Creating Safer Workplaces Sexual Harassment course

END OF YEAR DEBRIEF 2025 – ROI Newsletter Issued copy

Employment Tribunal Claims

Effective Case Management of Complex Grievances

Strengthening the trade union voice and representation has been a key objective of the Department for the Economy.

At an employer focussed event the Minister for the Economy, her Special Adviser, and Department officials heard directly from businesses about their concerns. The Minister outlined proposals in the forthcoming Good Jobs Bill relating to trade unions which include:

Key Trade Union Proposals in the Good Jobs Bill

1. Increased Trade Union Rights to Access Workplaces

• Unions will be able to request access to both unionised and non‑unionised workplaces.
• Purpose: to encourage more workers to become members and make recruitment easier.

2. New LRA Code of Practice covering trade union access rights

• Code will be underpinned by good faith and reasonableness.
• Access rights cannot be used to disrupt or protest.

3. Phased Implementation of Access Trade Union Access Rights

• Starting with larger businesses, moving towards smaller ones.
• Department will monitor implementation.

4. Lower Threshold for Statutory Trade Union Recognition

• Reduced from 21 employees to 10.
• Department modelling suggests this will only double the number of cases referred to the Industrial Court to compel recognition (around six per year).

5. New Code of Practice on Facilitating Workplace Relationships

• Supporting respectful engagement between employers and unions, with accompanying guidance.

6. Information & Consultation (ICE Regulations)

• Redefining “undertaking” to include smaller establishments and satellite offices.
• Reducing threshold for requests from 10% to 2% of employees.
• Lowering minimum number of employees required from 15 to 10.

Much of this approach is based on the New Zealand model, where similar rights were introduced 20 years ago. Interestingly, New Zealand is now repealing some of those laws.

The Minister’s Special Adviser Dr Lisa Wilson referred to her recent paper Trade Union Voice as a Lever For Good Jobs – Evidence, Policy, and Practice in Northern Ireland as evidence that collective voice through unions improves job quality, workplace relations, absenteeism rates, and business outcomes. This evidence was robustly challenged by the business community citing absenteeism rates in the heavily unionised public sector as compared to those in the private sector.

What Happens Next in Northern Ireland?

The Good Jobs Bill is currently with the Office for Legislative Counsel for drafting and will be presented to the Assembly early in the new year. Proposals on union voice and representation will face close scrutiny from businesses and the Committee for the Economy.

While the session was tough, the Department acknowledged the importance of listening to employer concerns and committed to ongoing consultation.

Developments in GB: Consultation on Modernising Union Balloting

On 19 November 2025, the GB Government published its consultation document Make Work Pay: Draft Code of Practice on Electronic and Workplace Balloting for Statutory Union Ballots.

The consultation runs until 11:59pm on 28 January 2026.

Currently, almost all statutory ballots must be conducted by post. The new Code proposes modernised voting methods to make participation easier, ensure transparency, and reflect the voices of working people.

What Employers Need to Know

The draft Code sets out:

• Legal requirements for each party involved in a ballot.
• Factors to consider when choosing a voting method.
• Good practice guidance for electronic and workplace ballots.

Proposed Balloting Methods

1. Pure electronic balloting – fully digital distribution, casting, and return of votes.
2. Hybrid electronic balloting – voting materials sent by post, with votes returned either by post or electronically.
3. Workplace balloting – in‑person voting at the workplace or agreed off‑site locations.

All ballots will continue to be overseen by an independent scrutineer. The Secretary of State must be satisfied that ballots meet required standards:

• All entitled members can vote.
• Votes remain secret.
• Risks of unfairness or malpractice are minimised.

Implementation Timeline

• Phase 1 (2026): Electronic and workplace balloting introduced for specific union ballots, overseen by a new Senior Oversight Board.
• Phase 2 (end of 2026): Expansion of pure electronic balloting to recognition and derecognition ballots.
• Phase 3 (2027 onwards): Ongoing review and enhancement of the regime.

Northern Ireland Context

This Code will only apply in England, Wales, and Scotland only. In Northern Ireland, employment law is devolved. However, the learnings from this Consultation may well shape the direction In Northern Ireland as the Department for the Economy will also adopt separate legislation to permit electronic balloting systems here.

Employers Federation Public Courses 2026 1

On 26 November 2025, the Government has published the Minimum wage rates for 2026 of increases to the National Minimum Wage, including the National Living Wage. These will be effective from 6 April 2026. The Government accepted in full the recommendations of the independent Low Pay Commission (LPC).

This marks yet another significant cost increase for employers, already struggling with rising wage bills. Earlier this year, employer NICs rose from 13.8% to 15%, and this has now been coupled with a sharp reduction in the earnings threshold at which NICs become payable — lowered from £9,100 per year to £5,000, a level fixed until April 2028.

On 27 November 2025 the Government confirmed a major change to its reform of employment rights. The plan to introduce a Day 1 right to claim unfair dismissal has been abandoned. Instead, the qualifying period in GB will be reduced from 2 years to 6 months – much to the relief of employers. See An update on the Employment Rights Bill.

This amendment is a significant shift in approach following debate of the Employment Rights Bill in the House of Lords.

Employers will welcome the clarity and change in approach. A new 6 month qualifying period removes the risk of potentially facing immediate unfair dismissal claims from new starters. This change also means employers can continue to manage probationary periods and short‑term contracts. However it is still a significant shift from the current 2 year qualifying period in GB. In Northern Ireland there are no current proposals to reduce the qualifying period from 1 year.

In its Press Release the Government also states ‘To further strengthen these protections, the Government has committed to ensure that the unfair dismissal qualifying period can only be varied by primary legislation and that the compensation cap will be lifted.’ Whether this means that the current cap on unfair dismissal compensation will be lifted remains to be clarified.

