Future-Proofing Your School | preparing for employment law changes in 2025
Is your school set for upcoming changes to employment law?
The new Labour government is introducing significant updates to UK employment law, many of which will directly impact schools. From amending staff contracts to addressing flexible working requests more mindfully and navigating increasing union activity, school leaders must be prepared to adapt.
Join us to learn what these legal changes might mean for schools and gain practical insights on how to prepare effectively, ensure compliance, and protect your school’s reputation in 2025 and beyond.
28 January, 9.30 am - 10.30 am
What's on the agenda?
In this free one-hour webinar, WorkNest’s Head of Education, Jane Hallas, will explore the key developments school leaders need to be aware of, providing clarity on:
- Zero-hour contracts: With many schools relying heavily on zero-hour support staff, learn how Labour’s plans to ban these contracts and mandate guaranteed hours reflecting workers’ usual patterns could affect your workforce strategy.
- Flexible working: With increasing pressure from unions and a predominantly female workforce, learn how to balance requests with operational needs, particularly in light of Labour’s proposals to introduce new “reasonability” requirements.
- Redundancy: With many Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) in deficit, rising costs, and the introduction of VAT on independent school fees, many schools are considering redundancies. Get an update on legal requirements and learn how proposed changes to the definition of “establishment” could impact redundancies in MATs.
- Trade Unions: Labour’s proposals to make recognition easier is expected to lead to increased union activity in independent schools. Get an overview of what this will entail, as well as understand the changes to industrial action.
Against a backdrop of staff shortages, budget pressures, and heightened scrutiny on leadership teams, staying ahead of these changes is critical to future-proofing your school – helping you avoid financial risks, operational disruption, and legal disputes in the year ahead.
Have a question for our host, Jane Hallas?
If you have a specific query, please submit it in advance via the registration form. We’ll aim to address as many as possible at the end of the session.
Register for free webinar
Webinar review
“Having attended a few WorkNest webinars, I am always impressed with the no-nonsense, well-balanced guidance they provide. Their advice gives me confidence to deal with situations that may arise in an appropriate way and the fact that they follow up with answers to all the questions posed during the webinar is an added bonus.”
Mary Greig, Scaled Solutions
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Protecting organisations and achieving results
Owing to our unrivalled support and expertise, we’re consistently high achievers when it comes to protecting organisations and achieving results.
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More employment lawyers
Across our non-SRA and SRA entities, we have over three times as many qualified employment lawyers than any of our larger competitors, guaranteeing the best possible advice.
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Our Employment Law clients are nearly four times less likely to face a Tribunal claim compared to the national average, and almost twice as likely to successfully defend one.
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All of our Health & Safety specialists are IOSH qualified (or equivalent), mainly Chartered or Graduate, ensuring they possess the skills and expertise to support you effectively.
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Together, our experts have over 1,500 years’ collective experience of supporting organisations with their compliance, so you can be sure you’re in safe hands.
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Our clients range from small businesses with fewer than 50 staff at a single location, through to large household names employing thousands of people at multiple sites across the UK. Whatever your size or sector, we have solutions to suit your needs.
