Changing Employment Rights

The workplace is changing. Employment rights are evolving. But are our approaches to managing people keeping pace?

For too long, organisations have approached bullying, harassment, discrimination and inappropriate workplace behaviour primarily as issues to address once something has gone wrong.

A concern is raised. A complaint is submitted. An investigation begins. Policies are reviewed. Training is arranged.

And, all too often, the question becomes: How do we deal with what has happened?

But what if we were asking a different question?

What could we have done to prevent this happening in the first place?

That question is becoming increasingly important as employment legislation changes and expectations around workplace behaviour, leadership and organisational accountability continue to evolve.

A Changing Legal Landscape

The Employment Rights Bill became the Employment Rights Act 2025, receiving Royal Assent in December 2025.

Its reforms are being introduced in stages throughout 2026 and 2027, bringing changes to employment protections, employer responsibilities and workplace practices.

One particularly significant area is the prevention of sexual harassment.

From 30 October 2026, employers will be required to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, with stronger protections concerning harassment by third parties.

This represents an important shift in emphasis.

Rather than focusing exclusively on how organisations respond when harassment occurs, the legislation strengthens expectations around what employers should be doing to identify risks and prevent inappropriate behaviour.

Of course, legal compliance matters. Organisations must understand their responsibilities, review their policies and ensure that their practices reflect current legislation.

But compliance alone does not create a respectful workplace culture.

An organisation might have comprehensive policies, mandatory training and clearly documented reporting procedures, yet still have colleagues who feel uncomfortable challenging inappropriate behaviour or lack confidence that their concerns will be taken seriously.

The real test is not simply what an organisation has written down.

It's what people actually experience.

From Reactive Casework to Preventative People Practice

Consider two different approaches to workplace behaviour.

A reactive culture:

Inappropriate behaviour occurs → Someone minimises it → The person affected doesn't report it → The behaviour continues → It becomes normalised → The impact increases → A formal complaint is raised → An investigation or organisational crisis follows.

A preventative culture:

Risks are recognised → Expectations are clear → Inappropriate behaviour is challenged early → People feel safe raising concerns → Managers respond appropriately → Action is taken → Follow-up takes place → Lessons are learned → Risks are reduced.

These are simplified examples, but they illustrate an important distinction.

In a reactive culture, action often begins when the damage has already been done.

In a preventative culture, organisations recognise that they have opportunities to intervene much earlier.

This doesn't mean every difficult conversation or disagreement should automatically become a formal HR matter.

Quite the opposite.

It means equipping managers and colleagues with the confidence, understanding and practical skills to recognise concerns, have appropriate conversations and address behaviours before they escalate.

It also means recognising that some situations will require immediate formal intervention, particularly where there are serious allegations or safeguarding concerns.

Prevention isn't about avoiding formal processes. It's about reducing the likelihood of harm while ensuring that appropriate processes remain available when needed.

Good People Management Is Good Inclusion Practice

Preventing discrimination, bullying, harassment, sexual harassment and victimisation shouldn't be treated as separate HR or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives.

They're fundamental to good people management.

The same is true of neuroinclusion.

Recognising different communication styles, understanding individual needs, making reasonable adjustments and challenging assumptions shouldn't be considered additional responsibilities that sit outside everyday management.

They are part of creating environments where people can contribute, perform well and feel respected.

And these issues are interconnected.

When colleagues feel excluded, dismissed or unable to raise concerns, the consequences can extend well beyond the immediate situation.

They can affect psychological safety, wellbeing, confidence, working relationships, productivity and retention.

They can also influence whether people trust their managers, believe organisational values are meaningful or feel that they belong.

An organisation cannot realistically separate employee wellbeing from the culture in which employees are expected to work.

Nor can it separate inclusion from the quality of its leadership and people management.

Respect, fairness and inclusion aren't optional extras. They're essential conditions for healthy and effective workplaces.

Managers Need Confidence, Not Just Policies

One of the challenges I regularly encounter in my work is the gap between what organisations expect managers to do and how confident those managers feel about doing it.

Managers may understand that they have responsibilities around inclusion, wellbeing and workplace behaviour.

But do they feel equipped to recognise when something isn't right?

Can they distinguish between constructive performance management and behaviour that might be experienced as bullying?

Do they understand how unconscious bias, power imbalances or different communication needs might influence a situation?

And, importantly, do they know how to respond when somebody raises a concern?

