The King’s Speech — legal experts share their views

The King’s Speech outlined the new Labour Government’s 39 priorities for draft laws that it wants to pass during this parliamentary session. We spoke to our expert lawyers across our housing, retail, regulatory, recruitment, employment, technology and sport teams to understand how these bills will impact businesses if they’re passed and become law.

Jump to:

• Housing
• Martyn's Law
• Recruitment
• Employment
• Technology
• Sport

Commitment to build 1.5m homes and reform the planning process 

Following the new Chancellor’s pledge to build 1.5m homes over the next five years and reform the planning process, the King outlined the Government’s plans to ‘get Britain building’ and deliver ‘high-quality infrastructure and housing’.

To deliver on this promise, the Government will provide greater devolution to local decision makers, update the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and create ‘New Towns’, all while prioritising ‘sustainable development’. 

Elaine Field, Legal Director and planning expert, shared her thoughts:

“The new Government’s pledge to build 1.5m homes during the next Parliament is a bold salvo in the face of a long-standing housing crisis. Achieving this in the current climate of high interest rates and elevated construction costs will be challenging.

That said, it has already provided more detail and clarity in terms of a delivery roadmap than some of its predecessors. Indeed, key initiatives like appointing additional planning officers, restoring mandatory housing targets and providing support to unlock stalled sites are all positive interventions — particularly as community regeneration leans toward developing brownfield and 'greybelt' land.

Support for affordable housing, including a significant increase in social and affordable housebuilding, will also be crucial to resolving the crisis, which will only happen with greater support for planning authorities, localised decision making and civic engagement. Labour’s commitment to devolution and to modernise planning committees are therefore further positive takeaways for the long-term.

Although the King’s Speech provided little detail with regard to planning, we will no doubt see further planning reform through changes to secondary legislation and policy, including amendments to the National Planning Policy Framework, in the coming months.”

Martyn’s Law to impact businesses across retail, hospitality and sport 

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill (the Bill) featured in the King’s Speech as a key priority for the new Government. The Bill was published in draft by the previous Government but didn’t become law before the election. If passed, this would see the enactment of Martyn's Law, named after Martyn Hett and 21 others who tragically died in the Manchester Arena terror attack. This will require large venues to improve the safety and security of public venues and put in place procedures to deal with the threat of terrorism.

Claire Burrows, Partner in our regulatory and professional conduct team, explains what this will mean for businesses: 

“Given that the scope of the draft legislation is so wide and qualifying premises include all those open to the public with a capacity of 100 or more people (plus certain qualifying public events), Martyn’s Law is set to affect thousands of businesses across a wide range of sectors. 

Assuming that the draft legislation remains largely unchanged before its implementation, businesses operating across retail, hospitality, health, education and sport will be affected and duty holders will be legally required to notify the regulator of their premises or event and enhance public security (the Protect Duty). 

Failure to comply with the requirements look set to result in the regulator being able to issue compliance notices and have powers to issue a financial penalty of the higher of £18m or 5% of worldwide revenue for continued non-compliance.

Until the Bill receives Royal Assent, duty holders should begin to develop a good security culture by considering proportionate measures to enhance the experience of visitors at public places, without impacting on accessibility or personal freedoms. This might include employing appropriate staff, rolling out training and developing new procedures for dealing with a potential terrorist incident. All measures adopted must be fit for purpose and proportionate to the specific risks faced by the relevant premises or event to reflect the intended purpose of the draft Bill.”

Labour’s ‘new deal for working people’

The King’s speech included an Employment Rights Bill which marks the start of the Labour Government’s ‘new deal for working people’. This will largely focus on banning ‘exploitative’ practices and improving employee rights, including the ban of zero-hour contracts (unless requested) and banning most ‘fire and rehire’ practices.

Simon Whitehead, Partner and Head of Recruitment and Workforce Solutions, provides insight on what this means for employers: 

“It’s encouraging to see the new Government already shaping the legislative agenda to protect vulnerable workers and develop a more robust approach to the gig economy. That said, it will need to tread a fine line to ensure it is able to protect workers’ rights while not stifling private sector growth by making it difficult for businesses to engage flexible labour.

“For example, in its current form, the proposed ban on zero-hour contracts is likely to require anti-avoidance measures. Employers and temporary work agencies may well be required to promise a minimum number of hours which, if nominal, would serve to defeat the new legislation’s purpose and, if substantial, risk alienating those companies and workers who appreciate their existing flexibility.

“How we refer to such workers has also been called into question, with recent cases involving taxi and delivery drivers exposing a need to better define the differences between temporary workers and fully-fledged employees. Abolishing ‘worker’ status altogether would remove much of this ambiguity, but it is likely to increase the cost and administrative time involved with employing flexible staff, potentially making ad hoc working less straightforward for both parties. This, combined with a proposal to create day-one rights for unfair dismissal – a significant change from the current two-year service required for the same protection – will further bind employers to their new joiners much earlier on. This could significantly increase the cost and HR risk associated with employing staff and terminating working arrangements, although the Government assures us that probationary periods will have an important role to play in allowing employers to assess performance and take appropriate measure in the early stage of the relationship.

