The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has published a consultation on the threshold for triggering collective redundancy obligations. The Employment Rights Act 2025 will introduce new protections so that employers will be required to undertake collective redundancy consultation and notification whenever they make a threshold number of redundancies across their entire organisation. This consultation closes at 11:59pm on 21 May 2026.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has launched a consultation on 4 February 2026 seeking views on a revised draft code of practice governing access and unfair practices during trade union recognition and derecognition processes, which has been updated to reflect changes in the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025). The changes to the Code relate broadly to the provision of earlier and clearer rights of union access, revised timetables and updated guidance aligned with modern working practices.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has launched a consultation, seeking stakeholder feedback to inform the development of its upcoming steel strategy, 'the Plan for Steel', scheduled for publication in Spring 2025. The consultation seeks input on several proposed areas of focus for the strategy, including financial support mechanisms, increasing demand for domestically produced steel, addressing international trade issues, promoting green steel production, mitigating carbon leakage risks, and developing a skilled workforce. The consultation closes on 30 March 2025.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has launched a consultation on the regulatory detail required to implement zero hours and similar contract measures under the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025). The 85 page consultation document poses 64 questions. The consultation closes on 25 August 2026.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has published a Green Paper proposing reforms to Post Office governance, ownership and operations. The consultation seeks views on potential changes including mutualisation of ownership, introduction of a charter model, modernisation of the network requirements, and development of banking services. The proposals aim to transform Post Office's culture following the Horizon scandal while adapting to changing consumer demands. The consultation closes on 6 October 2025.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has announced a £50 million Critical Minerals Programme to strengthen the UK’s supply of critical minerals, reduce reliance on overseas imports and improve economic resilience. Launched as part of the government’s Critical Minerals Strategy, the programme aims to support domestic extraction, processing, recycling and manufacturing of minerals used in products such as smartphones, household appliances, electric vehicle batteries and clean energy technologies. The government stated that the investment will help secure supply chains, support high-value jobs, attract private investment and protect the economy from global supply disruptions.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has publicly named 389 employers for failing to pay the national minimum wage, affecting approximately 60,000 workers. The employers have been ordered to repay over £7.3 million in owed wages and face penalties totalling £12.6 million. This represents the first ‘naming round’ since the Chancellor's Budget commitment to increase the frequency of such disclosures and the final round before the Fair Work Agency assumes enforcement responsibilities on 7 April 2026. The named employers cover a range of sectors, including social care, sports and retail. The largest breaches include ISS Mediclean Limited, which owed £1.5 million to 6,580 workers and ISS Facility Services Limited, which owed £754,760 to 5,378 workers.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has named 491 companies for failing to pay national minimum wage to around 42,000 workers in its 22nd naming round. Defaulting employers have received fines totalling £10.2m.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has named 518 companies for not paying national minimum wage to over 60,000 workers. Defaulting employers have been ordered to repay these workers, resulting in more than £7.4m being reimbursed. This is round 21 of the government 'naming and shaming' scheme introduced in 2013 to publicly identify employers who fail to pay their workers correctly.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has named more than 500 companies for not paying national minimum wage to over 172,000 employees. Defaulting employers have been ordered to repay these workers almost £16m to backfill these breaches. This is the 20th list to be published by the government since the introduction of the naming scheme in 2013 under which it publicly 'names and shames' employers who fail to pay the minimum wage. The 'naming and shaming' scheme was paused from July 2018 until it recommenced in February 2020 in a revised form.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has opened a call for evidence, seeking views from businesses, trade bodies and other stakeholders on the potential impacts of the UK acceding to the Regional Convention on Pan-Euro Mediterranean (PEM) Convention. The PEM Convention is a multilateral agreement between 25 contracting parties that sets out common rules of origin to facilitate trade and enhance supply chain integration. Aligning the UK with these rules could provide mutual benefits for UK businesses operating within the PEM region. Sectors that manufacture in the UK but source materials from neighbouring countries, such as the automotive, fashion and advanced manufacturing industries, are expected to benefit in particular. The call for evidence closes on 15 December 2025.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has launched a consultation as part of its review of the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020. The review seeks to gather views on the Act's operation, focusing on market access principles for goods, services, and professional qualifications, as well as the role of the Office for the Internal Market. DBT aims to improve the Act's processes while maintaining its protections for businesses trading across the UK's internal borders. The consultation is open until 3 April 2025.