The New Harassment Duty: A Checklist of Reasonable Steps for Employers
From 30 October 2026, employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, and the duty extends to harassment by customers and other third parties.
How to Run a Return-to-Work Interview
A short return-to-work conversation after every absence is one of the simplest ways to manage sickness fairly. Here is how to run one well.
Statutory Sick Pay From Day One: What Employers Need to Check
Since 6 April 2026, SSP is payable from the first day of sickness. Here is what employers should check in payroll, policy and contracts.
The Employer’s Guide to Setting Fair Employee Expectations
One of the most consistent themes in UK employment disputes is the gap between what an employer expected from an employee and what the employee understood was expected of them. This gap — which often feels like a performance or conduct problem — is frequently, at root, a communication failure that happened at the very […]
Attendance Policies That Actually Improve Productivity
Most businesses have an attendance policy. Far fewer have one that actually changes behaviour, supports managers in having difficult conversations, or reduces absence in a meaningful and sustainable way. The gap between having a policy and having a policy that works is significant — and it is costing UK employers billions of pounds every year […]
How to Prevent Burnout in Hybrid Workplaces
Burnout has become one of the most significant workforce challenges in the UK. Mental Health UK’s Burnout Report 2026 found that nine in ten adults experienced high or extreme workplace pressure in the past year, and one in five took time off due to stress-related mental health issues. Among workers aged 18 to 24, nearly […]
What Fair Performance Management Looks Like in 2026
Performance management has always been a legal minefield for UK employers. But in 2026, the stakes are rising significantly. The Employment Rights Act 2025 is reducing the qualifying period for unfair dismissal from two years to six months — expected from January 2027 — and the existing cap on unfair dismissal compensation is being removed. […]
10 Red Flags of Toxic Workplace Behaviour Employers Should Watch For
Toxic workplace behaviour rarely arrives fully formed. It develops over time — through patterns of conduct that individually might seem minor but collectively create an environment where people are disengaged, unhappy, and eventually leaving. The challenge for employers is that the early signs are easy to overlook, particularly when the person displaying the behaviour is […]
How to Support Employees While Staying Legally Protected
Supporting employees well and managing legal risk are not opposing priorities — but they can feel that way. Many UK employers struggle to find the right balance: they want to support staff through difficulties, but they are uncertain about how much support they are legally required to provide, how far they can go, and where […]
How to Document Employee Conversations Properly
If there is one single piece of advice that applies to almost every employment dispute situation, it is this: document everything. From the informal conversation about a lateness pattern to the formal disciplinary hearing outcome, written records are what turn a good HR process into a defensible one. Yet documentation remains one of the most […]