August employment roundup 

Neonatal Care Leave – technical guidance published

The government has published new technical guidance for employers on the right for employees to take neonatal care leave and pay, which was introduced from 6 April 2025.

The new guidance is intended to accompany the existing guidance on the leave, but focusses on some of the more technical aspects including what happens when multiple children are in neonatal care, readmission of a child to neonatal care, determining eligibility for the right and how the entitlement fits around other types of family leave.

It may assist employers in developing or updating policies on neonatal care and pay. The government estimates that around 60,000 parents will be eligible and around 34,000 parents will take up paid neonatal care leave every year.

NDA ban in higher education 

Key provisions of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 came into force on 1 August 2025. This includes section 1 of the Act, which prevents higher education providers in England and Wales from entering into non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) with staff, students, members or visiting speakers in relation to sexual abuse, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and other forms of bullying or harassment.  

The Act was introduced by the previous Government. The ban on using NDAs was originally due to take effect on 1 August 2024, but it was delayed by the incoming Labour Government to allow time for additional consultation on the Act’s provisions. 

Other aspects of the Act that also came into force on 1 August relate to providers’ duties to protect the freedom of speech of staff, students, members and visiting speakers.  

The ban on NDAs in higher education follows recent amendments to the Employment Rights Bill, which will significantly limit the ability of employers to use NDAs – including confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements – in relation to allegations or disclosures of information about ‘relevant harassment or discrimination’. There will be an exception for ‘excepted agreements’, which will permit NDAs in certain circumstances – likely to be when expressly requested by the employee. 

In addition, from 1 October 2025, section 17 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 takes effect, meaning that any provision in an agreement seeking to prevent disclosures by victims of criminal conduct will be void. Settlement agreements typically already include an exception for such disclosures. 

These legislative provisions all support the Government’s aim of ensuring that harassment allegations are properly dealt with rather than being ‘swept under the carpet’. However, they may significantly limit the commercial value to employers of entering into settlement agreements if they cannot secure confidentiality assurances from the employee. We await further details about how any exceptions to the proposed ban on NDAs in the Employment Rights Bill will apply in practice. 

EHRC Code of Practice delayed 

Following the Supreme Court’s decision earlier this year in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has consulted on updates to its Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations. 

An interim update to the Code was published shortly after the Supreme Court’s decision, which was then subsequently updated and has also been subject to a number of different legal challenges.  

A revised Code of Practice was expected to be published at the end of July 2025, but in view of the large volume of responses to the EHRC consultation and the legal challenges to the interim update, the EHRC has indicated that the revised Services Code will be provided to the government for approval by the end of August 2025. It will be for the government to decide the date for the revised Code to come into force. 

There has been no timescale provided by the EHRC for updating its Employment Code of Practice, although this is expected to be progressed once the Services Code has been finalised. 

National Minimum Wage – LPC remit for 2026 

The Government has published its remit to the Low Pay Commission (LPC) for recommending new rates of the National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) to apply from 1 April 2026. 

The LPC has been asked to ensure that the new NLW rate (workers aged 21 and over) does not drop any lower than two-thirds of median earnings, taking into account factors such as the cost of living, inflation, impact on the labour market and wider macroeconomic conditions. The LPC currently estimates that the NLW will need to increase to £12.71 to prevent it from falling below two-thirds of median earnings.  

The Government has also asked the LPC to recommend a NMW rate for 18 to 20-year-olds based on findings from its consultation earlier this year, which sought views on lowering the NLW age threshold. The Government has committed to removing what it considers the current ‘discriminatory’ age bands for adults, but this is likely to be done incrementally over several years.  

The LPC will also make recommendations on the NMW rates for under-18s and apprentices, as well as the accommodation offset rate that should apply from April 2026. Recommendations will be made to the Government by October 2025.