Employment, contingent workforce and immigration | UK Regulatory Outlook September 2025

Non-disclosure agreements and 'victims of crime' 

From 1 October, victims of crime, as defined in legislation, will be legally permitted to make certain disclosures to prescribed people or bodies, for specific purposes related to the relevant criminal conduct. A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) entered into on or after that date that seeks to prevent a "permitted disclosure" will be unenforceable.  

Employers should ensure that they understand the change to the law and that they understand the implications for their business. The new law does not only apply to employment relationships and may therefore need to be factored in where NDAs are used in other situations. 

Internal guidelines on use of NDAs will need to be updated and appropriate training provided for relevant staff. Template settlement agreements, COT3s and other applicable contracts will also need to be checked and, as necessary, appropriate wording inserted for any agreements entered into on or after 1 October. 

For more information on the legislative changes, see our Insight. 

Update on the Employment Rights Bill 

Further to our update in July's edition of the Regulatory Outlook, the Employment Rights Bill continues to make progress through Parliament. Following its third reading in the House of Lords at the start of September, the bill passed back to the House of Commons and will now pass between the two houses until a final text is agreed; the House of Commons has at this stage rejected most of the amendments proposed by the House of Lords. It now seems unlikely that a final text will be agreed until mid/late October, following which the bill should proceed to Royal Assent.  

Consultations expected soon this year and which will help shape statutory regulations which will bring many of the bill's proposals into effect include the reforms to protection from unfair dismissal, fire and re-hire, bereavement leave, rights for pregnant workers, some aspects of the trade union reforms and proposals around zero-hours contracts. 

The government has also indicated that it intends to consult on non-compete clauses, employment status and artificial intelligence in the workplace. 

Our employment law reforms section tracks the progress of individual reforms and sets out the associated practical implications for employers and actions to take. 

Review of current parental leave system 

The government has committed to review the current parental leave system. It launched a call for evidence as part of its review of the current parental leave system in July, which looked at the whole spectrum of existing statutory leave and pay rights available to families. The call for evidence closed on 26 August.  

It has also recently published its response to the Women and Equalities Committee report on paternity and shared parental leave which had made a number of recommendations for reform. In general, the government has accepted that improvements are needed in many areas and has confirmed that it will review the recommendations as part of its current review of the parental leave and pay system. However, it has refused to commit to increasing statutory paternity pay and making it a day one right.  

Call for evidence: Unpaid internships 

The government has also published a call for evidence on unpaid internships, internships paid below the national minimum wage, unpaid work trials, work trials paid below the national minimum wage, voluntary workers, volunteers and work shadowing. The call for evidence closes on 9 October, with a response expected early 2026. 

Reforming the immigration system: White paper 

Following our coverage of the immigration white paper in our May and July 2025 editions, to help businesses track and horizon scan developments in this area, the Osborne Clarke immigration team has created an online hub, the UK immigration white paper tracker.  

The areas looked at include: 

• enhancing English language proficiency
• proposed changes for the skilled worker route
• linking skills to sponsor licence holders
• amendments to student and graduate visas 

For further information, please contact Head of Immigration, Gavin Jones, or your usual Osborne Clarke contact.