Some working practices cause harm, and it is your legal duty to take steps to address them. Failure to do so could lead to personal tragedies, reputational damage and uncapped levels of compensation.

This guide is only a brief summary. Some rules only apply to employees, other rules apply more broadly to workers. Some rules apply to everyone, including freelancers. You may need professional advice to deal with a specific situation.

To help you take steps to comply with these laws, WorkWise has created up-to-date, sector-specific, free-to-access online resources. They include model documents and policies, articles and signposts to other guidance.

The Law

The fundamental legal relationship between an employer and its workforce, covering unfair dismissal, statutory leave entitlements, and contract terminations. It sets out the key distinction between employees, workers and contractors / freelancers.

Impact

Establishes key parameters for providing job information, employment contracts and service agreements. SSP is not devolved, so this change applied across the United Kingdom from 6 April 2026; the rest of the Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms do not extend to Northern Ireland.

The Law

Businesses have a legal duty to check and verify that every individual they engage has the right to work in the UK before engagement begins. This applies to employees, workers, and in some circumstances, contractors.

Impact

With international co-productions, visiting talent, and a highly mobile freelance workforce, right-to-work compliance is a live risk on every production. Checks must be completed before the first day of engagement, not retrospectively. Employing someone without the right to work can result in a fine of up to £60,000, and in serious cases, criminal prosecution.

The Law

Any business that engages employees is legally required to hold Employers’ Liability insurance with a minimum cover of £5 million.

Impact

Productions that engage employees, even on a short- term or day-rate basis, must hold a valid EL policy before anyone starts work. Failure to do so carries a fine of up to £2,500 per day of non-compliance. The policy must be displayed or made available. Whether someone is an employee, worker or freelancer is notoriously hard to determine with certainty.

The Law

Protects individuals from discrimination, harassment, and victimisation on the basis of ten protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religious belief, political opinion, sex, sexual orientation).

Impact

A business must eliminate both direct discrimination (less favourable treatment) and indirect discrimination (applying a seemingly uniform rule or practice that disproportionately disadvantages a specific protected group). Reasonable adjustments must also be made for employees with disabilities. 

A Dignity at Work Policy can also be used to align the law with industry codes of practice. See the WorkWise website for an example. 

The Law 

Harassment, including sexual harassment, and victimisation are unlawful under Northern Ireland's equality legislation, principally the Sex Discrimination (NI) Order 1976 and the Fair Employment and Treatment (NI) Order 1998, together with the other orders listed above. A business can be liable for harassment of its workforce by its own people, and in some circumstances by third parties. Unlike Great Britain, Northern Ireland has no separate statutory duty to take “reasonable steps” (or, from 30 October 2026, “all reasonable steps”) to prevent sexual harassment since that duty comes from the Equality Act 2010, which does not extend to Northern Ireland. The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland publishes guidance and codes of practice.

Impact 

Although the Great Britain preventative duty does not apply, taking active, preventative steps is still the best way to reduce both harm and legal exposure: mapping harassment risks, including third-party and location risks, before production; adopting and communicating a Dignity at Work policy; training; and clear, safe reporting routes. The “all reasonable steps” standard and the EHRC's guidance remain a useful benchmark of good practice. Harassment can still lead to uncapped compensation, including injury to feelings awards.

The Law 

Protects workers from detrimental treatment or dismissal for making protected disclosures. Note “workers” is widely defined and includes agency workers, freelance workers, seconded workers and home workers. Protected disclosures can be made to an employer, a prescribed person (including CIISA), legal advisors, and in some situations, law enforcement bodies and the media. 

Impact

If a business sidelines, fails to rehire, or penalises a whistleblower for speaking up, it could face an uncapped employment tribunal claim for detriment, unfair dismissal and/or victimisation. Businesses must not prevent whistleblowing in confidentiality agreements, NDAs, or settlement agreements. Protecting reporting channels from professional detriment is a primary compliance duty. 

The Law

Imposes a statutory duty on businesses to carry out “suitable and sufficient” risks assessments and to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of employees and third parties engaged in a project. Non-statutory guidance is set out in the HSENI’s Management Standards for Work Related Stress.

