Acas issues important consultation on changes to the statutory Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures (UK)

By Clare McNicholas on July 31, 2026 Posted in General

In an unexpected development, Acas yesterday launched a consultation on updates to its statutory Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.

According to Acas’s press release, the Code is being revised to encourage early and informal resolution of concerns at work. Acas research on the annual cost of conflict has found that managing formal disciplinary and grievance procedures is estimated to cost UK employers £2.36 billion per year, whereas the annual cost of informal resolution is around 10 times lower at £250 million. The consultation aims to “start a conversation about how we can disagree better at work”.

Exploiting AI’s weaknesses to resolve workplace grievances (UK)

By David Whincup on July 29, 2026 Posted in Artificial Intelligence, Employment Tribunal, Grievance, Mediation

A couple of years ago I read a quite serious piece on whether it was sensible or necessary to say please and thank you when interacting with AI platforms. This was not because Skynet might be a little less inclined to destroy humanity if we all had lovely manners. Instead, ran the argument, if we wanted AI’s “thoughts” and outputs to be of a certain quality or tone, we would have to teach it, and the sooner we started, the better.

Sadly, even in just the space of that couple of years, that particular ship has not just sailed, but rolled over and sunk without bubbles, meaning that one abiding characteristic of the AI-assisted workplace grievance seems to be a pseudo-legalistic and passive-aggressive tone which cannot help but put the reader’s teeth on edge.

EEOC Moves One Step Closer to Eliminating EEO-1 Reporting (US)

By Caroline Carrier on July 28, 2026 Posted in Discrimination, Diversity Equity and Inclusion, EEOC

Us Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

On May 21, 2026, we predicted that employers’ longstanding obligations to maintain and report workforce demographic data, as required by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), may be eliminated. That prediction has moved one step closer to becoming reality.

Labour & Employment trends in Brazil: 3 areas to watch in 2026

By Jose Martin on July 28, 2026 Posted in General

By Jose Martin with Alexandre Pessoa of Azevedo Sette LLP

The next 12 months are likely to bring significant developments in Brazil’s labour law landscape, driven by both political dynamics and evolving judicial and social expectations.

The number of labour claims (which fell significantly following 2017 fee reforms) is again on the rise, with news reports of over 2.3 million cases having been filed with the Labour Courts in 2025, an increase of 8.47% from 2024.

Many factors appear to be causing this increase, but most cite increased employment especially in the services sector which has traditionally suffered from high turnover rates. Our experience also suggests other factors including the use of AI by plaintiffs to reduce barriers to claims, persistent employer compliance gaps, workplace burnout, and a legal environment that favours employee-based litigation.

UK government issues consultation on “workplace monitoring technologies”

By David Naylor, Robert Lister, David Whincup and Laura Nelson on July 28, 2026 Posted in General

The UK government has launched a consultation on the use of workplace monitoring technologies (WMT), including surveillance tools, algorithmic management systems and AI-enabled decision-making. The consultation forms part of the wider Make Work Pay agenda and seeks views on whether additional regulation is needed to improve transparency, worker engagement and accountability when employers monitor workers.

Key dates:

Consultation opened: 8 July 2026
Consultation closes: 30 September 2026

What are WMT?

The government uses the term WMT to refer to digital tools used by employers to collect, track, analyse or make decisions based on information about workers and their activities.

Groundbreaking Decision Creates Uncertainty About Future of Labor Law, and Provides Employers with New Ways to Appeal NLRB Decisions (US)

By Will Kishman on July 22, 2026 Posted in Compliance, Employment Law, NLRA, NLRB, Recent Cases, Unions

A major new court decision could remake federal labor law for years to come. This decision – issued on July 21 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit – signals that courts may soon revisit many longstanding legal standards governing labor law issues. The decision also highlights a new route for parties to appeal a broad range of cases decided by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

California Employers Continue to Face Challenges Enforcing Arbitration Agreements

By Eric Witt on July 16, 2026 Posted in Arbitration, California, Employment Agreements, Employment Contracts, Employment Law, Litigation, Recent Cases

California employers that seek to enforce arbitration agreements with their employees may feel like they are playing the game of “Whack-A-Mole.” For those unfamiliar, the game of “Whack-A-Mole” is played on a machine with a table-like play area top, an elevated display screen and a large, soft mallet. Five to eight holes in the play area top are filled with small, plastic, cartoonish moles, or other characters, which pop up randomly throughout the game. Points are scored by, as the name suggests, rapidly whacking each mole with the mallet as soon as it appears from its hole. As soon as one mole retreats into its hole, another mole emerges, and this continues until time is up. California employers may feel like they are playing this game in the sense that they are constantly responding to new legislative or court created rules against enforcement of arbitration agreements. Although certain rules against enforcement have been invalidated based on preemption by the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), California courts have continued to recognize new defenses against enforcement.

Workplace Investigations: Five Key Takeaways (Part Three)

By James Pike, Sarah Wilkinson and Laura Nelson on July 10, 2026 Posted in Employment Law, Workplace Investigations

When workplace investigations hit the headlines, the risks can escalate quickly.

Suddenly, employers are dealing with media attention, social media commentary, employee concerns and potentially serious reputational risk – all while trying to conduct a fair and effective investigation.

We were recently privileged to host the International Employment Lawyer’s Workplace Investigations Masterclass, which included three lively and engaging panel discussions. Each was designed to address the thorny issues which can and often do arise in such situations, with valuable insights from a variety of panellists whose work (whether in-house or in private practice) keeps them at the coalface of workplace investigations.

Here is the last of our five key takeaways from the event. Please see here for part one and part two.

Supreme Court Decision May Cement Presidential Control Over the NLRB and Other Independent Agencies (US)

By Gabrielle Martin on July 7, 2026 Posted in Employment Law, FTC, MSPB, NLRB, Recent Cases, SCOTUS

The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 29 decision in Trump v. Slaughter may significantly reshape how independent federal agencies, such as the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), operate.

Although the case arose from President Donald Trump’s removal of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, the Court used the dispute to overrule Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, the 1935 decision that had long permitted Congress to shield members of certain independent agencies from presidential removal except for cause. The Court instead held that, as a general rule, principal officers exercising executive power must remain removable by the President, substantially expanding presidential authority over agencies historically viewed as independent.