United Kingdom: Employee Benefits & Compensation

Tapestry Compliance provides specialized legal and compliance services for share plans and executive remuneration, offering pragmatic advice and global reach for financial services firms. The firm combines boutique expertise with comprehensive industry knowledge to deliver actionable solutions for complex compensation and regulatory matters.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a new statutory right to unpaid bereavement leave in the UK, expanding beyond the limited parental bereavement provisions. This article examines the Government's consultation response detailing eligibility criteria, leave duration, notice requirements, and the balance struck between supporting bereaved employees and managing employer obligations.

The UK Government has confirmed that bereavement leave will become a day one employment right from April 2027 under the Employment Rights Act 2025. Employees will be entitled to two weeks' unpaid leave following the death of close family members, with flexible notice requirements and protection against dismissal. Employers should begin reviewing their policies now to prepare for these significant changes to workplace bereavement entitlements.

Employees are increasingly turning to AI tools like ChatGPT for guidance on managing their equity compensation, but research shows these systems provide incorrect answers to financial questions up to 88% of the time. As AI becomes an invisible interpretation layer between employer communications and employee decisions, companies must rethink how they design share plan materials to ensure they degrade safely when context is incomplete or misunderstood.

The UK government has launched a consultation into a revised statutory Code of Practice on fair and transparent distribution of tips, following the Employment Rights Act 2025. The new framework introduces mandatory consultation requirements, periodic policy reviews, and enhanced transparency obligations that will fundamentally change how employers in hospitality and customer-facing sectors manage tipping arrangements.

Senior executives contemplating a transatlantic career move between the UK and US face a complex web of legal considerations that extend far beyond simple relocation logistics. From restrictive covenants and fiduciary duties to executive compensation clawbacks and cross-border tax implications, the legal landscape demands careful navigation to avoid costly disputes and protect hard-earned financial outcomes. Understanding employer protective measures, jurisdictional differences in covenant enforceability, a

The Employment Appeal Tribunal has delivered a landmark ruling in the Next equal pay case, addressing whether employers can justify pay disparities between roles of equal value based on labour market pressures. The decision provides crucial clarity on when recruitment and retention challenges in specific sectors can legitimately explain differences in basic pay rates, while leaving several other aspects of the equal pay claim unresolved.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority has launched a consultation on proposed reforms to remuneration rules for FCA solo-regulated firms, aiming to create a simpler and more proportionate regulatory framework. The consultation seeks to balance streamlined governance with maintaining sound conduct practices and ensuring remuneration aligns with client, fund, and investor interests.

Acas has published a draft Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures for consultation, its first full rewrite since 2009. Nothing has changed yet. The consultation closes on 23rd September 2026, Acas will then decide whether and how to take the draft forward, and any final version still needs government approval before it takes effect. What the draft does, regardless of its eventual shape, is reveal the thinking that underpins Acas’s proposed approach to workplace conflict.