Employers will know that employees in both GB and NI will continue to have Day 1 protections against discrimination and discriminatory dismissals and those based on automatically unfair grounds for example for Whistleblowing.

It is possible now in GB that the reduced qualifying period for unfair dismissal rights could be introduced earlier than 2027.

It also keeps the Government’s timetable to introduce other changes to SSP in April 2026 in place.

New Statutory Rates from April 2026

• SMP, Maternity Allowance, SPP, Neonatal Care Pay, Shared Parental Pay, Parental Bereavement Pay, and Adoption Pay will rise to £194.32 per week;
• SSP will increase to £123.25 per week, alongside reforms making SSP a Day a right and removing the lower earnings threshold (changes applying in both GB and NI).

On 26 November 2025, the UK Government issued a Policy paper Working paper on options for reform of non-compete clauses in employment contracts inviting views on options to reform non‑compete clauses in employment contracts. These proposals are part of the wider mission to promote good jobs, boost productivity, and support a dynamic labour market.

Importantly, these proposals apply only in Great Britain (GB). There are no current plans under the Northern Ireland (NI) mandate to introduce similar reforms here. That said, NI often looks across at developments in GB, so future alignment could occur.

Case for Reform

The Paper states that non‑compete clauses restrict employees from joining competitors or starting their own businesses for a period of time after leaving a job. Their purposes is to allow business to protect legitimate business interests. However, evidence shows they can:

• Limit worker mobility
• Reduce knowledge sharing and innovation
• Deter start‑ups and growing businesses from accessing talent
• Create uncertainty for employees, even when clauses are unlikely to be enforceable

Surveys and research indicate that non‑compete clauses are common not only among high earners but also in lower‑paid roles.

Options under Consultation

There are four main policy options being considered:

1. Statutory limit on length:

• • A maximum duration (previously suggested at 3 months).
  • Possible variation by company size (e.g., 3 months for large firms, 6 months for smaller firms).

2. Complete ban

• • Non‑compete clauses would be unenforceable in all employment contracts.

3. Ban below a salary threshold:

• • Clauses unenforceable for workers earning below a set salary level.

4. Combination of statutory limit and salary threshold approach:

• • Ban below a salary threshold, plus a statutory limit (e.g., 3 months) for those above it.

Enforcement

The government is consulting on reforms to non‑compete clauses in GB, with options including a statutory time limit, a complete ban, a ban below a salary threshold, or a combination of these approaches. Currently, restrictive covenants are enforced through the courts, where the losing party pays the winner’s costs, which often deters employees from challenging clauses even when they are unlikely to be enforceable. This means workers may comply with overly broad terms out of fear of litigation. The government is therefore also seeking views on whether high legal costs are a barrier to contesting non‑competes and what changes might help rebalance the system.

Consultation

The consultation is open until 18 February 2026, and we will continue to keep members updated on any developments.

This is the first of what we expect will be 26 consultations affecting employment rights in Great Britain. Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland, we understand that the Department for the Economy is finalising drafts of the Employment Rights Bill, which is expected to be published in January. It is also noteworthy that the Minister for the Economy is scheduled to attend the Economy Committee on 7 January 2026, which is perhaps the date on which she will introduce the Bill to them.

Without doubt appearing as a witness in a tribunal case is very daunting and nerve wrecking for most. Nothing compares to the real thing. But there are steps you can take to bolster your confidence and provide yourself with the best opportunity to give your best evidence.

So here is 10 Golden Rules for giving evidence:

1. Be honest. This should be an obvious one but, on occasion, witnesses can try to overthink the question and try to predict where it is leading to, rather than answer it in a straightforward way. If you are not honest, chances are you will be tripped up later with inconsistencies in what you say.
2. Prepare, prepare and prepare. There is an ocean of difference between a witness who has reviewed all documents and has prepared, to one that comes along thinking this won’t be too difficult.
3. Listen to the question being asked and answer it. Not the question for which you have prepared the answer or the one you would like to be asked.
4. Treat time as your friend, not your enemy. Take your time to think about the question you have been asked, pause and then answer it. Time doesn’t travel as fast as you think it does.
5. Once you’ve have answered the question, STOP. Don’t be tempted to continue to fill in the gaps between the end of your answer and the next question (dare I say waffle?). This is where most witnesses open themselves up to further cross examination.
6. Follow the pen. No this is not a metaphor. Literally pace your answer to the speed of the Judge’s pen. As archaic as it sounds, the Judge makes a handwritten note of the question asked and your answer. They will become extremely irritated at you if, after one or two gentle reminders, you don’t take heed and follow the pen.
7. Remain calm. At no stage should you argue with the person cross examining you. Never, ever ask them a question such as ‘well, what would you have done?’ You will lose the respect of the panel plus scored a home goal, so to speak. You are there to answer the questions not ask them (unless you genuinely don’t understand what they are asking, then of course do ask). And remember you are trying to persuade a panel of 3, not win an argument with the cross examiner.
8. Do not avoid the difficult questions. Sometimes you’ve got to accept where matters could have been handled better or other valid criticisms. Your preparation (see 2 above) will have helped you work through these areas. It does not necessarily mean you’ve lost your case but you will come across as a more credible and reasonable witness.
9. Listen carefully to any questions the Employment Judge or panel ask. These are the areas they maybe struggling with or in some instances where they may not have fully understood the case.
10. Finally, if your representative asks you a question in re-examination chances are your representative thinks you’ve got something wrong and they are asking you to rethink your answer.

These rules are very much based on our organisation’s experience of appearing for, and presenting Tribunal cases. Nothing is like the real life so good luck and don’t be too hard on yourself!