Employment law update - Autumn 2023

After a few very quiet years as far as for the development of new employment law, the summer of 2023 saw several new pieces of legislation. This has been by some margin the busiest year for new employment regulation for over a decade. Despite this, it does not seem likely that we are going to see the much anticipated 'new Employment act' (on the back of the findings of the Taylor Review).

The reasons for the years of legislative inactivity are clear; diplomatic and economic turbulence caused by Brexit, the COVID pandemic the outbreak of war in Ukraine. All followed by a period of political turbulence. There has not been an opportunity for a new, coherent approach to employment regulation.

In autumn 2023, things are more stable, and plentiful new law is the result. With unemployment, thankfully, remaining very low, there has also not been a rise in the number of employment tribunal claims. To date no post-COVID recession has materialised, and employment markets remain buoyant, by historical standards.

There have, however, been a few cases of significance decided in the courts, one of which looks as if it will lead to new regulation to help employers manage its consequences.