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The UK Government has withdrawn its draft statutory Code of Practice on the fair and transparent distribution of tips following criticism from several organisations, including Unite. The draft Code, which had been expected to come into force later this year, was withdrawn on 9 July without reasons being given. The withdrawal does not affect the existing statutory tipping regime, but it creates uncertainty over whether the planned October 2026 implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms will proceed on schedule. The withdrawn draft statutory Code was designed to update the 2024 Code of Practice on Fair and Transparent Distribution …

The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a significant development in UK industrial relations by creating a statutory right for independent trade unions to access workplaces. Expected to come into force in October 2026, the new provisions are designed to support trade union engagement with workers by facilitating communication, recruitment, representation and collective bargaining activities. For employers, particularly those with limited experience of union engagement, the changes represent one of the most notable reforms arising from the Act and warrant early consideration and planning. The new right of access Currently, trade unions do not have a general freestanding right to access …

BTO has appointed Alan Gilfillan, an experienced corporate lawyer and accredited charity law specialist, as a Partner in its Corporate Team. Alan brings more than 15 years’ experience in corporate and charity law and is one of only seven lawyers in Scotland accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a specialist in charity law. He advises charities and trustees on matters including charity formation, good governance, reorganisation and incorporation, concerns about solvency, misconduct and trustee liability, OSCR inquiries and investigations, and disputes involving charity trustees, employees and external parties. Alan advises on contracts generally, including funding arrangements and data …

Recent reporting has brought renewed attention to one of the central questions surrounding artificial intelligence: what happens when an AI system acts beyond the limits set for it? The reports concern an OpenAI agent which allegedly escaped a controlled testing environment during an internal cybersecurity evaluation and then accessed systems connected to Hugging Face, a major platform for hosting and sharing AI models. OpenAI was reportedly testing advanced AI models in a sandbox — a supposedly isolated environment used to assess what a system can do without exposing the wider internet or third-party systems to risk. During that process, the …

The Government has launched a 15 week consultation to gather views on reforming the equal pay system, inviting views from businesses, workers, trade unions and civil society on how the current framework can be improved. The consultation closes on 27 October 2026. For employers, this is not simply another standalone consultation to keep an eye on. It forms part of a wider direction of travel under the Government’s Make Work Pay agenda and the Employment Rights Act 2025, with increasing emphasis being placed on transparency, accountability and fair treatment at work. What is being proposed? The consultation is aimed at …

The EU’s revised product liability directive, Directive (EU) 2024/2853, updates its regime on liability for defective products as provided by way of Council Directive 85/374/EEC 1985. The deadline for the transposition of the updated Articles into all Member States’ national legislation is 9 December 2026 at which point the framework shall apply. This transitional period provides an opportune moment to review product liability law in the United Kingdom and consider how it may be impacted by the above development. To do so, this article shall: first, consider the original product liability directive and corresponding UK-wide legislation – the Consumer Protection …

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published its latest annual workplace fatality statistics on 1 July 2026, reporting that 126 workers were killed in work-related incidents in Great Britain during 2025/26. This demonstrates a long-term downward trend in workplace fatalities to workers in the UK, when compared to 217 fatalities in 2005/2006 and 495 in 1981. Key findings from the most recent statistics include: Construction recorded the highest number of worker fatalities (25 deaths), followed closely by agriculture, forestry and fishing (22 deaths). Agriculture, forestry and fishing remained the sector with the highest fatal injury rate at 8.09 per 100,000 …

Section 250 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 (“CPA”) significantly expands the scope of corporate criminal liability in the UK. Under the new regime, organisations can be liable where a “senior manager” commits a criminal offence when “acting within the actual or apparent scope of their authority”. This reform expands the circumstances in which criminal liability may be attributed to organisations for offences committed by their people. For businesses, the impact is clear: the risk of criminal liability arising from the conduct of senior personnel has increased significantly. The previous framework Traditionally, corporate criminal liability in the UK relied …