The advantages of proactively handling bullying and harassment Employers are legally required to handle bullying and harassment in the workplace. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act, employers have a legal duty to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of their employees. This duty will include protecting employees against bullying and harassment at work. Additionally, under the Equality Act 2010, employers are prohibited from harassing their employees and they can

Working for the church is a calling, but it is a workplace – and so says the law. In the past, inappropriate behaviour from a member of the congregation or an aggressive premises hirer might have been brushed off as a 'pastoral issue' or something that church staff were expected to endure, with grace. But, under the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025), taking effect on the 30th October 2026, that approach becomes a direct legal liability. The legislation introduces strict s

1. INTRODUCTION Difficult conversations with Employees are part and parcel of your role as a Line Manager. Taking on the role of Line Manager means that, from time to time, you should be prepared to address difficult issues with Employees. Often, the issues that you need to address are important to the performance of the employing body, for example delivering feedback to an Employee that will improve their productivity, so you should accept responsibility for having these

The Employment Rights Bill currently imposes a duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment from occurring in the workplace, instead of just reasonable steps. From October 2026, this will become all reasonable steps which means employers will be held liable for third-party harassment if they fail to take all reasonable steps to prevent it. This liability is not just limited to sexual harassment, but extends to harassment on the grounds of: age; disa

1. Introduction When an employee is accused of misconduct serious enough to warrant disciplinary action, an investigation into the allegations will be needed to decide whether there is a disciplinary case to answer, and whether the issue needs to proceed to a formal disciplinary hearing. A thorough investigation ensures that whoever conducts the disciplinary hearing has all the relevant information to allow them to make a fair decision. It is important to carry out an inv

Employers can be held vicariously liable for discriminatory acts by employees - even if the event is held off site and out of normal working hours. Under the Equality Act 2010, protection from harassment covers sexual harassment as well as unwanted conduct on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, and sexual orientation. Employers should ensure that their policy on harassment is up to date, and has been brought to the attention of all e

1. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE AN INCLUSIVE WORKPLACE? An inclusive workplace enables individuals within it to feel valued, accepted and listened too, without the need for them to conform to fit in. Differences in an inclusive workplace are celebrated and encouraged. By accepting individual differences and making space for them to flourish, individuals are empowered to thrive in the work environment, enhancing productivity and performance across the organisation. An inclusive w

Mileage Allowance Payments (MAPs) represent the tax-free reimbursements an employing body can provide to staff who use their own personal vehicles for business travel. Under HMRC guidelines, these payments remain exempt from reporting up to a designated "approved amount" each tax year. Following the Chancellors economic address to the Commons on 21 May 2026, the government introduced measures to assist families and businesses with rising living costs. This includes a 10p-per-

1. What is workplace bullying? Acas defines workplace bullying as "unwanted behaviour from a person or group that is either offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting, or an abuse or misuse of power that undermines, humiliates, or causes physical or emotional harm to someone". Bullying is closely related to harassment: the two often go together and the terms are often used interchangeably. However, there are important differences. Unlike bullying, harassment is a

An employer can ask a prospective employee to complete a medical questionnaire, but only after it has made them a job offer and only if it complies with data protection requirements. Section 60(1) of the Equality Act 2010 prohibits employers from asking job applicants questions about their health before offering them employment (with some very limited exceptions). If an employer intends to ask prospective employees to complete a medical questionnaire after making them an offe

1. WHAT IS NEURODIVERSITY? “Neurodiversity”, “neurodivergent” and “neurodivergence” are words which relate to the concept that certain individuals’ brains work and interpret information in a different way to those who are deemed “neurotypical” (ie those who interpret information in the way that is expected). It is commonly recognised where individuals have been diagnosed with neurological conditions such as: Autism Dyslexia Dyspraxia attention deficit hyperactivity disord

From April 2026 SSP has been fundamentally reformed. All employing bodies must adhere to these updated statutory minimums before applying any enhanced occupational provision: Day-One Entitlement: The previous three-day "waiting period" has been abolished. Employees are now entitled to SSP from the first full day of sickness absence. Universal Eligibility: The Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) has been removed. All employees, including part-time and lower-paid staff, now qualify fo

1. UNDERSTANDING REMOTE INTERVIEWING Remote interviewing is when an interview process is carried out where at least one of the parties is away from the usual place of work. For example, a manager may conduct a video interview with a candidate for a role instead of inviting the candidate in for a face-to-face meeting. Although remote interviewing has been around for some time, it is arguably something that your company is more likely to consider in light of the coronavirus p

From April 6th 2026 employers now also have a duty to keep records in relation to annual leave and holiday pay. Whilst this sounds like good practice anyway, this is actually the first time there has been an employment law duty to do so. This can be done in any format the employer reasonably considers appropriate, but the information must be kept for six years. The information that must be recorded includes: Ordinary and additional annual leave Annual leave carried forwar

1. UNDERSTANDING UNCONSCIOUS BIAS Unconscious bias is when someone forms a quick opinion about a situation or an individual, without necessarily being aware of it. For example, a person may instantly make a judgement about someone due to their appearance, which can therefore impact upon their opinion of this individual overall. Unconscious bias can occur in all areas of life, but in a workplace context, it can affect who is recruited, who is promoted and who receives certain

A probationary period provides a structured timeframe for the Church to review a new employee’s performance and for the employee to assess the role. Following recent and additional upcoming changes in legislation, the District recommends a more condensed and active monitoring period. Standard Duration: The standard probationary period is guided to be 3 months. This ensures that both the Church and employee have a focused window to establish performance and suitability early

1. WHAT IS HARASSMENT? The legal definitions of sexual harassment are set out in the Equality Act 2010. Sex-based harassment is unwanted conduct “related to sex”, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual. For example, making derogatory jokes about women in front of a female Employee, or bullying behaviour towards an individual that is base

What is changing? Employees are currently eligible for statutory sick pay (SSP) if they are sick for a period of four days or more. Low-paid employees who earn less than the lower earnings limit are not eligible for SSP. The Employment Rights Act 2025 removes both these requirements: SSP will be available to employees from day one of their incapacity for work. All employees will be eligible, regardless of their earnings. If an employee earns less than the weekly SSP rat

1. RIGHT OF ACCESS Under the Data Protection Act 2018, individuals have rights of access in relation to the personal data that you hold on them. A request for such information is called a ‘subject access request’. The right permits individuals to see the information that you process about them, not to actually receive a copy of the information. However, it is likely that the easiest way to allow the individual to see the information is by sending a copy of it to the individua

Can you prevent employees from political campaigning in support of a particular political party? Yes, if political campaigning (for example by distributing leaflets, or making speeches in support of a particular political party) causes disruption in the workplace, or causes intimidation or harassment of colleagues, employers can take action to prevent it. If the employee is carrying out campaigning during their working hours, instead of performing their work, the employer wou