The Browne Jacobson podcast

NDAs are commonplace in employment settlements.  However, changes proposed as part of the Employment Rights Act 2025 could fundamentally alter how harassment and discrimination complaints are settled. Claire Rosney and Kerren Daly unpack the proposed changes, which could see confidentiality agreements become void unless they meet the proposed “excepted agreement” framework, and they explain why this is as much about public trust and workplace culture as it is about legal drafting. 
 
 We walk through the proposals: independent advice on the NDA itself, written informed consent, a 14-day cooling-off period with no penalty, accessible written copies, and a firm line that confidentiality cannot cover future harassment or discrimination. We also consider one of the biggest practical shifts for employers and HR teams: extending these formalities to ACAS COT3 agreements.
 
 The conversation digs into the pinch points: what happens to door of the court settlements, how time limits might be affected, whether employers will be allowed to raise confidentiality at all, and what it means if an employer gets the conditions wrong and the clause simply falls away. We also cover the proposed list of people a worker can always speak to, even with an “excepted agreement” and what all this means in practice. 
 
 If you work in HR, employment law, or leadership, this is a timely guide to the risks, the process changes, and what you should be thinking about now ahead of the expected 2027 implementation date. Subscribe, share with your team, and leave a review with your view: where should the balance sit between confidentiality and the public interest?

For the latest updates and guidance, visit Browne Jacobson's Employment Rights Act 2025 hub at brownejacobson.com/employment-rights-act  

Trade unions are about to get a new right to access to workplaces which could be one of the most significant changes under the ERA 2025. We talk through the forthcoming statutory right of access under the Employment Rights Act 2025, expected to arrive in October 2026, and why it changes the long-standing reality that employers could simply refuse access unless they chose to agree. 

We unpack what we know so far: who the right applies to (including the 21-worker threshold applied at company level), what a “workplace” can mean, and the permitted purposes for access such as meeting, supporting, representing, recruiting and facilitating collective bargaining. We also highlight what is explicitly not permitted, including using the right to organise industrial action, and why privacy expectations mean employers cannot simply sit in and listen. 

The practical detail is where HR teams and leaders will win or lose time and money. We walk through the code-led steps, from voluntary agreements and potential ACAS support, to formal access requests, the 15-working-day response deadline, the negotiation window, and when a dispute can be referred to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). We also explore what access might look like day to day, including notice requirements, reasonable workplace instructions, and the growing question of digital access through tools like Teams or Zoom and the limits around significant changes to premises or IT systems. 

Finally, we look at enforcement, including CAC complaints and eye-watering fines, and we share three practical tips to help you prepare: review what you already have, get your internal response team and templates ready, and keep an eye on further regulations as they land. Subscribe, share, and leave us a review, then tell us what part of union access you are planning for first.

For the latest updates and guidance, visit Browne Jacobson's Employment Rights Act 2025 hub at brownejacobson.com/employment-rights-act  

The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces significant changes to unfair dismissal rights. In this episode, Claire Rosney, Professional Development Lawyer at Browne Jacobson, and Emma Capper, Head of Employment, walk through what is changing, when it takes effect, and what your organisation needs to do now. 

Background 

The government's original manifesto commitment was to give all employees day-one protection from unfair dismissal. Following opposition from the House of Lords, those proposals were scaled back but still represent one of the most significant changes under the Act. From 1 January 2027, the two-year qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal protection will be reduced to six months, and the compensatory cap, both the £118,223 financial limit and the 52 weeks' gross pay ceiling, are removed entirely. 

What the episode covers 

The two core changes: How the qualifying period reduction and the removal of the compensatory cap came about, and why the cap change in particular caught many by surprise, introduced as a late amendment with no prior consultation. 

Why six months looks permanent: The government has removed the power to vary the qualifying period by regulations. Any future change requires primary legislation, making it more difficult for future governments to increase the qualifying period. 

How the commencement date works in practice: All employees with six months' service on 1 January 2027 will qualify immediately. That includes anyone recruited as far back as the start of 2026, and anyone starting from the end of June this year. 

The statutory notice trap: If an employer dismisses an employee in the final week of their first six months, that employee may already have qualifying service. The one week of statutory notice, whether given or paid in lieu, is added to the dismissal date, extending the effective date of termination meaning the employee qualifies for protection. 

Impact on senior executive exits: Without a cap, highly paid employees will find the Employment Tribunal an attractive forum for the first time. Successful claimants can recover compensation for pension loss, share schemes, long-term incentive plans and bonuses, making exits that were once straightforward to negotiate significantly more complex and costly. 

What to do now: Emma and Claire set out the practical steps organisations should be taking ahead of January 2027, including reviewing probationary period lengths (three to four months is likely more appropriate than the current norm of six), tightening pre-employment screening, training line managers on conducting effective probation reviews, and ensuring any process that could lead to dismissal is supported by a robust and contemporaneous evidence trail. 

The board-level consideration: Boards should be actively thinking about how they manage executive recruitment and underperformance. The landscape for managing senior exits is about to shift fundamentally. 

Key takeaway: All organisations should start taking steps to prepare for the change now.  

For the latest updates and guidance, visit Browne Jacobson's Employment Rights Act 2025 hub at brownejacobson.com/employment-rights-act