This year’s Christmas party arrives with a new legal backdrop: the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 (the Act), which introduced a proactive duty on employers to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment. What should you do? Before the party 1 Assess the risk The Act expects employers to anticipate where…
When one job is not enough: the cleaner who worked 17 hours a day
Imagine you run a facilities management team. One morning, you learn that one of your cleaners works full-time for you during the day, and full-time for someone else all night. You check the timesheets twice, then thrice, because no one can function effectively on so little rest, let alone while lugging Henry Hoover around at…
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Should managers stick to the script?
Most HR teams use scripts. They keep meetings on track, stop managers from rambling, and prevent someone from opening a disciplinary hearing with: ‘Is there any reason I shouldn’t sack you?’ But can a script go too far and turn a fair process into a predetermined one? The recent Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) judgment in…
HR1 goes digital
From Monday 1st December 2025, the HR1 form finally joins the 21st century. Paper and e-mail submissions will disappear, and employers proposing 20 or more redundancies at one establishment within 90 days must use the Insolvency Service’s new digital system. Failure to notify remains a criminal offence, so this upgrade is more than a tidy…
Early Conciliation just got longer
When? From Monday 1st December 2025, the Acas Early Conciliation period will be extended from 6 to 12 weeks. Why? On paper, it gives us more time to sort things out. In practice, it gives HR and senior leaders a longer stint in that familiar holding pattern: the ‘we might have a claim, but we…
When AI writes the grievance: a new challenge for Human Resources
Picture this: a 2,000-word grievance lands in your inbox, bristling with legal phrases and suspiciously polished grammar. Your employee has just discovered artificial intelligence (AI). In all sectors, managers are increasingly seeing grievances that resemble tribunal pleadings more than workplace complaints. AI tools can draft articulate, emotionally neutral documents in minutes. That can make genuine…
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The Great Return: should you push people back to the office?
The office is not dead, but forcing people back may kill your culture faster than you think. The post-pandemic consensus is fraying. Some leaders swear by the productivity and culture of in-person work; others quietly admit that the commute, cost, and childcare maths no longer add up. UK data backs the mixed picture. Figures from…
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When ‘banter’ is not funny
How far can ‘banter’ go before it becomes harassment and can an employer really name their business something guaranteed to feature in tribunal headlines? What happened? The case of Ms S Sinclair v More Blacks, More Dogs, More Irish Ltd and Mr Soliman (ET Glasgow, 7 August 2025) almost reads like satire. The company’s name,…
Tribunal fees: not coming back any time soon
On 9th October 2025, Lord Chancellor David Lammy confirmed the Government will not revive employment tribunal (ET) fees. A decision that speaks volumes about access to justice and budgets alike. In 2017 the Supreme Court killed off ET fees for breaching the right of access to justice. Since then, several governments have flirted with the…
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When the toilet sign tells a bigger story
Recently, I visited a restaurant with two bathroom doors: one read ‘Urinals and lockable cubicles’, while the other simply read ‘Lockable cubicles’. Practical, clear and a neat reminder that how we design and signpost facilities carries legal as well as social weight. But is it legally compliant? Probably not. What do the signs really mean?…
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When human resources meets artificial intelligence: hidden risks you can not ignore
Artificial intelligence (AI) is now embedded in hiring and people management. But when algorithms go wrong, the legal and reputational fallout lands squarely on leaders. Scenario You deploy an AI CV screener to cut costs in early-stage hiring. The tool consistently downranks CVs with gaps longer than six months, catching many applicants who took time…
£1.2m lesson: why soft-pedalling role changes during sick leave backfires
Scenario Your employee is on long-term sick leave with cancer. While they are away, the business shifts. Another colleague has been confirmed in a role that overlaps with theirs. HR must decide how much to share and how to phrase it. Too much candour risks distress. Too little candour risks litigation. So, what is the…
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