Debenhams Ottaway’s Employment Law Round Up August 2025

Click the links below to read more about the changes in employment law in August:

• Government launches “WorkWell” pilot to support 56,000 people with health conditions back into work
• Impact assessment clarifies scope of ‘excepted agreements’ under new NDA rules in Employment Rights Bill
• Government publishes technical guide for employers on neonatal care leave and pay
• DBT opens call for evidence on unpaid internships, work trials and volunteering
• Mandatory identity verification for directors and PSCs at Companies House from November 2025
• Update: Employment Rights Bill clears House of Lords

Government launches “WorkWell” pilot to support 56,000 people with health conditions back into work

The Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Health and Social Care have announced the rollout of the “WorkWell” pilot across 15 regions. The programme aims to reduce reliance on fit notes certifying people as unfit for work, instead linking patients with local services for tailored health and work support. Interventions will include career coaching, gym memberships, and enabling allied health professionals to issue fit notes. The government expects the initiative to help 56,000 people with health conditions or disabilities back into work by Spring 2026. The pilot continues plans announced under the previous government in 2024 and will inform future policy on work, health and skills.

Impact assessment clarifies scope of ‘excepted agreements’ under new NDA rules in Employment Rights Bill

The government has published an impact assessment on the NDA provisions in the Employment Rights Bill. The assessment sheds further light on how an “excepted agreement” may be defined in secondary legislation (law made by government ministers or other public bodies, rather than parliament).

It confirms that an agreement which is requested by a worker may be outside the scope of the new provisions. The impact assessment reiterates that the reforms will not ban NDAs in appropriate circumstances, for example to protect sensitive business and commercial information, trade secrets or other confidential data. Onlycontractual provisions preventing the disclosure of harassment or discrimination allegations will be voided under the amendments, with the remainder unaffected. The assessment states that, while “the option of confidential settlements will remain (where requested by the worker), the reduced ability for employers to impose NDAs may lead to more disputes progressing to formal resolution channels” (paragraph 65).

Government publishes technical guide for employers on neonatal care leave and pay

On 22 August 2025, the government issued a detailed technical guide for employers on the statutory entitlements to neonatal care leave (NCL) and neonatal care pay (SNCP), in force since 6 April 2025. The 35-page guide covers:

• Eligibility
• notice and evidence requirements
• how to calculate pay and qualifying weeks
• HMRC reporting,
• interaction with other types of family leave
• complex scenarios such as multiple births, readmissions, transfers between neonatal facilities, and neonatal care at home.

The guide supplements earlier government and Acas publications and provides worked examples to assist employers in administering these new rights.

DBT opens call for evidence on unpaid internships, work trials and volunteering

The Department for Business and Trade has opened a consultation on unpaid internships, work trials, volunteering and work shadowing as part of its Make Work Pay agenda. The government is concerned about the misuse of unpaid roles that may breach national minimum wage rules and is considering changes to exemptions, including for students on mandatory UK-based placements. It is seeking views on defining “intern” in law, the prevalence and scope of unpaid work trials, and whether further regulation of volunteering and work shadowing is required. The call for evidence closes on 9 October 2025, with a response expected in early 2026.

Mandatory identity verification for directors and PSCs at Companies House from November 2025

Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, mandatory identity verification for directors and persons with significant control (PSCs) will apply from 18 November 2025. New directors must provide a Companies House personal code when appointed, while new PSCs must do so within 14 days of registration. Existing directors will need to provide their code at the next confirmation statement filing, and existing PSCs will have separate deadlines depending on whether they are also directors. Voluntary verification has been available since April 2025. Requirements for other filers, limited partnerships, and corporate officers will follow later.

Update: Employment Rights Bill clears House of Lords

The Employment Rights Bill completed its third reading in the House of Lords yesterday. This stage is largely procedural, so the outcome was expected.

For example, the Lords proposed to amend the day-one unfair dismissal right to a six-month period during which employees would have no unfair dismissal protection (other than for automatic reasons), followed by an 18-month period of “light touch” protection. The government is expected to reject this amendment and press ahead with its flagship proposal of full unfair dismissal protection from day one.

The Bill will now return to the House of Commons, where MPs will consider and vote on the changes made by the Lords. The Commons can agree to the amendments, reject them (sending the Bill back to the Lords, who are unlikely to press the issue), or propose alternatives. Given the government’s majority, it will ultimately decide which changes to accept.

The next step is for the Commons to debate and decide which of these provisions to retain, with the implementation timetable to follow once the Bill receives Royal Assent.