14.04.2025

The Government has launched a public consultation seeking views on how to introduce mandatory ethnicity and disability pay reporting for large employers (i.e. those with 250 or more employees). The responses the Government receives will help to shape the upcoming Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, which was announced in the King’s Speech in July 2024.

The Government is aiming to use a similar reporting framework for ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting to that which is already in place for gender pay gap reporting (i.e. the same pay gap measures, same reporting dates and same enforcement regime will apply). In addition, it is proposed that large employers should be required to publish data on the following:

  • The overall breakdown of their workforce by ethnicity and disability.
  • The percentage of employees who did not disclose their personal data on their ethnicity and disability.

The Government’s consultation document suggests that employers should use the ethnicity classifications that were used for the 2021 Census, and that disability should be assessed using the definition in the Equality Act 2010 (i.e. that a person is disabled if they have a physical or a mental condition that has a substantial and long-term impact on their ability to do normal day to day activities).

It is also proposed that for calculating an employer’s pay gaps there should be a minimum of 10 employees in any ethnic or disability group that is being analysed. For ethnicity reporting, this means some employers might need to add some ethnic groups together. 

The Government suggests that, as a minimum, employers should be required to provide a binary comparison (for example, showing the pay gap between White British employees and ethnic minority employees, and the pay gap between disabled employees and non-disabled employees). If employers can provide more detailed comparisons, they will be encouraged to do so.

Make UK will be responding in detail to this consultation on behalf of its members, as well as continuing to engage with Government on all the proposals in the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill – as well as the Employment Rights Bill – to ensure that the views of business are heard. We are keen to hear your views on the proposals. If you would like to contribute, please email our Policy Team with any comments by 23 May 2025.

Make UK will also conduct a formal survey on this topic from 28 May to 16 June as part of our HR Q2 Bulletin. Please continue to monitor your emails and we will be in touch closer to the time to collect your responses.

If you are not a Make UK subscriber, you can contact us for further support or to access our resources. Please click here for information on how we can help your business.

New guidance has been published showing the updated Vento bands (i.e. the employment tribunal bands which apply in relation to awards for injury to feelings in discrimination and detriment cases, which are updated in line with inflation on an annual basis).  

In respect of claims presented to the employment tribunal on or after 6 April 2025, the Vento bands are as follows:

  • Lower band (for less serious cases) of between £1,200 and £12,100.
  • Middle band of between £12,100 and £36,400.
  • Upper band (for the most serious cases) of between £36,400 and £60,700, with the most exceptional cases capable of exceeding £60,700.

The amount of compensation that a tribunal awards for injury to feelings will depend on the effect that the discrimination has had on the worker (decided by reference to the Vento guidelines). Crucially, the aim is to compensate the worker, not to punish the employer.

If you are a Make UK subscriber, you can speak to your regular adviser for further guidance and/or access information about discrimination, harassment and bullying, including template policies and drafting guidance, in the HR & Legal Resources section of our website. 

If you are not a Make UK subscriber, you can contact us for further support on this topic or to access our resources. Please click here for information on how we can help your business.

New rights to neonatal care leave (‘NCL’) and neonatal care pay (‘NCP’) came into force on 6 April 2025 and, on 2 April, Acas published guidance on these new rights.  The guidance, which is divided into six parts, provides a useful summary for employers on key issues such as checking eligibility for NCL and NCP, managing leave, and rights during and after a period of leave. Further details about these new entitlements can also be found in our earlier e-alert.

Employees who are eligible to receive NCP are entitled to receive a flat rate set by the Government – currently £187.18 per week (reviewed on an annual basis) – or 90% of the employee’s normal weekly earnings if that is lower. This is the same as other statutory family leave pay. NCP is the statutory minimum level of payment, but some employers may opt to pay more than this.

If you are a Make UK subscriber, you can speak with your regular adviser and/or access our template policy and webpage on neonatal care leave and pay in our HRL Resources.

If you are not a Make UK subscriber, you can contact us for further support on this topic or to access our resources. Please click here for information on how we can help your business.

