The Home Office has issued revised versions of the three primary Workers and Temporary Workers Sponsor Guidance documents, on 31 December 2024 and 1 January 2025. The documents contain various changes to the preceding versions, which we will be covering shortly, but it is important to flag that these include a new prohibition on sponsors in the Skilled Worker route passing on sponsor licence fees (including associated administrative costs such as premium services fees) on or after 31 December 2024, or Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) fees, to sponsored Skilled Workers, in relation to CoS issued on or after 31 December 2024. The new guidance also adds a general prohibition on sponsors sponsoring workers ‘in a personal capacity’. There also new related revocation grounds. The changes relating to Skilled Worker sponsors had been previously announced in a Written Ministerial Statement. There are also a number of changes related to Key Personnel.

A new protocol, the disclosure of information between family and criminal agencies and jurisdictions (the 2024 protocol) has been published. The 2024 protocol replaces the October 2013 protocol and good practice model (disclosure of information in cases of alleged child abuse and linked criminal and care directions hearings), often referred to as the police protocol. The 2024 protocol applies to the exchange of information and material between criminal and family agencies and jurisdictions and is to be applied from 1 March 2024. It relates to all private and public family law proceedings, including contemplated public law proceedings, and all material held by the police. It will be reviewed by a working group comprising the judiciary, local authorities, police and the Crown Prosecution Service in 2025.

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO 2012) makes important changes affecting bail for adult defendants and introduces a new statutory framework for youth custodial remands. LASPO 2012 also amends the Bail (Amendment) Act 1993 to enable the prosecution to appeal to the High Court against a Crown Court decision to grant bail. The new provisions will come into force on 3rd December 2012.

In a highly significant and controversial change, which was unannounced elsewhere, the Home Office has updated its caseworker guidance on how to assess the good character requirement in nationality applications to state that for applications made after 10 February 2025 where a person has previously  been an illegal entrant, they  will normally be refused citizenship. This will also apply where a person has arrived in the UK without a required entry clearance or an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) having made a ‘dangerous journey’.  Details of the changes are set out below.

For the purposes of this Part a qualifying trade carried on by the issuing company or a qualifying 90% subsidiary of that company (“the relevant company”) is a “new qualifying trade” if (and only if)— (a) the trade does not begin to be carried on (whether by the relevant company or any other person) before the two year pre-investment period, and (b) at no time before the relevant company begins to carry on the trade was any other trade being carried on by the issuing company or by any company that was a 51% subsidiary of the issuing company at the time in question.

Statutory sick pay is set to increase to £86.70 per week, Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay and Maternity Allowance will all increase to £136.78 per week, and the weekly lower earnings limit will increase to £109, with effect from dates between 6 and 8 April 2013, under the provisions of the draft Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2013 and the draft Social Security (Contributions) (Limits and Thresholds) (Amendment) Regulations 2013.

The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (Commencement No 2 and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/714 bring into force section 6 of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (REUL(RR)A 2023) on 1 October 2024. Section 6 makes amendments to section 6 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EU(W)A 2018), bringing in new court procedures relating to questions of assimilated law (and points of retained EU law, in cases involving pre-2024 facts).

Ireland-Banking & Financial Services analysis: This article, written by Sarah McCague, partner and Daniel Watters, partner of Arthur Cox LLP, notes that the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Regulations 2025 (SI No 637/2025 and SI No 668/2025) were signed by Minister Dara Calleary just before the Christmas break.

The UK government has announced that regulations enforcing consumer protections against hacking and cyber-attacks will come into effect from 29 April 2024. The new regulations mandate that manufacturers of internet-connected smart devices should meet minimum-security standards by law and ban easily guessable default passwords to deter cyber criminals. The new regulations form part of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure regime.

Academics from the University of Birmingham have a published a report examining the policies and practices surrounding irregular migration in the UK and how these contribute towards living and working conditions for migrants as part of the Horizon Europe and UKRI-funded ‘Improving the Living and Labour Conditions of Irregularised Migrant Households in Europe’ (I-CLAIM) project. The report examines the private and public actors which result in people becoming unlawfully resident in the UK and then subject to the hostile environment as well as some of the problems which result from these situations such as exploitation and abuse.

Corporate Crime analysis: Spotlight on Corruption’s report ‘All bark and no bite?: Taking stock of the UK’s enforcement of sanctions urges the new Labour government to reconsider the UK’s approach to the enforcement of sanctions. While the report recognises the rapid and sweeping legislative reforms undertaken so far, it challenges the political will and lack of ‘transparency, cohesion [and] strategy’ for civil enforcement efforts and criminal justice on sanctions evasion. Mohamed Naleemudeen, associate, and Dimitri Naumenko-Pronin, legal assistant, at BCL Solicitors LLP consider the findings of the report, whether they agree with the findings, which recommendations they consider will be most effective in practice and other suggestions they would like to see developed in this area.

The Welcoming Committee for Hong Kong and British Future has published a report ‘Working it out: Hong Kongers, employment and the cost of living’ (‘the report’). The report looks at challenges that some Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa holders are facing in finding employment in the UK and coping with the cost of living. It outlines several recommendations for national and local governments, as well as employers, to assist these Hong Kongers in securing employment that aligns with their skills. This aims to enable them to succeed in the workplace and fully contribute to the economy. In a separate analysis for UK in a changing Europe (UKICE), co-author Dr Heather Rolfe draws on the report, which finds  that many individuals holding the Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa are employed in roles that do not align with their skills. She argues that this is a broader issue that applies to migrants of other nationalities who live in the UK, and one which needs to be addressed in Labour’s skills strategy.