Category: Uncategorized

Unfair dismissal changes among biggest Employment Rights Act 2025 challenges for bosses

New research by workplace expert Acas shows that changes to sick pay, paternity leave and unfair dismissal will pose the greatest challenges for businesses under new rules.

The YouGov survey, commissioned by Acas, asked employers which changes in the Employment Rights Act 2025 will be the hardest to adopt for their organisation.

Nearly 1 in 3 employers (30%) said that paying statutory sick pay from the first day of illness would be the hardest. More than one quarter (27%) said it would be the right to take paternity leave from the first day of employment.

New unfair dismissal protections, reducing the qualifying period from 2 years to 6 months, were also ranked among the top concerns (23%).

The valuable insights gained from the results will help Acas target its support for employers where they need it the most. Acas has already updated its advice on probation periods to reflect the new law changes on unfair dismissals.

Baroness Maggie Jones, Acas Chair, said: “The reforms in the Employment Rights Act are the biggest shake-up to employment law in a generation, and it is vital that employers get up to speed quickly.

“The new day one rights on sick pay and paternity are already in effect and new protections against unfair dismissals are set to come in next year.

“Acas has updated its advice on probations to reflect the new changes on unfair dismissals, which is a significant change in the law. Businesses that get on top of all the changes early can prevent costly disputes from happening.”

From 1 January 2027, protection from unfair dismissal will become a right after 6 months of being in a job. Currently, someone must have worked for their employer for 2 years before claiming unfair dismissal.

The limit on the amount of compensation for unfair dismissal will also be removed.

A probation period is a time at the start of employment to check if someone is suitable for a job.

There is no legal right to have a probation period, but some employers may be thinking about reducing the period to less than 6 months before the law changes on 1 January 2027. However, this does not avoid legal risks.

Employees still have protections during their probation such as:

  • discrimination
  • whistleblowing
  • breach of contract

Probation periods should also be tailored to the job. Probations of 6 months or less might not be appropriate for all roles. For example, technical or specialist roles might need longer for training and assessments.

Dismissing an employee during probation should be a last resort. Employers should consider other steps such as:

  • extending a probation period
  • using performance management to help someone improve

Find out more about: 

Richard Shillcock, the Communist Party of Britain candidate for the Southside/Newington ward, has officially declared that tackling the city’s housing crisis through municipal house building will be a core priority of the Communist Party campaign for the upcoming City of Edinburgh Council by-elections on 3 September 2026.

Richard Shillcock emphasised that the current market-driven approach has failed local residents, arguing that a massive return to publicly owned housing is the only viable solution.

“Edinburgh has a housing crisis and there is only one answer to it—build council houses,” he said. “We need the Council to build, own, maintain, and administer council housing and not leave such an important issue to the free market.”

The Communist Party campaign outline focuses heavily on local job creation and public investment, linking a housing strategy directly to local economic development and skills training.

Shillcock added: “We need to employ council staff and invest in a new generation of apprentices to learn the skills required to build and maintain the highest quality council housing.

“Large-scale council house building was the best answer to the postwar housing crisis. It worked. Since then, turning homes into commodities in a market has failed us.”

Addressing potential concerns regarding budgets, Shillcock pointed to historical precedents and called for a major shift in public spending priorities away from military conflict and toward domestic infrastructure.

“If the money could be found in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, it can be found now. “The Communist Party would spend on homes for people, not endless warfare,” Shillcock concluded.

The Southside/Newington and Craigmillar/Portobello by-elections will take place on Thursday, 3 September 2026.

Shillcock is standing alongside fellow Communist candidate Peter Olech, who is standing in the Portobello/Craigmillar ward, on a platform of peace, public ownership, tax justice and workers’ rights.

Museum coming to Macmillan Hub for breakfast visit

Our Summer Breakfast Club is having a special visit from National Museums Scotland! They’ll be popping by on Wednesday morning 22 July with a box of museum highlight objects for you to explore, touch, and get curious about!

BREAKFAST CLUB runs every morning, 10am–12pm, Monday–Saturday, until 8 August.

Pop by Macmillan Hub for free breakfast, hang out with your friends, and play games. We’ve got cereal, fruit, pastries, breakfast bars and refreshments waiting for you!

For local children and families living in Muirhouse, Pilton, Drylaw and Telford areas

Explore other free family friendly activities this summer: https://northedinburgharts.co.uk/summer-2026/

This year’s summer programme is delivered in partnership with Muirhouse Library.

College Launches Global Health Scholarships to Train Specialist Doctors in Low-Income Countries

The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE or “the College”) is pleased to announce the launch of its new Global Health Scholarships, a major initiative aimed at increasing the number of specialist physicians in low- and lower-middle income countries across sub-Saharan Africa.

