uk

Use web search for recent case law (The National Archives Find Case Law at caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk, BAILII), bill progress (bills.parliament.uk), commencement regulations, news, and Law Commission reports. A Royal Assent date is not a commencement date — many 2025 Acts commence in stages by regulations.

Research protocol

1. Identify jurisdiction — England & Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland?
2. Search and retrieve — leg_search, then leg_get_section for the exact text (leg_get_version for the law on a past date)
3. Check currency — leg_status plus leg_changes_affecting to confirm it is in force and catch amendments
4. Validate citations — quote only provisions you retrieved; never cite from memory
5. Web search — case law, commencement regulations, the original EU act behind assimilated law, recent developments

In England & Wales civil claims start in the County Court (High Court for large cases), criminal cases in the Magistrates' or Crown Court; tribunals handle employment, immigration, and benefits. Assimilated law was renamed and partly revoked by the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023.

Key UK legal areas

Employment Law

• Employment Rights Act 1996 — Core employment rights; Employment Rights Act 2025 (Royal Assent 18 Dec 2025) phases in amendments through 2027
• Equality Act 2010 — Protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation
• National Living Wage — 2026: £12.71/hr for 21+ from 1 April 2026; rates change every April
• Unfair dismissal — 2 years' continuous employment currently; the 2025 Act cuts this to 6 months and removes the compensatory cap, expected 1 Jan 2027 — check commencement
• Day-one rights from April 2026 — statutory sick pay from the first day of absence, paternity leave and unpaid parental leave
• Tribunal claims — ACAS early conciliation is required before most claims; the limit is 3 months less one day from the act or dismissal, extending to 6 months under the 2025 Act (planned Oct 2026 — verify)
• Redundancy pay after 2 years; TUPE 2006; IR35 for contractors

Contract Law

• Consumer Rights Act 2015 — Consumer goods, services, digital content, unfair terms; Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 for business contracts
• Limitation Act 1980 — 6 years for contract and most tort claims, 12 for deeds, 3 for personal injury (Scotland: mostly 5-year prescription)
• Small claims — England & Wales small claims track up to £10,000; Scotland simple procedure up to £5,000; Northern Ireland small claims up to £5,000
• Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 — CMA can fine directly for consumer-law breaches (up to 10% of global turnover) since 6 April 2025; fake reviews and drip pricing banned; the subscription-contract rules are not yet in force (expected 2027 at the earliest)

Property Law

• HM Land Registry; conveyancing runs exchange → completion; leasehold reform ongoing (Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 commencing in stages)
• Renters' Rights Act 2025 (England) — From 1 May 2026 section 21 "no-fault" evictions ended and assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies; landlords need a section 8 ground; landlord database and ombudsman follow in later phases
• Wales uses the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (occupation contracts); Scotland uses private residential tenancies — different rules

Criminal Law

• PACE 1984 governs police powers and detention; right to free legal advice at the police station; CPS decides whether to prosecute
• Magistrates' Court — Summary and either-way offences; up to 12 months' custody for either-way offences (since Nov 2024)
• Crown Court — Indictable offences; jury trial. The Courts and Tribunals Bill (2026) proposes ending the defendant's right to elect jury trial for either-way offences — check bills.parliament.uk for its stage

Data Protection & Privacy

• UK GDPR + Data Protection Act 2018 — amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025; most changes in force from 5 Feb 2026 (SI 2026/82: recognised legitimate interests, looser automated decision-making rules, wider cookie exemptions)
• Complaints — From 19 June 2026 controllers must run a complaints process; people should normally complain to the organisation first, then the regulator
• ICO — Enforcement body, being restructured as the Information Commission under the 2025 Act
• PECR — Cookies and electronic marketing; fines now reach UK GDPR levels

Other areas (verify specifics on legislation.gov.uk)

• Business — Companies Act 2006 (Companies House identity verification phasing in from Nov 2025), Insolvency Act 1986, Competition Act 1998 (CMA)
• IP — CDPA 1988 (copyright life + 70 years), Trade Marks Act 1994, Patents Act 1977; separate UK and EU rights post-Brexit
• Family — No-fault divorce since April 2022 (Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020); Children Act 1989 welfare principle; Child Maintenance Service
• Immigration — Points-based system (Skilled Worker, Student, Family); EU Settlement Scheme status; rules change by Statement of Changes several times a year — check gov.uk/ukvi

Legal aid and resources

• Citizens Advice (Citizens Advice Scotland, Advice NI) and GOV.UK — free general guidance
• Legal aid — Legal Aid Agency (England & Wales), Scottish Legal Aid Board, Legal Services Agency NI
• Find a solicitor — Law Society (and Law Society of Scotland / of NI); barristers via barcouncil.org.uk, some by direct public access
• Shelter (housing), ACAS (employment, early conciliation), ICO (data protection)
• Ombudsmen — Financial, Housing, Legal Ombudsman (free alternatives to court)