Employment describes a contractual working relationship in which an individual personally performs work or services for another (usually a business) in return for wages or salary, and is subject to the other party’s control and direction. It underpins rights and obligations in employment law, tax, social security and pensions.Across England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, “employee” and “worker” are defined primarily in statute (for example, the Employment Rights Act 1996 and related legislation), interpreted and refined by extensive case law on control, mutuality of obligation and integration into the business. In Ireland, definitions are drawn from legislation (including the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts) and common law tests, with a similar focus on the substance of the relationship rather than labels.Employment status is distinct from self‑employment and from agency, casual or gig arrangements, although tribunals and courts regularly examine such relationships to determine whether employment exists in substance. Establishing employment is critical for access to statutory employment rights, unfair dismissal protection, redundancy payments, minimum wage, working time protections, vicarious liability, PAYE, PRSI/NI contributions and collective labour law protections across the UK and Ireland.

Ireland–Employment analysis: This article, was written by Daniel Watters of Arthur Cox and considers the pensions implications of the Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Act 2025 (ECRA 2025), which comes into operation on 29 June 2026. It explains the new statutory right for employees not to consent to retire at a contractual retirement age below the State pension age, and highlights key issues for occupational pension schemes, including benefit accrual, contributions, normal retirement dates, scheme documentation, member communications and insured benefit

Forthcoming changes: In measures expected to come into force on 1 October 2026, time limits for making certain claims in employment tribunals in Great Britain (and, in certain cases, industrial tribunals in Northern Ireland) will be increased from three months to six months. The changes are set out in section 152 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) and ERA 2025, Schedule 12 (not yet in force), and in The Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) (Amendment) Order 2026 (draft), The Employment Tribunal (Extension of Time Limits) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026 (draft) and The Employee Study and Training (Procedural Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/473. This Precedent will be updated as soon as the relevant statutory instruments are made. For more information, see Practice Note: Employment Rights Act 2025—tracker. 1 Definitions and interpretation 1.1 [Insert the following additional definitions into the definitions clause of the Asset purchase agreement] Business • the business of [insert description of the business being sold] operated by the Seller and all other activities including those ancillary or incidental to or in connection

Forthcoming changes: In measures expected to come into force on 1 October 2026, time limits for making certain claims in employment tribunals in Great Britain (and, in certain cases, industrial tribunals in Northern Ireland) will be increased from three months to six months. The changes are set out in section 152 of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) and ERA 2025, Schedule 12 (not yet in force), and in The Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) (Amendment) Order 2026 (draft), The Employment Tribunal (Extension of Time Limits) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026 (draft) and The Employee Study and Training (Procedural Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/473. This Precedent will be updated as soon as the relevant statutory instruments are made. For more information, see Practice Note: Employment Rights Act 2025—tracker. 1 Definitions and interpretation 1.1 [Insert the following additional definitions into the definitions clause of the Asset purchase agreement (if required)] Accounts Date • [insert day and month] 20 [insert year]; Business • the business of [insert description of the business being bought] operated by the

The Tribunal forum which hears an appeal by a party from the Employment Tribunals.

STOP PRESS: On 4 June 2026, following a Remote Participation Review launched in July 2024 at the request of the Lady Chief Justice, the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary published new guidance on participation in remote hearings, including Presidential Guidance on matters relating to the mode and listing of hearings; remote participation in hearings; and electronic documents for employment tribunals and Remote participation in Hearings in the Employment Appeal Tribunal for the EAT. These new guidance document supersede the previous Practice Direction on remote hearings and open justice and the Presidential Guidance on remote and in-person hearings, which each took effect on 14 September 2020 and the Employment Appeal Tribunal protocol on remote hearings dated January 2025. For further information, see: LNB News 05/06/2026 22. This Practice Note will be updated to reflect the changes in due course. FORTHCOMING CHANGE: On 21 October 2024, the President of the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) issued a new EAT Practice Direction. The new Practice Direction, which contains additional guidance on the use of the MyHMCTS portal,

This Practice Note sets out the full text of the Practice Direction of the Employment Appeal Tribunal 2024 which came into force on 1 February 2025. 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 What does the Employment Appeal Tribunal do? 1.1.1 The Employment Appeal Tribunal (“EAT”) decides appeals from decisions of Employment Tribunals sitting in England, Wales and Scotland. 1.1.2 Special rules apply to national security appeals: see Section 14. 1.1.3 The EAT has some other functions: see Sections 15 and 16. 1.2 What appeals does this Practice Direction apply to? 1.2.1 This Practice Direction applies to all appeals commenced on or after 1 February 2025; and to appeals commenced before that date for steps that take place on or after it. This Practice Direction applies to England, Wales and Scotland. It amends and replaces the EAT Practice Direction 2023. 1.3 What is this Practice Direction for? 1.3.1 This Practice Direction explains the procedures of the EAT. It sets out procedural requirements with which parties are expected to comply. In order to assist

This table provides a handy record of rates of statutory payments (eg SMP, SSP etc), national minimum

This Practice Note contains links to the online version of the textbook Employment law in Ireland, Second Edition (2022) by Neville Cox, Val Corbett and Mark Connaughton. The book is a general practitioner focused guide to employment law in Ireland. It covers the legal framework from employment status and contract formation through equality, leave, privacy, protected disclosures, health and safety, disciplinary process, dismissal, redundancy, Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court procedure. The main sections in this Practice Note reflect the chapters of the book, and the tables in each main section provide links to the online source. Key themes for practitioners Key themes Best starting point Summary Employee or contractor? Chapter 2: Employment Status Sets out the modern tests for employment status, presumptions and vicarious liability. Terms and conditions Chapter 3: Contract of Employment Useful for drafting, reviewing or challenging contractual terms and variations. Discrimination or equal pay Chapter 6: Introduction to Employment Equality LawChapter 7: The Discriminatory GroundsChapter 8: Equal PayChapter 9: Harassment and Sexual HarassmentChapter

Employment analysis: In this video, Tony Gould, Professional Support Lawyer in the LexisNexis Employment team, looks ahead to the employment legislation due to come into force in the first half of 2024, including in relation to holiday pay, the Equality Act 2010, retained EU law, the national minimum wage, flexible working, carer’s leave and trade unions.

Employment analysis: The Lexis+® Employment team have put together a round-up of the key employment law developments in 2024 as well as a look ahead to the key things to look out for in 2025, including upcoming developments on the Employment Rights Bill, the new employer duty to prevent sexual harassment, the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill and upcoming legislation and cases of interest.

Employment analysis: The Lexis+® Employment team have put together a round-up of the key employment law developments in 2025, as well as a look ahead to the key things to look out for in 2026, including upcoming developments on the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025), the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill and upcoming legislation and cases of interest.