Working in partnership initially with the Kenya Associations of Physicians and the Malawi College of Physicians, the scholarships will support postgraduate training in internal medicine through the East, Central and Southern Africa College of Physicians (ECSACOP). Beginning in the 2026/27 academic year, the programme will initially fund four trainee doctors, covering tuition and examination fees for the full four-year training programme.

This initiative responds to a critical shortage of doctors in the region which limits access to care, constrains training capacity for future healthcare professionals, and slows progress toward universal health coverage.

The ECSACOP programme, established in 2015 with support from international partners, provides high-quality, locally delivered specialist training aligned with international standards. By enabling doctors to train within their home countries, the programme strengthens national health systems and improves retention of skilled professionals.

The RCPE Global Health Scholarships aim to reduce financial barriers that prevent many qualified doctors from pursuing specialist training. Selection will be competitive, recognising clinical excellence, leadership potential, and a commitment to serving local health needs, particularly in underserved and rural communities.

While modest in scale, the initiative is expected to have a lasting impact by strengthening clinical leadership, enhancing training capacity, and improving access to specialist care across the region.

This programme aligns closely with RCPE’s strategic commitment to promote high standards in medical education globally and to develop meaningful partnerships with low- and middle-income countries.

Commenting Dr Conor Maguire, Vice-President (International) of the College, said: “We are delighted to be co-operating with colleagues in Kenya and Malawi to offer these Global Health scholarships.

“ This initiative reflects our commitment to global health equity and to working alongside partners in low- and middle-income countries to advance medical education, improve health outcomes and support the development of a sustainable specialist workforce.”

Professor Mark Strachan, President of the College said: “We very much hope that this initiative will help strengthen local health systems in Kenya and Malawi and allow doctors to train and remain in their home countries.

“This is a pilot that,  if successful, we hope to extend in future years.”

Associate Professor Ndaziona Peter Kwanjo Banda, President of Malawi College of Physicians said: “We are so excited and grateful for this financial support to our trainees from The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

“We are very happy to be among the first beneficiaries of these global health scholarships. This support will help in increasing the number of much needed qualified specialist physicians in a country and regional overburdened by both communicable and non-communicable diseases.

“Additionally, the qualified Specialist Physicians will become clinical educators and research mentors for future trainees under ECSACOP fellowship training program’’.

Edinburgh International Film Festival: Midnight Madness at The Cameo

Are you ready for Midnight Madness?

A jewel in our genre crown, EIFF’s Midnight Madness strand is now a perennial favourite with late night Edinburgh audiences. A food-obsessed hippo, doomed influencers and more populate this bumper crop of the best new genre delights.

Each electrifying film will have its Premiere at Cameo Cinema when the clock hits midnight:

🌙 Bad Day at the Office dir. Chee Keong Cheung

Waking up in a strange hotel room with a dead body and no memory of the night before, Karl (John Hannah) is about to have a very bad day indeed in this ultra-violent cinematic rollercoaster packed with pure unapologetic carnage.

🌙 Abandoned dir. Joby Stevens

Presented with The Evolution of Horror, Abandoned follows two urban explorers in pursuit of viral success. Attempting to recover a lost drone, they become trapped within an abandoned facility, and the nightmare of the building’s past unravels and threatens to consume them. Screening with Skinned dir. Alexandra Ruggieri.

🌙 Imposters dir. Caleb Phillips

When a child goes missing, a struggling marriage faces its toughest challenge yet in this mind-bending thriller starring Jessica Rothe and Charlie Barnett, This slippery tale of parallel worlds and a lost child is a multiverse of madness. Screening with IDYLL dir. Austin Cauldwell.

🌙 Hungry dir. James Nunn

When a group of tourists venture off the beaten track in the Louisiana Bayou, they find themselves trapped by a very large, very food-centred hippo in this taut, tense survival thriller. Screening with No One Believes In Me dir. Anabelle LeMieux.

🌙 Rise of the Footsoldier: Retribution dir. Nick Nevern

Intent on avenging the murder of his best friend and partner in crime, Pat Tate finds himself on a roaring rampage of revenge in Ibiza in the explosive seventh instalment of the cult series. Screening with Meeting Your Maker dir. Gregory JM Kasunich.

🌙 Faces of Death dir. Daniel Goldhaber

In this wildly entertaining reboot starring Barbie Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery and Charlie xcx, a website content moderator becomes obsessed with a series of disturbing videos that seem to recreate scenes from the iconic Faces of Death film series.

