The sweeping changes included in the Employment Rights Act 2025 and the impact of AI on the workplace were among the topics discussed at the recent Dentons Elevate Scotland conference.
Delegates gathered at the flagship event in Glasgow to hear from Dentons law firm on the big issues impacting all employers during a time of change driven by legislation and technology. Elevate was designed to help in-house lawyers and human resource professionals stay on top of developments.
Alison Weatherhead, partner, head of employment and pensions – UK at Dentons, presented a session on the Employment Rights Act, covering a range of elements from trade union access to unfair dismissal. She explained that Dentons has a practical toolkit and other resources to guide companies through the Act.
Ms Weatherhead said: “Trade unions can request formal physical and/or digital access to your workplace. Businesses with 21 or more workers are now in scope and they can just say no. There is a statutory presumption that you should grant access. And the clock starts ticking fast; you have 15 working days to respond to a request and 25 working days to negotiate terms. Employers should know that penalties can escalate quickly as it can cost up to £75,000 for a first breach of an agreement, £150,000 for a second and £500,000 for any further breaches.”
Other sessions on the day included: an action plan to help people build their own personal brand and why that matters in a business context; the Productivity Pro concept of time management to achieve more goals; competition law in the workplace and the EU Pay Transparency Directive.
Sarah Jackman, counsel at Dentons, unpacked what the FCA’s non-financial misconduct guidance means in real life in a session alongside her regulatory colleague Katy MacAskill.
She said: “This guidance has introduced a new era when it comes to non-financial misconduct. Employers need to think about such things as exits and investigations, references, conduct in private lives and manager accountability.”
Ms Weatherhead chaired the panel discussion on AI in employment featuring Elouisa Crichton, partner at Dentons, Rowena Rix, head of innovation and AI for Dentons UKIME and Nicola Hamilton, head of talent and earning at Edrington. The session explored such issues as how organisations are moving from AI experimentation to practical implementation.
Ms Rix brought the technology and innovation perspective. She said: “It’s important to integrate AI into actual workflows rather than simply provide access to the technology. You need to give sufficient freedom to innovate responsibly without governance becoming the department of ‘no’.”
Ms Crichton explored what happens when AI begins to interact with people and employment decisions, fairness, discrimination, transparency, privacy, accountability and, importantly, where human judgement needs to sit. She explained: “Trust and engagement and avoiding a disconnect between organisational messaging and lived experience are vital.”