Updates

Employment Rights Bill: Government announces implementation roadmap and further changes

On 1 July 2025, the Government published its “Implementation Roadmap” for the Employment Rights Bill, setting out a broad-brush timetable for the phased implementation of the Bill’s provisions. Implementation is due to start in late 2025, with further provisions coming into force in April 2026, October 2026 and then during the course of 2027. The …
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UK Supreme Court unanimously rules legal definition of “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 is based on biological sex; For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16

This article was first published on the 16 April 2025. It has been updated following the publication of the EHRC Update on 25 April, and again following the amendments made to that Update on 24 June. On 16 April 2025, the UK Supreme Court reached a unanimous decision, in the case of For Women Scotland …
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New UK immigration work route restrictions from 22 July 2025

The government released a Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, confirming that many of the work route restrictions outlined in the May 2025 White Paper will come into effect on 22 July 2025.  These include largely restoring the Skilled Worker minimum skill level to degree level, increasing minimum salaries, and restricting the care worker route …
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Strategic litigation: Driving change and positive impact. July 2025

Welcome to our latest round-up of developments in strategic litigation. In this edition, we cover a range of developments from the UK and overseas. A common theme is the lasting impact that decisions can have in developing jurisprudence, policy, and playbooks for claimants. Last year’s Supreme Court decision in Finch is a case in point: …
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Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 8 July

Our weekly round up of news and updates from across the sector. To help you navigate this week’s content, the links below will take you straight to content by topic. Charity Commission The Charity Commission has concluded its compliance case into Nottingham Islam Information Point. The case was opened in 2023, following concerns about a …
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Purpose & Impact: your roundup | July

Welcome to your roundup – a monthly selection of news hand-picked to keep you up to date with what’s going on for businesses and investors working to create positive impact. In this roundup you can find out what’s new in the B Corp, social enterprise, and impact investing spaces, amongst others, collated under helpful headings. …
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Publishing and AI – recent developments

Richard Marke, head of Bates Wells’ Corporate and Commercial team, recently spoke at the International Federation of Computer Law Associations (IFCLA) conference in Madrid on the topic of the ongoing battle between artificial intelligence (AI) companies and the publishing industry. Here we summarise the key developments he highlighted. It is generally acknowledged that AI developers …
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Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 2 July

Our weekly round up of news and updates from across the sector. To help you navigate this week’s content, the links below will take you straight to content by topic. Charity Commission Risk management guidance Civil Society has reported that the Charity Commission is planning to update its guidance on charities and risk management (CC26). …
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Redundancy consultation processes: Is it ok to score first and consult later?

It is a well-known tenet of Employment Law, that having a genuine and meaningful consultation with affected staff, at a formative stage and prior to any dismissals taking effect, is a cornerstone of a fair redundancy process. In the case of ADP RPO UK Ltd v De Bank Haycocks, the Court of Appeal found that, …
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The downstream impact of Finch v Surrey County Council, one year on

Last week marked one year since the landmark decision in R (Finch) v Surrey County Council, a challenge to Surrey’s decision to allow the expansion of an onshore oil well site. In its June 2024 judgment, the Supreme Court held that, in its decision, the Council should have weighed “downstream” greenhouse gas emissions. These would …
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Briefing for Charities & Social Enterprises | 24 June

Our weekly round up of news and updates from across the sector. To help you navigate this week’s content, the links below will take you straight to content by topic. Charity Commission The latest edition of Charity Connection focuses on celebrating small charities and covers World Whistleblower Day, mentioning various whistleblowing resources for charities. See …
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Ten things you need to know about the new Code of Fundraising Practice

After three years of consultation and engagement by the Fundraising Regulator on changes to the Code of Fundraising Practice (the ‘Code’), the new draft has now arrived. There will be an implementation period to get ready for it, with the new Code coming into force on 1 November 2025. The existing (2019) version of the …
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