Age Discrimination

Quality Compliance Systems (QCS) has formed a strategic partnership with Weightmans law firm to provide enhanced legal and compliance support to UK care providers facing workforce challenges, new employment legislation, and evolving regulatory requirements. The collaboration combines QCS's compliance expertise with Weightmans' specialist health and care sector legal knowledge to help care organizations navigate complex operational and regulatory environments. Together, they aim to deliver practical guidance

With the school holidays just around the corner every parent across the UK will this week no doubt mutter the words, “just watch, it will be raining constantly as soon as they stop school”, or words to that effect. That’s because as sure as night follows day, we can always rely on the sun to come out when “school’s in” and this year seems no different with temperatures on Monday and Tuesday in the high 20s and predicted to rise for the rest of the week- even in Manchester.

The Employment Tribunal has awarded an employee nearly half a million pounds after he accumulated 827 unpaid holiday days over his 37-year employment.

Employment law experts examine the evolving landscape of restrictive covenants across the UK and US, analyzing how legislative reforms and enforcement challenges are reshaping employer protections. The discussion covers team raids, trade secret litigation, and actionable strategies for businesses navigating this uncertain legal terrain.

UK right to work checks are set to change significantly from 1 October 2026. Section 48 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 will expand compliance obligations beyond traditional employees and could require organisations to carry out checks on a wider range of workers, contractors and labour arrangements.

The Pensions Regulator has published its finalised enforcement approach with high-level principles for proportionate, risk-based regulation, while PASA releases operational readiness guidance for schemes preparing for guided retirement requirements expected from summer 2029. A&O Shearman's upcoming Pensions Academy Online sessions will feature a legal update and an exploration of AI's impact on UK pension schemes with TPR's Cliodhna Judge.

Employers implementing return-to-office mandates face complex legal considerations around reasonable adjustments, discrimination, and employee rights. Understanding the legal framework and potential challenges is essential before enforcing workplace attendance policies. This analysis examines key employment law issues that arise when transitioning from remote to office-based work.

Explore critical updates in UK employment law affecting workplace rights, trade union access, and immigration compliance. These insights examine how recent legislative changes impact employer obligations, from expanded right-to-work verification requirements to new union workplace access provisions and evolving discrimination frameworks.

The most recent webinar in our Employment Rights Act 2025 series was on 'Trade unions – key changes and actions for employers' in which we discussed the new right for trade unions to access workplaces and the new duty on employers to provide workers with a statement of trade union rights.

From 30 October 2026, trade unions will gain new statutory rights to seek both digital and physical access to workplaces under the government's Make Work Pay plan. This significant change will affect almost all employers, as unions can request access even without formal recognition or existing membership within the workforce.

Record settler violence in the West Bank has drawn unprecedented international sanctions from the UK, France, and nine EU states, while Israel's far-right coalition pushes settlement expansion ahead of October elections. With the Palestinian Authority weakened and the US notably restrained in its response, the escalating crisis threatens regional partnerships and marks a stark departure from the Oslo Accords signed thirty-three years ago this September.

President Trump's Executive Order 14421 declares a national emergency to secure the U.S. bulk-power system, imposing new restrictions on foreign-produced electric equipment that poses national security risks. The order prohibits certain imports and installations while directing the Department of Energy to identify and potentially replace existing vulnerable equipment already on the grid.

Health Canada has launched a public consultation on a proposed regulatory overhaul that would fundamentally transform how food packaging materials are evaluated and approved for use in Canada. The agency is considering implementing a mandatory notification system and potentially creating a binding positive list of approved substances, marking a significant departure from the current voluntary Letter of No Objection framework.

The Department of Energy has issued a request for information on implementing President Trump's Bulk-Power System Executive Order, which would prohibit imports and installation of certain foreign-produced electric equipment deemed a national security risk. The RFI seeks public input on critical implementation questions including equipment scope, foreign entity definitions, supply chain risk assessment, and how to address already-installed equipment. Comments are due October 9, 2026, providing stakeholders a

Canada maintains a sophisticated yet largely voluntary system for regulating food-contact materials, placing primary responsibility on industry to ensure packaging safety. While Health Canada offers Letters of No Objection (LONOs) as written assurances, this regulatory framework may soon shift toward a mandatory positive list approach, fundamentally changing how food packaging materials are assessed and approved in the Canadian market.

India hosts the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi this weekend, where member nations navigate competing priorities: Russia seeks to demonstrate global relevance despite Western isolation, China and India work to strengthen their diplomatic thaw, and New Delhi pushes for digital currency integration while avoiding a common BRICS currency. Can the bloc maintain unity amid Brazilian elections, the Iran war, economic pressures, and members' diverging relationships with the US and other Western powers?

Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) party achieved a historic victory in Saxony-Anhalt regional elections, winning nearly 44% of the vote and dealing a severe blow to the ruling Christian Democratic Union. The election results are creating political instability that could weaken Berlin's leadership role in the European Union and reshape the bloc's approach to critical trade, industrial policy, and China relations during a pivotal period for European policymaking.

Global sanctions enforcement intensifies as the US expands its economic pressure campaigns against Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela while the UK and EU strengthen their Russia sanctions frameworks. Meanwhile, China pushes back against US sanctions targeting its companies over alleged Iran ties, and a Dutch chipmaker faces asset freezes amid a complex ownership dispute involving Chinese courts.

The FCC has opened a public comment period on ensuring reliable spectrum access for commercial space launch and reentry operations, following a presidential directive that aims to support over 1,000 annual launches by 2030. With comments due in just 20 days, companies involved in launch operations, UAS/USV services, and incumbent spectrum users face a compressed timeline to shape the regulatory framework for this rapidly expanding industry.

Russia's Africa Corps successfully defended Niger's military junta from a coup attempt in August 2024, demonstrating Moscow's deepening security role in the Sahel region. This analysis examines how Russia's entrenchment as a regime protector complicates US counterterrorism objectives and critical mineral access strategies, while exposing the Alliance of Sahel States' inability to provide mutual defense without external support.