Timetable of employment law changes in the UK

This timetable of employment law changes in the UK is provided for CIPD members. The aim of the timetable is to capture important legislative information that people professionals will need to prepare for and adhere to. 

A new UK government was elected in July 2024. The CIPD provide updates on the renewed legislative agenda below. 

UK law is developed in a series of stages and therefore the timetable uses the following terminology on each entry to contextualise the level of change: 

• Proposals: the raising of issues before they progress into a legislative process.  
• Debate: for an act to become law it will pass through some, or most, of 12 stages in parliament. These stages give interested parties an opportunity to shape the legislation. 
• Upcoming law (Royal Assent): the term Royal Assent signifies when a law has passed the 12 legislative stages. It is now on the statute book but not usually in force at this point. Generally, secondary legislation will be made to commence (start) the law. 
• Legally enforceable (Commencement): this is the point at which the law comes into force and organisations are bound by it. 
• Update: here we capture important information that falls outside of any legislative process.  

The timetable below is provided to CIPD members, simply sign-in to access the latest employment law updates.