“The proposed introduction of a Fair Work Agency, bringing together existing enforcement bodies under one umbrella, should improve information-sharing and result in more robust oversight and regulation of the gig economy. However, it’s important that such a body is given the teeth and necessary funding to be able to police breaches and act as a legitimate deterrent.” 

The Employment Rights Bill is expected to contain a large number of changes to employment law, including:

• Creating day-one rights (i.e., no qualifying service needed) for unfair dismissal, parental leave and sick pay, as well as flexible working.
• Making it unlawful to dismiss a woman who has had a baby for six months after she comes back to work (with some exceptions).
• Expanding the entitlement to statutory sick pay by removing the waiting period as well as removing the lower earnings limit.
• Simplifying the statutory recognition process and introducing a right for workers and union members to access a union.

In addition, the Government has said that it will ensure that National Minimum Wage is a genuine living wage and will remove the age band. It will also guarantee equal pay rights for ethnic minority and disabled people through the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill which will require employers with more than 250 employees to complete mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting.

Nick Campbell, Partner and Head of Employment and Pensions, comments: 

“These proposals represent the most significant change in UK employment law for 15 years, and with the new Government promising to deliver a new deal for working people and the Employment Rights Bill expected within 100 days, employers and their representatives should be ready to play an active part in the upcoming consultation processes.

There are also several changes that have already been passed and will come into force before the end of the year, including the Statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement (commonly known as ‘fire and rehire’ which came into force on 18 July 2024), duty to prevent sexual harassment (due to come into force in October 2024) and neonatal care leave and pay (expected to come into force in April 2025). Businesses will need to be well prepared and ready to adjust policies and procedures to ensure that they remain compliant.”

AI, digital ID and cybersecurity among technology priorities 

The Government’s draft laws included two new bills for technology:

1. The Digital Information and Smart Data Bill — this will regulate use of digital ID including for pre-employment checks and to buy age-restricted products.
2. The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill — this will set out new rules to help protect critical infrastructure from attackers.

The King’s Speech also mentioned establishing legislation to place requirements on those developing AI models. However, no specific promise of a bill on AI was made. 

Colin Bell, Partner, Head of Intellectual Property and Head of Technology, shares their thoughts: 

“Despite an AI bill not being expressly listed in the King’s Speech, we anticipate legislation on AI generally (on similar lines to the EU AI Act) and in particular the interplay between AI models and intellectual property and copyright owners will come in the near future. 

It’s encouraging that there’s the express statement of both the pursuit of “sustainable growth by encouraging investment in industry, skills and new technologies” and in particular establishing “the appropriate legislation to place requirements on those working to develop the most powerful artificial intelligence models”. 

The fact that AI was mentioned straight after reference to the Employment Rights Bill may mean that there will be AI provisions that relate to employment which could be covered under the Employment Rights Bill or the Digital Information and Smart Data Bill (including reference to “pre-employment checks” which could be AI related). We await further detail on these bills to understand if and how AI will be regulated.”

Football Governance Bill to ‘provide certainty and sustainability’ in the game

The King explained that The Football Governance Bill (the Bill) would finally be introduced and establish an independent football regulator to "ensure greater sustainability in the game and strengthen protections for fans". This was another bill that wasn’t passed by the previous Government before the election.

As stated in Labour’s manifesto, the bill will “ensure (the) financial sustainability of football clubs in England”. The centrepiece of this new bill will be a new independent regulator for English football (IREF), which will oversee financial regulation in the sport. The IREF will sit outside of existing bodies (The FA, EFL and Premier League) and would introduce a new system where all clubs in the top five tiers would require a licence with the regulator. 

To gain a licence, all clubs must meet four thresholds: 

1. They must have adequate financial and non-financial resources. 
2. Significant decision-makers within the club must be fit and proper custodians.
3. They must have appropriate provisions for considering the interests of fans on key decisions.
4. They must agree to only compete in approved leagues and competitions.

Matthew Lavelle, Senior Associate and football law specialist, shares further guidance: 

“Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, has made clear in recent interviews that Football remains a ‘top priority’ for Labour moving forward. While proportionality was a key consideration of the 2023 whitepaper ‘A sustainable future - reforming club football governance’, there’s no doubt that the Bill will significantly impact the day-to-day running of clubs, as well as the sport’s broader stakeholders. 

Clubs will need to understand their new obligations within the Bill. These include the financial reporting requirements, brought in to test that clubs have adequate resources and are acting compliantly with the new Football Club Corporate Governance Code.  Clubs will also need to know which decisions require consultation with their supporters. Prospective directors and investors, on the other hand, will need to navigate enhanced ownership tests, which will seek to identify sources of wealth, previous criminal backgrounds and any links with corruption (at home and abroad).

The Bill will mark a milestone in the development of the domestic legal framework for football, and perhaps even serve as a sign of what’s to come for the rest of British sport. Therefore, it’s likely that there will be huge scrutiny as to how any statute will adequately balance two competing interests — the need to crack down on irresponsible ownership and unsustainably managed clubs in the English pyramid and the need for the sector to continue attracting investment and generating sizeable commercial revenues.”

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