key updates, government guidance and what’s on the horizon

Welcome to our autumn round-up of key developments in employment law. Explore recent updates from our Employment team, government guidance, and what’s on the horizon for employers. To help you navigate this content, the links below will take you straight to content by topic. Gender equality: Government publishes guidance for employers On 11 August 2025, …
Read more

Data breach claims boosted

The Court of Appeal judgment in Farley and Others v Paymaster (1836) Limited (trading as Equiniti) [2025] has given life to low level data breach claims – bad news for those organisations careless or unfortunate enough to suffer a data breach (and their insurers, and the county courts), good news for claimants (and lawyers). The …
Read more

Employment Rights Bill update: amended Bill returns to House of Lords for approval

On 7 July 2025, the Government published a number of amendments to the Employment Rights Bill (“ERB”), ahead of the House of Lords Report Stage (during which the Bill would once again be reviewed by the Lords). These amendments included: Over the course of July 2025, the ERB was debated by the House of Lords …
Read more

EHRC submits updated Services Code of Practice to Government for approval

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (“EHRC”) has submitted the final updated draft of its Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations (“Services Code of Practice”) to the Minister for Women and Equalities. The draft will now be considered by the Government and, subject to ministerial approval, laid before Parliament for 40 days …
Read more

You’re fired! Can you fire an employee over the phone without notice?

Employment Tribunal judgments involving football clubs often attract attention, and the recent case of Mr K A Hagan v The Millwall Football and Athletic Company (2305074/2023) offers some important reminders for employers about contract management, whistleblowing claims, and how not to handle dismissals. The key issue in this case was how Mr Hagan’s contract was …
Read more

Neonatal Care Leave and Pay: new technical guide for employers

The Department for Business & Trade has published an employers’ technical guide to neonatal care leave and pay. Published on 22 August, this guide aims to support employers in implementing the new statutory entitlement for employees, which applies to eligible parents of babies born on or after 6 April 2025. The entitlement only applies to …
Read more

Bates Wells Impact Report 2025

We are united as a firm in our values and in our purpose. We want to use the law as a force for good, helping charities and purposeful businesses to be better and bolder in their choices. We also want to be the best type of business that we can be, and to bring others …
Read more

The concussion gap: why sporting organisations need to pay more attention to brain injuries in women’s sport

While much of the focus has been on male athletes, increasing evidence from scientific studies1 suggests that biologically female athletes may be at a higher risk of sustaining concussions and other sport related traumatic brain injuries and suffering more severe long-term consequences than their biologically male counterparts. Litigation related to sports-related brain injuries is growing, …
Read more