UK Knowledge Collection | Online safety, unfair dismissal, and life sciences regulatory reform

The European Commission has announced proposals for new online safety measures for children that will affect a wide range of digital services, including social media, gaming, video-sharing and AI. Our Insight outlines what is in scope of the EU KIDS ACT (Keeping Internet Digital Spaces Accountable and Trustworthy) and the nature of the restrictions envisaged in it.

In the UK, employers are preparing for significant reforms as the Employment Rights Act is implemented, including the removal of the cap on compensation for unfair dismissal from 1 January 2027. Our incentives experts consider how this could affect businesses in sectors where remuneration is heavily weighted towards variable and equity-based pay in our Insight. Our webinar series on the Act starts on 22 September, beginning with a look at the new unfair dismissal rules and their impact on the risk and cost of making dismissals.

Finally, the UK life sciences and healthcare sector has experienced significant regulatory activity this year. Our Insight sets out recent developments, including the government's progress on its life sciences sector plan and regulation action plans, amendments to the Health Bill to modernise the framework for the regulation of medicines and medical devices, and what is on the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's (MHRA) agenda.

Recent Insights

EU KIDS ACT: Commission announces new restrictions on children's access to social media, gaming, video and AI services

A new regulation will set age-based account restrictions, safety-by-design rules and age-assurance obligations for digital services aimed at children.
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GDPR for HR Coffee Break | September 2026

This edition includes a High Court ruling on disclosure obligations for personal devices used for work and its implications in a data subject access request context, a representative action that offers a compliance warning about responding to DSARs, and the risks of systemic weaknesses in data policies and procedures. 
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Employee Incentives Update | September 2026

A round-up of developments including uncapped compensation for unfair dismissal, changes to the notification process for the grant of enterprise management incentive (EMI) options, and the new securities transfer tax intended to be implemented next year. 
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Show and tell: the changing face of disclosure in UK tax litigation

Parties are seeking enhanced disclosure in complex employment tax cases, raising questions about mass assessment regimes.
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UK life sciences head into autumn as policy and regulatory reforms race to match tech advances

The MHRA's recent priorities include the future regulation of AI in healthcare, regulatory reform for medicines and medical devices, consulting on redefining gene therapy medicinal products and the publication of its position on microbiome-based medicinal products, as well as international collaboration. 
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Events

The Employment Rights Act 2025 in practice

Webinar series | 10:00-10:30
A series of 30-minute webinars covering one employment reform in each session, explaining what the law says and what it means in practice.

• You're (not so easily) fired: the new era of unfair dismissal | 22 September
• Every step you take: the new harassment prevention duties | 12 October
• An offer you cannot refuse: new union rights every employer must understand | 2 November
• Playing with fire: the new rules on varying contractual terms and fire and re-hire | 23 November
• All together now: the new rules on collective redundancy consultation | 13 January
• Family matters: new protections around family friendly rights and flexible working requests | 24 February
• Zero to guaranteed: new rights for zero hours, low hours and agency workers | 17 March

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Dipping into Data | Online tracking: A cookie‑sized update

23 September | Webinar | 16:00-16:30
The latest UK and EU developments including updated ICO guidance on storage and access technologies, its advice to government on amending the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, and French and Italian recommendations on email tracking pixels.
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Pensions Coffee Break | New rules on the release of surplus from ongoing DB schemes

24 September | Webinar | 11:00-11:30
From 6 April 2027, new flexibilities under the Pension Schemes Act 2026 will change how defined benefit pension schemes can use surplus, opening up new possibilities for payments to employers while schemes are still running on. This webinar explores what this could mean in practice and the steps schemes may want to consider.
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AI Forum

15 October | One London Wall | 13:30-17:30
Designed for in-house counsel, compliance professionals and business leaders at every stage of the AI journey, this half-day forum offers actionable insight into where the law stands today and how organisations can build a coherent strategy for legal risk, strategy and business adoption.
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