Good preventative people practice requires managers to:

• Recognise risks and barriers that may contribute to discrimination, harassment, exclusion or unequal treatment.
• Set clear expectations about acceptable behaviour, professional boundaries and accountability.
• Create psychologically safe environments where colleagues can ask questions, challenge behaviour and raise concerns without fear of victimisation.
• Have better conversations earlier, approaching situations with curiosity rather than assumptions.
• Respond fairly, sensitively and consistently, considering the circumstances and avoiding premature conclusions.
• Take appropriate action, including maintaining accurate records, following relevant procedures and supporting those involved.
• Learn from concerns and experiences, identifying opportunities to improve practices and prevent similar situations arising again.

None of this requires managers to become employment lawyers or investigators.

It requires them to understand their responsibilities, recognise the limits of their role and know when to seek appropriate support.

Above all, it requires a willingness to act.

Because ignoring inappropriate behaviour rarely makes it disappear.

Psychological Safety: You Cannot Demand Honesty

Organisations frequently encourage employees to speak up.

Our door is always open.

We welcome feedback.

If something isn't right, please tell us.

These are positive messages, but they aren't enough on their own.

People make decisions about whether to raise concerns based on their experiences, relationships and perceptions of what might happen next.

What happened the last time someone challenged a senior colleague?

Was their concern taken seriously?

Were they listened to without judgement?

Did anything change?

Or did they experience defensiveness, dismissal or negative consequences?

Psychological safety isn't created simply by telling people that it's safe to speak.

It's created through the consistent demonstration that speaking up will be met with fairness, respect and appropriate action.

We also need to recognise that not everyone will feel comfortable raising concerns in the same way.

Some colleagues may prefer a private conversation. Others may want to communicate in writing, seek advice from a trusted representative or use a formal reporting channel.

Providing meaningful choices, respecting confidentiality and ensuring accessible reporting arrangements are all part of creating safer workplace cultures.

And while everyone has a part to play, the responsibility for creating those conditions cannot simply be placed on the people who may already feel most vulnerable.

Prevention Requires Organisational Accountability

Preventing harassment and inappropriate behaviour is not solely the responsibility of individual managers.

Organisations need to consider where risks might arise, who might be particularly vulnerable and what practical steps could reduce those risks.

For example, workplace social events, professional conferences, overnight travel, lone working and informal digital communication channels can present circumstances that require particular consideration.

The aim isn't to assume that inappropriate behaviour will occur.

It's to recognise foreseeable risks and establish sensible preventative measures.

A useful organisational approach might follow this sequence:

Risk Assessment → Clear Expectations → Communication → Escalation → Staff Support → Reporting → Follow-up → Learning

Each stage matters.

Risk assessments mean little if expectations aren't communicated.

Reporting procedures are ineffective if people don't trust them.

Investigations alone won't create lasting improvements if organisations fail to learn from what has happened.

And training has limited value if it isn't supported by consistent leadership behaviour and accountability.

This is why prevention must be embedded into everyday organisational practice rather than treated as a one-off initiative.

What Evidence Could Your Organisation Provide?

Here's a question I believe every organisation should be asking itself.

If we were asked tomorrow to demonstrate what we're actually doing to prevent harassment, what evidence could we provide?

Would we be able to demonstrate that we're identifying risks and taking proportionate action to address them?

Could we show that managers understand their responsibilities and have received meaningful, practical development?

Are expectations around workplace behaviour clear, accessible and consistently applied?

Do colleagues understand how to raise concerns, and do they trust that those concerns will be handled appropriately?

Are we reviewing patterns, listening to feedback and learning from experiences?

And perhaps most importantly:

Can we demonstrate that our actions are making a difference to people's experiences at work?

These questions matter because preventing harassment isn't simply about what organisations say they're doing.

It's about what they can demonstrate they're doing, and whether those actions are effective.

The Direction of Travel Is Clear

The changing employment rights landscape provides an important opportunity to rethink how we approach workplace culture, leadership and people management.

But organisations shouldn't need to wait for legislative changes before deciding that prevention matters.

We already know that workplace cultures are shaped by everyday behaviours, the standards leaders demonstrate, the concerns organisations take seriously and the actions they are prepared to take.

We also know that unresolved issues can become increasingly damaging when inappropriate behaviour is minimised, ignored or allowed to continue.

The opportunity is to move beyond simply managing complaints and towards creating environments where people are less likely to experience harm in the first place.

That requires investment in management capability, meaningful communication, psychological safety, inclusive practice and organisational accountability.

It requires a willingness to challenge behaviours that may have become normalised.

And it requires organisations to recognise that the responsibility for respectful workplace cultures extends well beyond HR or DEI teams.

Ultimately, preventing discrimination, bullying and harassment is everyone's responsibility, while leaders and employers must be accountable for the environments they create.

So perhaps the question is no longer:

“Is this an HR issue or a DEI issue?”

But simply:

“What does good people practice require here?”

And, as employment rights continue to evolve, there is another question worth asking:

What are we doing today to prevent harassment tomorrow?

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