Labour Legislation
Regulations governing employment rights, workplace safety, industrial relations, and employment standards.
The Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, made under powers in the Employment Tribunals Act 1996, amend existing 2014 Regulations to increase the standard period for early conciliation handled by ACAS from six weeks to twelve weeks.
These Regulations apply to England, Wales, and Scotland, come into force on December 1, 2025, and include transitional provisions ensuring the new twelve-week period applies to claims initiated on or after that date.
The Aviation Safety (Amendment) Regulations 2025
The Aviation Safety (Amendment) Regulations 2025 enact changes to UK retained EU aviation safety legislation, primarily by amending Commission Regulations (EU) No 1321/2014 and 2018/1139.
These amendments focus on correcting cross-references and terminology within continuing airworthiness (Part-M), maintenance standards (Part-145), and maintenance licensing (Part-66 Appendix 8).
Key changes include updating rules for maintenance data access, refining conditions for acceptable component release documentation (like substituting Form 1 with a 'declaration of maintenance accomplished'), clarifying record-keeping mandates for maintenance organisations, and adjusting rules for re-taking Category L aircraft maintenance licence examinations.
The Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 35) (Abolition of Benefits) Order 2025
This Order, made under the Welfare Reform Act 2012, sets out the final appointed dates for bringing into force provisions that abolish several legacy benefits, including Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, and the income-related elements of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), as claimants transition to Universal Credit (UC).
Key dates include December 1, 2025, for converting certain 'old style ESA' awards, and April 1, 2026, for the general abolition of Income Support and income-based JSA for remaining cases.
The Order also addresses the cessation of Housing Benefit for working-age claimants moving out of temporary or specified accommodation after November 14, 2025, and allows temporary administrative delay in preparing claimant commitments for converted ESA cases.
The Data Protection Act 2018 (Qualifying Competent Authorities) Regulations 2025
These Regulations, made by the Secretary of State under the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA), specify which public bodies qualify as 'qualifying competent authorities' to engage in joint processing of personal data with intelligence services under Part 4 of the DPA, a power enabled by the Data (Use and Access) Act to assist in safeguarding national security; the instrument lists various government departments, police forces, customs, and judicial/monitoring bodies as qualifying authorities, citing consultation with the Information Commissioner and Parliamentary approval, and stipulates that the regulations come into force twenty-one days after being made and extend across the UK.
The Court and Public Guardian Fees (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2025
The Court and Public Guardian Fees (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2025 amends several existing statutory instruments concerning court and public guardian fees.
This Order introduces an exemption from probate fees for estates involving emergency service personnel or armed forces personnel eligible for inheritance tax reliefs, and revises the fee for obtaining copies of specific probate documents.
Furthermore, it increases fees charged by the Public Guardian for registering Enduring and Lasting Powers of Attorney, and implements new fee exemptions for civil proceedings related to insolvency protective orders and judicial referrals concerning the parole decisions for prisoners.
These Regulations, enacted by the Minister for the Civil Service with Treasury consent, amend the 2014 and 2023 Public Service (Civil Servants and Others) Pensions Regulations to address issues stemming from unlawful age discrimination in transitional protection arrangements for public service pension schemes, commonly known as remediable service. The amendments introduce specific provisions allowing scheme managers and decision-makers to reconsider or rectify past benefit calculations, including specific opt-out windows, ill-health retirement assessments, and partial/early retirement recalculations for members whose service spanned the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) and alpha scheme.
Furthermore, they clarify rules regarding voiding inaccurate service statements, treatment of divorce liabilities, and determining eligible decision-makers for deceased members.
The Occupational Pension Schemes (Collective Money Purchase Schemes) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2025 enact several technical changes to existing pension legislation, primarily by correcting errors in previous amendments related to collective money purchase schemes and by updating terminology, such as defining 'actuarial valuation' consistently throughout related instruments; these regulations also remove certain information disclosure requirements deemed no longer necessary and apply to England, Wales, and Scotland, coming into force on 4th December 2025.
The Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2025
The Immigration and Nationality (Fees) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2025, made under powers in the Immigration Act 2014 and with Treasury consent, amend the 2018 Regulations governing immigration and nationality fees, effective from 11th November 2025 across the UK. These amendments specifically remove certain fee exceptions relating to Afghan citizens, introduce new fee exemptions for certain stateless persons and applicants under the UK/European Applicant Transfer Scheme, alter fees for sponsor licence services including fee increases for priority processing, and establish a fee exemption for the review of previously fee-exempted nationality applications.