13 new laws in England are coming across 2025 – from tax and National Insurance to pensions and beyond. As the New Year kicks off after Christmas, UK households are being urged to brush up on their knowledge of the impending shake up.
In 2025, you can expect a fair few law changes which will impact you day-to-day life. The new laws affect everything from tax to pensions, as well as parental leave, junk food advertising on your TV screens, smoking and more.
Thankfully, there is SOME good news because w orkers in Birmingham and the West Midlands will see the minimum wage go up. You’re set to pay out a lot more for a raft of things – and, to help you keep in the loop, we’ve got a rundown here.
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Non Doms
Changes to the rules around non-domiciled individuals will come into force from April, delivering one the party’s headline election campaign pledges. Under the current rules, these ‘non-doms’ are able to only pay UK tax on their income made in the country. An estimated 37,000 are taking advantage of the loophole.
National Insurance
Employer national insurance contributions (NICs) are increase by 1.2 points, from 13.8 to 15 per cent. The tax is the contribution paid by employers on top of their employee’s wages. The chancellor also confirmed Labour will cut the earnings threshold at which employers start paying this levy from £9,100 to £5,000.
The government has insisted the measure is not a tax on working people, although some economists argue that the extra cost for employers will inevitably result in lower in wage growth in the near future. The Treasury forecasts that change will raise a net £19 billion in its first year.
Renters
The banning of Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions, delivering on a promise first made by the Conservatives back in 2017. This piece of leglisation currently gives landlords the right to evict rental tenants at two months notice without needing to give any reason. It has long been cricitised by campaigners for the lack of security it affords renters.
Wages
The national minimum wage increase will come into force on 1 April 2025. The national living wage will increase by £0.77 to £12.21. For 18-20 year olds, minimum wage will increase by £1.40 to £10.00 an hour, and for 16-17 year olds it will increase by £1.15 to £7.55 an hour.
These increases meet the remit set by the government, and the national living wage rate is expected to have the highest real value in the history of the UK’s minimum wage. The increase in the 18-20 year old rate narrows the gap between that and the national living wage, in anticipation of the adult rate being extended to 18 year olds in the future.
Parental leave and sick pay
Statutory payments are legal entitlements granted to employees in certain circumstances such as illness, maternity, paternity, or bereavement. From April 2025 several statutory payments rates in the UK will increase.
The statutory sick pay (SSP) will rise from £116.75 to £118.75 per week, with a qualifying threshold of £125 per week. Under the proposed Employment Rights Bill, sick pay could soon be payable from the first day of being ill, however this will likely not be in effect by next April.
The statutory maternity pay, maternity allowance, statutory adoption pay, statutory paternity pay, statutory shared parental pay and statutory parental bereavement pay will rise from £184.03 to £187.18 per week.
Pensions Scheme
The government announced on 13 November 2024, that it will be introducing a new Pensions Scheme Bill in 2025. Key measures include automatic consolidation of small deferred pension pots, a value-for-money framework for defined contribution (DC) schemes, and a requirement for occupational DC schemes to offer tailored retirement income solutions. The Bill also introduces commercial defined benefit (DB) superfunds to enhance financial security for members.
These reforms align with the government’s ongoing pensions review, which focuses on boosting investment, growing pension pots, and tackling inefficiencies. While major changes to automatic enrolment are unlikely soon, the second phase of the review in late 2024 will explore contribution levels and retirement adequacy.
Additional Learning Needs (ALN)
The old SEN and current ALN systems for children will operate alongside each other until September 2025 when the new system will be fully in force. The additional learning needs (ALN) system is the new system for supporting children and young people aged 0 to 25 in Wales with ALN – estumated to be one in five children of school age.
The ALN Act creates a single legislative system for supporting children and young people aged between 0 to 25 years who have ALN.
Junk food advertising ban
One in 10 reception aged children are now obese, and one in five children by age 5 are suffering from tooth decay. These children are being set up for a lifetime of health problems, and it’s estimated that obesity costs the NHS more than £11 billion every year.
While there is no single solution to tackling obesity, evidence shows that children’s exposure to adverts for unhealthy foods can shape what they eat from a young age – in turn putting children at greater risk of becoming overweight or obese.
The government said: “That’s why we’re taking steps to stop the targeting of junk food ads at kids from October 2025 which we estimate will prevent around 20,000 cases of childhood obesity. This change will help to ensure our children get the best and healthiest start in life.”
Single use vape ban and tobacco and vapes bill
Health, waste and enforcement organisations welcome the Government’s decision to proceed with a ban on the sale of disposable vapes from the 1st June next year. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), Material Focus and Chartered Trading Standards Institute have worked collaboratively to raise concerns about the impact of these single-use products on the environment and their links to the increase in teen vaping. The ban confirmed today is unlikely on its own to be sufficient in addressing these issues; but is a welcome indication of the Government’s intention to address the problems in the vaping market and is backed by the public with 77% supporting the measure.
Electric vehicle tax
April 1 2025 will see the first tax bills for EV drivers meted out through Vehicle Excise Duty (often called ‘road tax’) as their exemption to the tax ends. This decision was put in place by the former Tory chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
EVs registered on or after the tax comes into play will get the lower first-year rate of £10 while those registered before this will face the standard rate of £190 a year. The exemption EVs have for the Expensive Car Supplement is also ending meaning those still liable will have to pay an additional £410 a year for the first five years of ownership if their car is worth more than £40,000.
Railways being nationalised
Three rail operators will be renationalised by Labour next year, but the move is not expected to bring down fares for passengers travelling on these lines. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she recognised that “affordability is really important to people” but that people were “willing to pay for a good service”. It comes as the government confirmed South Western Railway will be renationalised in May 2025, C2C in July 2025, and Greater Anglia in autumn 2025, after Labour passed a law allowing it to do so.
Leasehold system changes
From January the government will remove the two-year ownership requirement to qualify for a lease extension for a flat and for buying the freehold of a leasehold house. From spring it will be expanding access to Right to Manage (RTM). This means more leaseholders in mixed-use buildings being able to take over management from their freeholders and in most cases leaseholders pursuing RTM will no longer have to pay their freeholder’s costs.
Travel to and from the UK
The European Union has recently revised the introduction of the ETIAS. It will now be launched in 2025, which is a push-back from the previously planned 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024 launches. ETIAS stands for EU Travel Information & Authorisation System. Travellers visiting Europe from 2025 onwards will be required to obtain an approved ETIAS online prior to their departure. With over 37 million visitors to Europe each year, the introduction of ETIAS is expected to have a significant impact on traveller plans from all over the world.