Tickets are on sale now at edfilmfest.org🎟️

Gwen John: Strange Beauties

Gwen John: Strange Beauties 

National Galleries Scotland: Modern Two 

Open 1 August 2026 til 4 January 2027 

Tickets from £14, free for under 18s | Friends go free 

Gwen John | Strange Beauties | National Galleries of Scotland  

Taking over Modern Two from 1 August, Gwen John: Strange Beauties is the first major exhibition in Scotland devoted to the pioneering painter. Featuring rarely seen drawings and watercolours – many on show for the first time – it offers fresh insight into her quiet yet determined artistic vision.

Tickets are on sale now from the National Galleries of Scotland website, with free tickets for under 18s. This exhibition is not to be missed! 

Gwen John’s Young Woman with a Coral Necklace (1910-1920) will go on public display for the first time since 1964, especially for this exhibition in the Scottish capital. The striking painting once belonged to the Scottish artist and Gwen John scholar, Mary Edmond Taubman, who became fascinated with Gwen John’s work as a student while studying at Edinburgh College of Art in the early 1950s.

Taubman became the first person to conduct detailed academic research on the life and work of Gwen John, providing vital insight into what we know of her work today. Young Woman with a Coral Necklace was bought by Taubman from the artists estate, in 1968, and has been generously loaned to National Galleries Scotland by her family, in her memory.  

Marking 150 years since the Welsh artist was born, Gwen John: Strange Beauties will offer a fresh new perspective on her exquisite work and lasting legacy. Experience over 200 oil paintings, watercolours, and rarely seen sketches and archive materials across two floors of Modern Two.

Explore Gwen John’s journey from Wales to Paris, where she developed her distinctive, contemplative style. Discover her intimate and meditative portraits, shaped by faith, French modernism and her life in the Parisian suburb of Meudon. This exhibition will be the second stop of a global tour, following a critically acclaimed run at National Museum Cardiff earlier this year, including five stars from The Guardian and The Independent. 

Born in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire in 1876, Gwen John studied at the Slade School of Art in London, becoming one of the first generation of women to receive a formal art education, before moving to Paris in 1904 where she led a fiercely independent and creative life. From becoming a muse and model to renowned French sculptor Auguste Rodin, to modelling for Swiss artist Ottilie Roederstein, Irish sculptor Nuala O’ Donel, German artist Ida Gerhardi and Finnish artist Hilda Flodin.

She later converted to Catholicism, marrying together her faith and her artwork. Gwen John described herself as ‘a seer of strange beauties’, casting herself as a visionary with the ability to see beyond surface appearances. Her attentive way of looking at the world shaped her art, leading her to paint and draw the same subjects repeatedly, each time observing them in a new way.

Today, Gwen John is considered an independent trailblazer, who quietly yet impactfully paved the way for many women artists of the future. 

Alongside significant loans will be key works by Gwen John from Scotland’s national art collection. This includes A Young Nun (about 1915-1920) which is part of a series focusing on the convent of the Dominican Sisters of Charity at Meudon, near Paris. The tonal and quietly radiant Portrait of a Girl in Grey, (about 1918 – 1923) another from Scotland’s national art collection, depicting a woman praying, will also be on display.  

The exhibition will also delve into Gwen John’s artistic practice, revealing new research about Gwen John’s painting materials and methods. John’s approach to her art was almost scientific, emphasising the importance of close observation and trying to see beyond the surface of things.

The methodical and unique approach she applied to colour theory comes into play too. Gwen John developed a secret coding system for the colour mixtures and tones she used in her paintings – a code which still hasn’t been cracked to this day!  

She sought to use colour to create a sense of harmony in her work. From the early 1920s the rich and vibrant colours found in Gwen John’s watercolours appear in her oil paintings, in artworks such as the ‘mulberry dress’ series. 

Visitors can also find out about Gwen John’s life with a free to use audio guide and film created especially for the exhibition which discusses her artistic legacy. Archival materials such as the artist’s notebooks and sketchbooks will be also displayed in the Keiller Library in Modern Two, telling more of Gwen John’s story through objects personal to her. 

This exhibition has been developed by Amgueddfa Cymru in partnership with the National Galleries of Scotland, Yale Center for British Art, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC. 

Gwen John: Strange Beauties is yours to discover at National Galleries Scotland: Modern Two from 1 August 2026. Tickets are on sale now. 

Letter: Failing Our Children

Dear Editor

Recent statistics indicating that 12,402 pupils have missed at least half of the school year—enough to fill almost 400 classrooms—should concern us all.

While we support mainstream education wherever appropriate, it can only succeed if schools have the staff and specialist support to make inclusion for those with additional support needs (ASN) meaningful.

