Welcome to this month's briefing for HR teams and in-house employment counsel – bringing you this month’s employment law highlights in an easy-to-read package.

Competing for talent

Recruiting and retaining talent is at the core of almost all organisations, and that usually means competing with other firms. Employment lawyers and HR teams tend only to think about competition law when they are drafting post-termination restrictive covenants or confidentiality provisions, or trying to litigate them. There is actually a far deeper crossover between employment and competition law, and this is an area of increasing focus for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Kayleigh Leonie from our Employment team, and Greg Dowell and Fionna Beattie from our Competition team, have recently published a fascinating article exploring some of these themes, covering in particular the CMA’s new guidance for employers. 

Immigration

Immigration is never far from the front pages. From 12 October 2025, the European Union will begin a gradual rollout of the Entry/Exit System (EES), a new digital border system for non-EU nationals visiting countries within the Schengen area, designed to strengthen border management and security as well as provide a more efficient border experience for travellers. Our note sets out further details of the EES and the likely impact on travellers.

Neonatal care

Neonatal care leave, and accompanying pay, was introduced for births on or after 6 April 2025. The basic idea is pretty simple, up to two weeks paid leave if a child needs intensive care. But, as is often the case, the details are a great deal more complicated, especially the way neonatal care interacts with other forms of family-friendly leave. The Government has published some technical guidance for employers.