An engineering worker was awarded £66,295 plus £1,800 costs after his employer dismissed him for raising concerns about his manager's competence (read the full judgment). The employer thought they had a reasonable case. The tribunal thought otherwise. And, from January 2027, cases like this are about to get a lot more expensive. Here's what happened and what it means for you. "Obstructive and unsupportive" Andrew Estcourt was a chief engineer who repeatedly raised concerns th

From October, if one of your employees makes a harassment claim, a policy alone won't cut it. I know you might think a policy stored away somewhere is enough. But, with the rule changes, you must be able to evidence how you took all reasonable steps to prevent harassment in your workplace. A quick look at the timeline • Pre-2023: Equality Act 2010 meant that employers generally had a defence so long as they could point to a policy they had in place. • 2024: The Worker Protect

An easier way to review and manage holiday requests It's summer and there's going to be a surge of holiday requests coming your way... HR software won't stop your team from wanting the same two weeks in August. But it will stop the admin chaos that follows... When leave is managed through a proper system, employees can see their own balances, submit requests online and get a decision without chasing anyone. Managers can see at a glance who's in, who's off and whether approvi

Time for a quick check-in now it's almost halfway through 2026. Ask yourself these 3 questions: Are you getting the best out of your team? Do people issues take up more of your time than they should? Are you managing your people in the right way or are you just reacting to problems as they land? If the answer to any of those is "I'm not sure," the 5 areas below will help you to work out where the gaps are and what to focus on before H2. 1. Absence: what are the trends t

You might be looking at the new unfair dismissal rules and thinking that probation periods have become pointless. After all, if employees gain unfair dismissal protection after just 6 months from 1 January 2027, and most probation periods last 3 to 6 months, doesn't the whole concept lose its teeth? Actually, the opposite is true. Probation periods are more important now than they have ever been. Here's why. What's changing At the moment, employees can only claim

If you've noticed that employing people is getting more expensive, you're not imagining it. The cost of having a team has gone up across the board: NI increases from the budget Day-1 SSP under the Employment Rights Act Expanded leave entitlements Plus a growing list of compliance obligations So, when the government offers you money to take someone on, it's worth paying attention. What's actually on offer The Youth Jobs Grant gives you £3,000 towards hiring an unemploy