The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces significant, phased changes for universities, including day-one employment rights, stronger trade union powers, tougher dismissal and consultation rules, and increased enforcement. Shakespeare Martineau cover how universities should plan early by reviewing contracts, policies and management practices to ensure compliance and manage risk.
Author: Tom Long, Partner & Susannah Nicholas, Professional Support Lawyer
Shakespeare Martineau explains how the Employment Rights Act 2025 will significantly strengthen trade union rights and make industrial action and union recognition easier, with phased changes from 2026–2027 that universities must prepare for by updating policies, contracts and management practices to manage increased industrial relations risk.
Author: Tom Long, Partner & Susannah Nicholas, Professional Support Lawyer
Shakespeare Martineau explore the Employment Rights Act 2025 introducing major changes to unfair dismissal, prompting universities to urgently review recruitment, probation and performance management processes ahead of 2027.
Author: Tom Long, Partner & Susannah Nicholas, Professional Support Lawyer
Shakespeare Martineau explains how AI is increasingly being used across university HR functions such as recruitment, performance management and workforce planning, while highlighting the significant legal, ethical and governance risks it creates around bias, transparency, accountability and data protection, and outlining practical steps institutions can take to manage its responsible and compliant use.
Author: Tom Long, Partner, Shakespeare Martineau and Susannah Nicholas, Professional Support Lawyer
People Insight compare staff experience data with key NSS themes, showing clear patterns between strong internal communication and leadership clarity for staff, and better student experiences of organisation and academic support. It offers practical ways leaders can use staff feedback as an early-warning signal to improve how institutions run.
Author: Jane Tidswell, HE Director
People Insight encourage HEI's to move beyond simply collecting employee survey feedback and instead demonstrate strong, visible leadership ownership, turning insights into clear, accountable actions that address staff needs, build trust and drive meaningful, consistent improvement across the organisation.
Author: Jane Tidswell, HE Director
People Insight suggest falling response rates in staff surveys are a growing signal of declining trust, highlighting the need for universities to strengthen communication, visible action, and leadership engagement between surveys to rebuild confidence in employee voice.
Author: Jane Tidswell, HE Director
Veredus explores how UK universities are recruiting senior leaders globally, leading to the evolution of assessment processes to fairly evaluate diverse international candidates based on demonstrated impact rather than familiarity with local systems or norms.
Author: Nataliya Starik-Bludova, Director - Education
Wesleyan explain how financial wellbeing is a key but often complex aspect of life for higher education professionals, where access to specialist financial advice can support more informed decision-making across pensions, career changes and long-term planning.
Author: Steve Renfrew, Head of Education
Discover how INTOO’s tailored outplacement services support university staff through organisational change while helping individuals move forward positively in their careers.
Hays recognise that UK universities face the dual challenge of managing workforce reductions while building future-critical skills, requiring HR leaders to shift from traditional hiring models towards reskilling, redeployment and strategic capability planning to ensure long-term resilience.
Author: Matt Lewis, Director Hays Workforce Solutions & Advisory
Farrer & Co highlights the growing rise in neurodiversity-related tribunal claims and outlines the key legal duties and practical steps HEIs must take, particularly around proactive identification, reasonable adjustments and inclusive management, to minimise risk and better support neurodivergent staff.
Author: Kathleen Heycock, Partner and Rosanna Gregory, Associate
Find out how financial pressures and organisational change are challenging employee engagement in HE, and presents a practical four-part framework - centred on personalised recognition, tailored benefits, cost-of-living support, and embedded wellbeing - to help universities strengthen retention, morale and performance while demonstrating clear value and impact.
ECC explores how AI is reshaping HR and job evaluation by strengthening employees’ ability to structure challenges while also offering organisations a governed, human-led “second pair of eyes” to improve consistency, documentation and defensibility in decision-making under increasing scrutiny.
Author: Nicholas Johnston, Chief Executive
VWV explore the complex and increasingly common challenge for HEIs of managing employees’ competing and sometimes conflicting beliefs, particularly where issues of freedom of speech, harassment, reputational risk, and protected characteristics intersect, and it outlines key legal principles and case law to help employers navigate proportionate, context-specific responses.
Author: Michael Halsey, Partner
Shoosmiths explore how AI is reshaping employment relationships in higher education, driving more complex employee and union challenges while offering HR efficiencies, and argues that universities must adopt responsible, well-governed approaches with strong human oversight to manage legal, ethical and operational risks.
Mills & Reeve outline how the new statutory trade union right of access under the Employment Rights Act 2025 will impact universities, highlighting key processes, obligations and practical steps HR teams should take to prepare for increased union engagement and compliance requirements.
Author: Siân Jackson, Alex Russell, and Natasha Brown
Weightmans explains how the High Court’s overturning of the Office for Students’ fine against the University of Sussex reinforces the need for a balanced, proportionate approach to managing freedom of speech alongside other legal and institutional obligations in higher education.
Author: Melanie Steed, Principal Associate
