Employment Rights Act Changes from 18 Feb 2026
From 18 February 2026, the first set of reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025 took effect. The initial changes focus on industrial action and collective dispute procedures. While the statutory framework for ballots and notice remains in place, the reforms adjust how easily industrial action can proceed and extend protections for employees who participate […]
Tax Exile Meaning: Why Residency Planning Is Back in the UK Spotlight
The concept of “tax exile” has resurfaced in public debate following renewed attention on internationally-mobile UK business figures and the post-2025 tax landscape. While the label carries rhetorical weight in media commentary, its legal foundation is precise. In UK law, tax liability follows residence. In tax terms, tax exile refers to when an individual ceases […]
New Holiday Tax to Increase Cost of UK Staycations
A two-week stay in England would cost more if regional mayors decide to introduce a levy on overnight accommodation. Around 200 senior figures from accommodation providers including Butlin’s, Hilton and Travelodge have written to the Chancellor expressing concern about the commercial implications of what has been labelled a Staycation Holiday Tax. In a joint letter, […]
HMRC Name and Shame Full Disclosure: April 2026 New rules
HMRC’s “name and shame” full disclosure regime allows it to publish the details of businesses and individuals found to have deliberately underpaid tax. The power is statutory and remains fully operational in 2026. Where a qualifying civil penalty for deliberate behaviour becomes final, HMRC can make the default public. From April 2026, the compliance environment […]
Increased Employer Risks of UK’s Digital Immigration System
Recent changes to UK immigration rules and the continued digitisation of Home Office systems have altered the practical risk landscape for businesses. Permission to work is no longer evidenced primarily through physical documents. It is confirmed through interconnected digital platforms that operate before travel, at boarding and during onboarding. Employers who assume that a granted […]
O’Brien v HMRC: Contractor Loan Scheme Fails
The First-tier Tribunal has again sided with HMRC in a contractor loan scheme case, confirming that amounts paid into an employee benefit trust and returned as “loans” were taxable earnings. In O’Brien v HMRC, the Tribunal held that income tax arose when the taxpayer’s remuneration was redirected into an employee benefit trust (EBT), even though […]
Salary Sacrifice Pensions Contributions: New Rules in 2029
From 6 April 2029, only the first £2,000 of pension contributions per employee per tax year made via salary sacrifice will remain exempt from Class 1 National Insurance. Contributions above that threshold will attract both employee (Primary Class 1) and employer (Secondary Class 1) NICs. Ordinary employer pension contributions that are not made via salary […]
Mandatory Registration of Tax Advisers from May 2026
HMRC has confirmed that from May 2026, tax advisers who interact with HMRC on behalf of clients will be required to register with HMRC and meet defined minimum standards. The change follows updated policy material and draft legislation within the Finance Bill. Professional bodies, including the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), have issued supporting FAQs […]
Making Tax Digital for Self Employed: New Income Tax Rules from April 2026
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment introduces a mandatory digital reporting framework for self employed individuals and landlords. From April 2026, affected taxpayers are required to keep digital records and submit income information to HMRC on a quarterly basis. This change replaces the long-standing annual Self Assessment model for those within scope. The […]
Employment Rates & Payroll Thresholds 2026-2027
From April 2026, UK employers enter a new tax year with updated statutory pay rates, earnings thresholds and payroll parameters. While none of these changes alter core employment rights, they directly affect wage costs, sickness absence budgeting and payroll compliance. For small businesses, the risk is not misunderstanding the law, but missing a rate change, […]
Govt Fire and Rehire Consultation Explained for Employers
The Government has opened a consultation on part of the new fire and rehire rules due to be introduced under the Employment Rights Act 2025. The focus is narrow but important for employers: whether certain expenses, benefits and shift changes should be protected from being imposed through dismissal and re-engagement. Although the rules are not […]
Smaller Employers Are Being Caught Out By Digital Right to Work Checks
For many small and growing businesses, right to work checks feel like an administrative task that should be straightforward. The shift to digital immigration status was meant to make compliance easier. In practice, it has introduced new risks that are now showing up in Home Office audits. The rules themselves have not changed. What has […]
HMRC Steps Up Stamp Duty Investigations
HMRC has increased enforcement activity around Stamp Duty Land Tax, with a sharp rise in compliance checks into residential property transactions. More homebuyers are now facing retrospective scrutiny of whether the correct amount of stamp duty was paid, often months or years after completion. The change reflects HMRC’s growing focus on property tax compliance and […]
Employment Rights Act Timeline: What is Changing and When?
The Government has issued an updated implementation timetable for the Employment Rights Act 2025 as part of its ‘Plan to Make Work Pay.’ The timeline replaces the July 2025 roadmap and confirms a phased rollout of reforms across 2026 and 2027. The substance of the reforms has not shifted. What has changed is the order […]
UK Car Tax Changes 2026
A series of changes to vehicle taxation will take effect from April 2026, altering how much many drivers pay in road tax and related charges. Some of these changes remove long-standing exemptions, while others increase existing charges in line with government policy. Although not every proposal reported in the media is settled law, several measures […]
National Insurance Changes in 2026
Two National Insurance developments confirmed in early 2026 are relevant for people running businesses and working for themselves. The first is the annual National Insurance update that takes effect from April 2026 and feeds directly into payroll, drawings and cash flow. The second is a reform to the National Insurance treatment of pension salary sacrifice […]
HMRC Tax Rebate Delays in 2026
Taxpayers are facing significant delays in receiving tax rebates and National Insurance refunds from HMRC. Some repayments are taking many months and some are taking more than a year. Refunds that used to land within a few weeks are now more likely to move slowly, particularly where HMRC treats a claim as needing manual processing. […]
SSP 2026: Higher Rates from 6 April
Statutory Sick Pay is changing in ways that will be felt most acutely by employers from April 2026. While SSP has always been an employer-funded obligation, confirmed reforms under the Employment Rights Act 2025 expand eligibility, bring payment forward to day one and change how SSP is calculated for lower-paid staff. For employers with part-time […]
Supporting Sponsored Workers Beyond the Visa: Settlement and Citizenship in Practice
For many employers, immigration risk feels most acute at the sponsorship stage. Right to work checks, salary thresholds and compliance duties dominate attention. Once a worker approaches settlement, that risk is often assumed to fall away. In reality, the period when sponsorship ends and settlement or citizenship begins is one of the most disruptive phases […]
Zero-Hours Working: 2026 Changes
The Employment Rights Act 2025 has started to change how flexible working arrangements operate in practice, and one of the earliest changes took effect on 6 January 2026. For organisations that rely on casual, seasonal or variable-hours labour, the shift is significant. It affects not only contracts, but everyday decisions about rotas, availability and how […]