There’s a lot of noise around the Employment Rights Act at the moment (and for good reason), but one major change that seems to be getting lost in all that noise is the introduction of the Fair Work Agency. It’s not always the big headline item, but it’s one that’s going to have a real impact on what you do day-to-day, especially around pay, holiday and the records you keep. The Fair Work Agency (FWA) is a new enforcement body being introduced as part of…
The latest TUC and HSE statistics point to work-related stress becoming a bigger workplace hazard, putting clearer numbers behind what many businesses are already managing day to day. According to the TUC’s latest survey of more than 2,700 union safety representatives, 79% said stress is a major workplace hazard. That’s higher than slips, trips and falls or manual handling. The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) data backs this up, reporting that nearly one million workers are affected by work-related stress, anxiety or depression, with over…
Last year, the noise around equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within UK workplaces grew louder, and more polarised. Donald Trump during his presidency has decried diversity programmes, calling them discriminatory and claiming that they drive down performance (without evidence). This caused some large US employers such as Amazon, McDonald’s and Meta to roll back their EDI programmes, bowing down to the presidents’ rhetoric. As a result, some UK employers have followed suit. Freeths reported that 28% of UK businesses have scaled back or completely dropped…
As the saying goes, ‘new year, new you’. Yes, we know it’s a phrase that usually belongs in a January gym advert or alongside a soon-to-be-abandoned New Year’s resolution. But for HR and payroll, 2026 really will mark a new beginning. This year, some of the biggest changes we’ve seen in decades are expected to land as the Employment Rights Bill takes shape, raising expectations around fairness and transparency. Add to that the recent Budget’s impact on pay, tax and employment costs, it’s fair to…
We’re all familiar with the phrase “three strikes and you’re out”. Most know its sporting origins in baseball. Some may associate it with Bill Clinton’s 1994 legislation mandating life imprisonment for those committing three serious, violent, offences. It’s colloquially used in employment – often around lateness and attendance. With the Worker Protection Act now 12 months’ old, we need to be clear about one thing. You don’t clock up three strikes with sexual harassment. One is all it takes. However, harassment often generates (at least)…
The Health and Safety Executive has released its latest non-fatal injury and ill-health statistics for 2024 – 25. Published towards the end of November, the figures paint a clear picture of what’s happening in workplaces across the UK, and where employers may need to sharpen their focus. Work-related ill health rises again This year’s big headline is the continued rise in work-related ill health. A total of 1.9 million people reported a work-related health issue, up from 1.7 million the previous year. Mental health challenges…
If you work in HR or run a business, you’ve almost certainly heard talk of the Employment Rights Bill (ERB). It’s been described as the most significant shake-up of employment law in a generation, and with good reason. The Bill introduces sweeping changes that will reshape day-to-day people management, from how quickly employees gain rights to how flexible work is structured across the UK. So, what’s actually changing and what should HR teams be preparing for? Government U-turns on day one unfair dismissal rights The…
I would like to think that many of you will say ‘yes’. But what about if I asked whether you trusted your employees if they said they were sick? I would imagine that many of you will say ‘no’ or ‘not completely’ to this one, as we know that there are some employees who just want a day off and phone in sick. How about someone who is on long-term sickness absence of four weeks or more? Is that a different matter? I’m assuming that…
Walking around the Castro area of San Francisco on December 1st (World AIDS Day) I was hit by a huge sense of loss of life, and I wondered, what if AIDS had never happened? What would those people have achieved if they had lived? Where would we be, in the sense of LGBTQIA+ rights and activism? Some might say, it’s a miracle some of us did survive, and what is the story we must tell! I think we would have achieved all the milestones our…
From 1 December 2025, the Early Conciliation period will double from six to twelve weeks. For employers, it’s a shift that will change how long a dispute sits in the background, how quickly issues need to be picked up internally, and how much time you’ll have to settle matters before litigation becomes a real possibility. Early Conciliation already plays a pivotal role in the route to an Employment Tribunal. It’s the stage where ACAS steps in to try to resolve disagreements before they escalate, and…
