AFB Seminar: Employment Rights Act 2025 – What’s Changed?

On 16 December 2025, Parliament passed the Employment Rights Bill, setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in UK employment law for decades. Join us for this seminar with Fox Williams LLP, where they will outline the immediate impact on non-UK headquartered banks and the further changes expected throughout 2026 and beyond. 

Why attend?

Members will gain a clear overview of the key reforms, along with valuable insight into how these developments may affect financial exposure, risk management frameworks and organisational culture. The session will provide practical guidance on the steps non-UK headquartered banks can take now and over the coming year to prepare for what will be an evolving legal landscape, helping them to stay ahead of employment relations challenges.

Who should attend?

This session will be particularly relevant to HR staff members with responsibility for or inputting into a strategic response to the forthcoming changes and for managing employee relations and risk.

Speakers

Joanna Chatterton, Partner and Head of Employment Team

Jo leads Fox Williams’ expert employment practice, focusing on advising employers in the financial services and professional practices sectors. Jo is a trusted advisor for businesses, particularly overseas banks, insurance companies, law firms, and barristers’ chambers. She helps them navigate their most complex and high-risk HR challenges, with a deep expertise in the intersection of employment and regulatory law.

In her role, Jo is known for leading workplace investigations, including high-profile cases such as the CBI investigation. She partners with clients to manage investigations into allegations of discrimination, harassment, and regulatory breaches, always with a focus on risk management.

Marian Bloodworth, Partner, Employment Team

Marian is an employment law partner with over 28 years of experience in helping clients across a range of sectors. Her particular expertise lies in the financial services sector where she helps clients to manage their HR regulatory risk. She advises on the employment law implications and challenges of regulatory regime requirements, including SMCR, internal and external regulatory investigations, and grievance and disciplinary processes (in particular in relation to non-financial misconduct). Her work also includes fitness and propriety, conduct rule breaches, regulatory references and senior level exits and negotiations. She has worked for many years with banks, insurers, brokers, private equity houses, hedge funds, investment managers, FinTech and payments firms.

Please note, you will receive a confirmation of your booking via email within 24 hours. Should you not receive a confirmation, please contact AFB to double-check if your booking was successful.

Logistics

Fee:               Included in AFB membership (no fee)

Location:        Fox Williams, 10 Finsbury Square, London, EC2A 1AF

Date:               Tuesday 03 February 2026

Time:              15:30 – 17:30 (registration & refreshments from 15:30 – 16:00)

Thank you to Fox Williams for generously providing drinks and canapes 17:30 – 18:30

There will be ample opportunity for questions throughout the session, however, if you would like to submit a question before or have any specific questions or areas that you would like the session to address, please send them to the AFB at secretariat@foreignbanks.org.uk as soon as practicable. You will receive details on how to join this in-person session a week before the event.