Putting you at the heart of everything

The Employment Rights Act 2025 represents a programme of reform that will unfold over the next two years. For school employers, the focus is now firmly on timing, prioritisation and forward planning.

The Children and Wellbeing Bill continues its passage through Parliament. Newly tabled clauses  would, if enacted, introduce a statutory framework for inspection and intervention at multi-academy trust (“MAT”) level. These proposals represent a notable development in the accountability regime for academy trusts and reflect an increasing policy focus on trust-wide performance, leadership and capacity.

Although further detail will be developed through consultation, the direction of travel is clear and the changes are likely to have significant implications for MATs of all sizes. Single academy trusts are expected to be exempt from inspection at 'trust' level. 

The Department for Education (DfE) and Ofsted are introducing new measures that could significantly impact schools' regulatory obligations. The proposed measures focus on mobile phone policies and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in schools, placing emphasis on safeguarding, wellbeing, and accountability in educational settings. 

Understanding what a Final Order means can help you move forward with confidence. It confirms that your marriage or civil partnership has legally ended, but there are still important considerations that may affect your future. This guide explains the key implications and the steps you may wish to take next.

The EAT confirms that disciplinary investigations are judged for overall fairness, not perfection, and that limited overlap of roles or unwise comments will not necessarily undermine a misconduct dismissal.

The EAT draws a clear distinction between pre- and post-transfer obligations, confirming when a failure to align pay following insourcing can amount to indirect race discrimination.

The Court of Appeal has confirmed that appeals to the Employment Appeal Tribunal must comply strictly with procedural time limits and document requirements, even where an appellant is unrepresented or facing personal difficulties.