Employment Corner: Employment Updates for Hotels, Hospitality & Leisure Sector

In each edition of Check-In we explore the latest developments in Employment law and their importance to the Hotel, Hospitality & Leisure sector. In this edition, we will look at: 

• Horizon Scanning: Are you prepared for the evolving HR landscape?
• Feature articles:
  • All you need to know about AI implementation in Europe
  • Luke, I am your whistleblower: An analysis of pop-culture references and whistleblowing detriment
• UK case updates
• Update on the Employment Rights Bill and Autumn 2025 consultations 
• International update: EU Pay Transparency Directive 

Horizon Scanning: Are you prepared for the evolving HR landscape? 

The Retail & Consumer section of our 2025/26 edition of Horizon Scanning highlights the key trends influencing the global HR and employment agenda. If you are tasked with setting HR and compliance strategy, this international report is an essential guide to the key global employment trends. It covers: 

• 12 pivotal trends reshaping global employment, including AI, DEI, pay transparency, global restructuring, workplace activism, managing the multi-generational workforce and much more;
• EU regulatory developments impacting HR strategy;
• country-by-country guidance to upcoming changes across EMEA and Asia-Pacific, with a traffic light analysis to prioritise key issues; and
• sector specific commentary on the commercial trends affecting the hospitality, hotels and leisure sector. 

Please note: All information in Horizon Scanning is correct as of June 2025. Please contact a member of our International Employment Group for information on any updates to proposed legislation or developments since that date.

Feature articles 

AI implementation in the workplace

AI is increasingly being used across the hospitality, hotels and leisure sectors to streamline processes and improve efficiency. It is therefore becoming more important for employers to understand the rapidly changing legal landscape when implementing and utilising new AI tools and tech in the workplace. In this article, we explore the legal and practical challenges facing employers as they harness the benefits of AI while stay compliant with the rapidly evolving AI regulation across Europe.

Luke, I am your whistleblower: An analysis of pop-culture references and whistleblowing detriment

Can likening a colleague’s personality to that of a movie villain amount to a fundamental breach of contract and / or a whistleblowing detriment? In this article, we explore workplace culture and the issues that were recently considered by an Employment Tribunal in which a seemingly trivial workplace interaction involving Darth Vadar created a significant degree of legal exposure. 

UK case updates

There are some recent UK decisions which are likely to be of interest to employers in the hotels, hospitality and leisure sectors. 

Leicester City Council v Parmar [2025] EWCA Civ 952

In this case, the Court of Appeal upheld a decision that the Respondent had directly discriminated against the Claimant on the grounds of race. The Claimant, a British national of Indian origin, was investigated by the Respondent as part of a disciplinary process. However, she was not provided with any details of the allegations against her and ultimately the investigation was discontinued as there was no case to answer.  The Claimant brought a successful direct race discrimination claim in relation to the disciplinary investigation, arguing that she was treated more harshly than white colleagues involved in similar situations. 

Wainwright v Cennox [2023] EAT 101

In this case, the Claimant was awarded over £1.2 million in compensation for constructive dismissal and disability discrimination after the Respondent was found to have misled the Claimant about her role whilst she was on sickness absence receiving treatment for cancer. The Tribunal decided that permanently appointing a colleague to the Claimant’s role and providing misleading information breached the duty of trust and confidence and amounted to disability discrimination, which ultimately led to the Claimant’s resignation.  

HMRC v Taylors Services Ltd [2025] EWCA Civ 956  

In this case, the Court of Appeal ruled that time spent travelling between workers' homes and work sites does not constitute “time work” under the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015, even when journeys are lengthy and undertaken in employer-provided transport.

Click here to read a deeper analysis of these cases. 

UK legal update: the Employment Rights Bill and four Autumn consultations 

The Employment Rights Bill, originally published in October last year, continues to progress through the UK Parliament and is in the final “ping-pong” stages of parliamentary review. When Parliament agrees on the final wording of the Bill, it is expected to pass and become the Employment Rights Act 2025 before the end of this year. 

Earlier this Summer, the government issued a Roadmap which indicated that implementation of the Bill will be phased from Autumn 2025 to 2027.  The Roadmap also set out the government’s planned timetable for consultations on a number of the Bill’s measures. In line with that timetable, the government recently published four consultations on the following measures: 

1. Trade union workplace access – the consultation is open until 18 December 2025 and the right is expected to come into force in October 2026.
2. Employers’ new duty to inform workers of their right to join a union – the consultation is open until 18 December 2025 and the right is expected to come into force by October 2026.
3. Enhancing dismissal protections for pregnant workers and new mothers – this consultation is open until 15 January 2026 and the changes are expected to come into force in 2027.
4. Extended bereavement leave rights – consultation open until 15 January 2026 and the government expects the new right to come into force in 2027. 

International update: the EU Pay Transparency Directive

Equal pay and pay transparency are hot topics for businesses in the hospitality, hotels and leisure sectors both in the UK (in light of recent equal pay cases affecting a number of large UK retailers) and in Europe with the incoming EU Pay Transparency Directive. 

The UK is not required to implement the Directive. However a recent Equality Law Call for Evidence by the UK government is seemingly inspired by the Directive. Several measures in the Call for Evidence asked how to improve pay transparency generally in the UK. The outcome from that Call for Evidence is awaited. 

In the EU, the June 2026 deadline to implement the Directive is getting closer, which means organisations need to proactively monitor the Directive’s implementation across the EU. We have recently launched a dedicated EU Pay Transparency Directive webpage, which: 

• offers detailed information on the Directive;
• outlines key compliance obligations;
• features a colour-coded tracker map; and
• provides expert insights on pay transparency topics. 

The webpage can be accessed here and in our recent article, we have considered the nuances of the Directive’s implementation across the EU, which is accessible here.