More than two out of five (43 per cent) of Scotland’s pupils are now identified as having an additional support need, with numbers more than doubling over the past decade. Yet the number of specialist ASN teachers has fallen. Additionally, as the number of those with ASN experiencing greater complexity of need increases, special school provision may be required, yet the number of such schools has declined.

The link between unmet additional support needs and poor attendance is clear. Too many families are waiting for support while schools struggle with shortages of specialist teachers, classroom assistants, educational psychologists and mental health professionals.

Identifying children with ASN is only the first step. They must receive the timely support needed to attend school, achieve their potential and avoid poorer educational and mental health outcomes.

Scotland urgently needs greater investment to deliver genuinely inclusive education. Without it, we risk failing not only children with ASN and their families, but every pupil and teacher in Scotland’s classrooms.

Yours faithfully

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition:

Patrick Gannon, Falkland House School

Lynn Black, LOVE Care

Kenny Graham, Spark of Genius

Ice cream maker launches charity grant to mark milestone anniversary

Mackie’s family/business story.
Angus, Karin, Kirstin and Mac

CHARITIES and community groups across the country are being invited to apply for a share of a £40,000 fund, set up to mark 40 years of Mackie’s making ice cream on the family farm in Aberdeenshire.

The Mackie’s of Scotland Charity Grant will award three organisations with a £10,000 grant through an application process, while a further ten will be awarded £1,000 donations through a staff-led selection process.

Charities and community groups supporting young people, strengthening communities, promoting wellbeing, protecting the environment or delivering vital services to those who need them most are being encouraged to apply.

Mac Mackie, Chairman at Mackie’s of Scotland, said: “Forty years ago, we started making ice cream on the farm and the support of our local community has been central to the business’ growing success ever since.

“Mackie’s has always supported local causes and the community, but as we celebrate this milestone, we wanted to find a way to link it to our giving something back and our continued commitment to charities and communities across the country.”

Applications for one of three £10,000 grants can be submitted via the Mackie’s website by charities, with groups invited to share details of the work they do, the people they support and how the funding would help them make an even greater impact.

The ten £1,000 donations will be selected separately, with Mackie’s staff nominating charities and organisations close to their hearts.

Mac added: “Whether it’s a small local group or a charity supporting families right across the country, we know £10,000 or £1,000 can make a real difference. We can’t wait to see the applications come in and find out more about the incredible work taking place across the UK.”

The Mackie’s Charity Grant is the latest in a series of community-focused efforts by the ice cream maker, including its ongoing support for NHS Grampian and The Archie Foundation.

With the first ice cream tubs made on the family farm in 1986, Mackie’s has grown into one of the UK’s fastest-growing premium ice cream brands and Scotland’s best-selling (KantarWorldPanel, volume), while staying rooted in its Aberdeenshire community, where it still makes all of its ice cream and chocolate.

Charities have until 21st August to submit their applications for the £10,000 grants.

To find out more and to apply, please visit the Mackie’s of Scotland Charity Grant webpage.

Update: Wildfire at Cairngorms National Park

Six fire appliances, two all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), a Wildfire Support Unit and a water carrier are at the scene

Firefighters are continuing to tackle a wildfire in the Glenmore area of the Cairngorms National Park for a fourth consecutive day, supported by specialist resources and helicopter water-bombing operations.

The situation on the ground remains dynamic and continues to be influenced by changing weather conditions, particularly wind strength and direction.

However, there has been significant progress over the past 24 hours, with conditions on both the eastern flank, including the Strathnethy area, and the western flank showing marked improvement compared with this time yesterday.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) continues to work in partnership with agencies and landowners to build on this progress.

The period between 3:00pm and 6:30pm remains the most challenging part of the day, as warmer temperatures and changing wind conditions can influence fire behaviour. Firefighters are continuing to monitor conditions closely and respond where required.

In light of the progress made, SFRS is reviewing its operational requirements and resource deployment for tonight and tomorrow. Crews remain fully committed to maintaining control of the incident and protecting local communities.

There are encouraging signs across the affected area, with visible improvements becoming increasingly evident. While this is positive, wildfires can change rapidly and unexpectedly, and it is important that we do not become complacent.

Deputy Assistant Chief Officer Michael Humphreys said: “We hope this update provides reassurance to local residents and communities. However, it is equally important that expectations are managed given the unpredictable nature of wildfire incidents and the ongoing influence of weather conditions.

“We would like to thank the partnership working of landowners and agencies and our local communities for their continued patience, and cooperation throughout this incident.”

UPDATE: 6pm, Saturday 18 July