Impact 

Legally binds workplace culture directly to safety. All businesses have a duty to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of physical and psychosocial hazards. Documenting this tracking process creates an audit trail that can be required by inspection authorities.

The Law 

Businesses must systematically evaluate and control physical and psychosocial workplace hazards (principally through risk assessments), appoint competent persons to oversee health and safety compliance, and provide employees with comprehensive information and training. HSE publishes sector-specific resources and guidance. 

Impact 

Requires documented risk assessments addressing operational and environmental triggers. A business must actively map and implement mitigation measures for high-risk pressure points. You cannot prove you have taken all reasonable steps to mitigate risks without written risk assessments.

The Law 

The non-statutory guidance that tribunals take into account when considering how employers deal with workplace disputes, grievances, and disciplinary processes. Disputes with freelancers are governed by the terms of their commercial contract. However, because anti-discrimination regulations may still apply, the core fairness principles of the LRA Code may still be relevant.

Impact 

Any internal formal investigation must guarantee procedural fairness: a clear right to be accompanied at meetings, impartial fact-finding before a decision is reached, a confidential environment, and an accessible appeals route.

The Law 

Governs the processing, security, and lawful retention of personal information. Conduct records and disclosure files are likely to contain personal data classified as highly restricted Special Category Data, which can only be processed with additional safeguards. 

Impact 

An individual can issue a Subject Access Request (SAR), which requires the business to conduct a reasonable and proportionate search for relevant correspondence and records about them, and to send them copies (subject to exemptions). All businesses must have a data protection complaints process. The ICO has power to levy substantial fines if personal data is not handled correctly.

The Law 

It may be a criminal offence for someone to send a message that is grossly offensive, indecent, obscene, menacing, or intentionally false. Sometimes the intent to cause anxiety or distress is relevant, as is the method of sending the message. 

Impact 

Inappropriate messaging, targeted bullying, or discriminatory comments in WhatsApp groups, Slack channels, or similar apps may constitute criminal offences under these Acts. Businesses may be liable for messages sent by senior managers.

The Law 

Rules relating to maximum weekly working hours, night work protocols, and mandatory rest periods. 

Impact 

The 2026 Regulations govern maximum weekly working hours, night work protocols, and mandatory rest periods. It also permits screen productions to modify standard rest patterns to maintain continuity of production, a business has a duty, whenever possible, to provide equivalent compensatory rest, and health and safety legislation will continue to apply

The Law 

Employee rights to request flexible working arrangements after 26 weeks of service. Maternity, paternity and parental leave are also regulated. The LRA publishes Flexible Working Guidance. 

Regulations cover time off for dependants; flexible working rights; disability-related reasonable adjustments; and other forms of compassionate leave, if covered by the employer’s policies.

Impact

Requires careful planning during pre-production risk mapping. The statutory protections vary by the type of leave. Subjecting a team member to professional detriment, or sidelining them from key project milestones because they utilise statutory leave or request flexible hours, constitutes a breach of the law.

The Law 

All workers (including those on irregular hours and short-term engagements) are entitled to be paid at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage, depending on their age. The Fair Work Agency now enforces compliance, taking over the function previously carried out by HMRC. Non-compliant employers can be named publicly.

Impact

Breaches can result in back-payment of arrears and financial penalties of up to 200% of underpaid wages. HMRC publishes a checklist to help determine whether someone is classified as a worker for these purposes.

The Law 

The Fair Work Agency (FWA) is a new enforcement body for National Minimum Wage compliance. National Minimum Wage enforcement, and the former Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority functions, were transferred to it across the whole of the United Kingdom. Its Northern Ireland Statutory Sick Pay enforcement role is provided for but not yet in force, and its enforcement of Northern Ireland holiday pay and working time would need the consent of the relevant Northern Ireland department. The wider Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms (the preventative harassment duty, the unfair dismissal changes and the new day-one rights) do not extend to Northern Ireland, because that employment law is transferred to the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Labour Relations Agency, the Industrial Tribunals and the Employment Agency Inspectorate continue to enforce other aspects.

Impact 

The FWA can investigate proactively (not merely respond to complaints), meaning systemic underpayment of workers is more likely to be identified and pursued.

Last updated 23/10/2026