Under the Equality Act 2010, an employer is responsible for any discriminatory acts undertaken by an employee in the course of their employment, unless the employer can show that it took all reasonable steps to prevent the employee from doing the thing that was discriminatory, or something similar. This is often called an "all reasonable steps" defence. "All" reasonable steps is a high bar and it is rare for an employer to be able to use it.

Generally, employers struggle to demonstrate to an employment tribunal that they have really taken "all reasonable steps", as they have often not placed sufficient emphasis on providing regular and effective anti-discrimination training to their workforce and shaping the right kind of culture to successfully meet the requirements of this defence.

However, in the recent case of Campbell v Sheffield Teaching North Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust & Hammon an NHS trust was able to show the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) that it had taken all reasonable steps to prevent an employee making a racist comment. In this case, the claimant, Mr Campbell, had an argument with Mr Hammond, who was an employee and also union branch secretary. The argument took place during a break at work and concerned Mr Hammond’s union membership. During the argument Mr Hammond made a racist comment.

The EAT agreed with the tribunal, firstly, that the comment was not made in the course of Mr Hammond's employment. His membership of the union was a personal choice, and the dispute with the union was personal. Secondly, even if the comment had been made in the course of Mr Hammond's employment, the employer had taken all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment by doing the following:

  • Mr Hammond had attended an induction session which included the issue of "acceptable behaviour at work" and an emphasis of the employer's values of "affording dignity, trust and respect to everyone" (referred to as PROUD values).
  •  Mr Hammond had annual performance evaluations which included an assessment of whether he was acting in accordance with the PROUD values.
  •  PROUD values were displayed on posters in the area in which Mr Hammond worked.
  •  Mr Hammond had mandatory training every three years on equality and diversity issues, and he happened to have completed this a few weeks before the incident. 

The EAT found that the employer had taken all reasonable steps to prevent the racial harassment, particularly because Mr Campbell had not suggested any further steps the employer should have taken.

This case shows that with the right focus on equality and diversity issues, and regular training, it is possible for an employer to reach that high bar of an “all reasonable steps” defence. 

If you think you may need to refresh your equality and diversity training, or would like advice about how to put in place a regular and effective training schedule for your workforce, you can speak with your usual Make UK adviser and/or access information about discrimination in our HRL Resources.

If you are not a Make UK subscriber, you can contact us for further support on this topic or to access our resources. Please click here for information on how we can help your business.

The Fair Work Agency (“FWA”) is a new single enforcement body which the Government plans to introduce as part of the Employment Rights Bill (the “Bill”), to strengthen enforcement of workplace rights. It will bring together various existing state enforcement functions – including HMRC, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority – to tackle matters such as enforcement of the minimum wage, domestic agency rules, licensing standards for gangmasters, certain aspects of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, holiday pay and statutory sick pay. Over time, it is envisaged that the FWA will take on enforcement of a wider range of employment rights too.

According to a Government Factsheet, once in place, the FWA will be a “strong, recognisable single brand so workers know where to go for help”. The Government hopes that the FWA  will improve efficiency by ensuring there is one leadership team to oversee work in line with a unified strategy.

The FWA will have a wide range of powers aimed at investigating and taking action against businesses that do not comply with the law. These will include powers to inspect workplaces and require employers to produce relevant documents and evidence to demonstrate compliance with employment law, as well as the power to issue Notices of Underpayment in relation the national minimum wage. Notably, following the latest amendments to the Bill, the FWA will be able to bring tribunal claims on behalf of workers – even if the worker chooses not to. The FWA will also have the power to provide legal assistance for employment-related proceedings, and to recover enforcement costs from employers against whom enforcement action has been taken for non-compliance.

It will take time for the FWA to become operational and its effectiveness will likely depend on the levels of funding the Government invests (albeit the FWA will generate some of its own revenue via the imposition of penalties). Crucially, it is important for employers to be aware that risks of non-compliance with rules on minimum wage, sick pay and holiday pay are likely to materially increase.

If you are a Make UK subscriber, you can speak to your regular adviser for further guidance about the introduction of this new enforcement agency and/or access information on a range of employment related topics in our HRL Resources.

If you are not a Make UK subscriber, you can contact us for further support on this topic or to access our resources. Please click here for information on how we can help your business.