Employees resigning shortly before or during a disciplinary process is not unusual.

However, an employee’s resignation does not always bring disciplinary proceedings to an end.

Employers should weigh up the situation and any potential risks before accepting the resignation.

If the resignation is with immediate effect, they are no longer an employee; therefore, you don’t have the same level of control.

In these situations, it may be appropriate to accept the resignation and draw a line under the process.

However, employers should consider the nature of the allegations and whether it is appropriate to proceed in the employee’s absence, especially if the allegations are serious, illegal, or the industry is a regulated one such as education, childcare or healthcare.

Continuing with the process in the employee’s absence allows a formal conclusion and ensures that a record is made of the outcome.

This will allow any further reporting to be concluded, for example, a safeguarding referral.

Although an employee who resigns after misconduct allegations can’t then claim unfair dismissal, there is the potential for claims of constructive dismissal or even discrimination.

Therefore, employers must continue to act reasonably, follow a fair process and keep necessary records, even where an individual chooses to resign before matters have concluded.

Handling a resignation like this correctly reduces the risk of a constructive dismissal or discrimination claim. Contact Solutions for HR before it becomes one.

New restrictions on ‘exploitative’ zero-hours contracts

The Employment Rights Act 2025 stops short of banning zero-hours contracts, but new restrictions will be introduced.

The Government are consulting on the proposed changes to zero-hours contracts, and this consultation closes on the 25th of August 2026.

The restrictions will focus on a new right for zero, low or irregular hours workers to a ‘guaranteed hours offer’ which reflects the number of hours they have regularly worked over a specified period, provided their work history and hours meet certain conditions.

This new rule would ensure that employees’ contracts reflect an average number of hours that they regularly work over a reference period and aims to provide some stability for employees.

There is currently an open consultation which aims to set out the finer details of this new right, such as:

• A potential 12-week reference period for working out regular hours per week;
• A threshold for low hours, which is currently proposed at eight to 20 hours per week.

Workers will also have special legal protection against detriment/dismissal in connection with the terms of the guaranteed hours offer.

If you want to find out more and/or have your say on how these changes will form, visit Make Work Pay on the gov.uk website.

The changes are expected to come into effect sometime in 2027.

We can help you prepare ahead of 2027. Contact Solutions for HR today.

Strengthened Rights from October 2026

The Employment Rights Act 2025 enhances the duty to prevent sexual harassment from the 30th October 2026 by requiring an employer to take ‘all’ reasonable steps to prevent harassment (currently it is “reasonable steps”).

In addition, there is an obligation on employers not to permit the harassment of their employees by third parties.

Moving from “reasonable steps” to “all reasonable steps” means employers must do more to prove they are complying.

Employers must demonstrate comprehensive, documented, and continuous actions to stop both internal and third-party harassment.

This should include risk assessments, introduction of specific policies that explicitly cover sexual harassment and employee and management training.

Solutions for HR are able to offer training on the education and prevention of harassment and sexual harassment.

Please get in touch for further details.

In addition, reporting sexual harassment will amount to a protected disclosure for whistleblowing protection.

New Rights from October 2026

On the 30th October 2026, UK employers must provide all workers with a written statement informing them of their legal right to join a trade union.

This requires employers to give workers a written statement advising them of their right to join a union, delivered at the start of employment alongside the worker’s written statement of particulars or contract. It is expected that the Regulations will require annual updates or reminders.

The duty applies to all employers in England, Wales, and Scotland, regardless of size or whether a union is recognised. Every worker is entitled to receive this statement.

The exact content of the statement will be confirmed in time; however, it is expected that this will include:

• A brief overview of the functions of a trade union.
• A summary of statutory rights for union members, including protection from detriment for joining or not joining a union.
• A list of trade unions recognised by the employer, if any.

Employers will need to update key documents to comply with the duty, including written statements of particulars or contracts, induction materials and staff handbooks.

Trade unions also gain strengthened rights from this date. This right is to access workplaces, both physical and digital, to meet, represent, recruit, and organise workers. The premise behind this is to allow for enhanced representation and to promote engagement and collaboration in the workplace for better industrial relations.

If you are unsure whether your new starter paperwork already covers this new written statement duty, contact Solutions for HR today.

Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, significant changes will be made to the law on unfair dismissal from the 1st of January 2027.

As it stands currently, employees do not gain the right to claim ordinary unfair dismissal until they have completed two years of continuous service. This gives employers two years and significant flexibility in managing probation reviews and dismissals without the risk of an unfair dismissal claim. However, this will change in January 2027.

From the 1st of January 2027, the qualifying period for employees to claim ordinary unfair dismissal will reduce from two years to six months. This reduction will apply retrospectively, meaning any employee with six months of continuous service as of the 1st January 2027 will gain unfair dismissal rights, so anyone employed on or before the 1st of July 2026 will be protected from the 1st of January 2027.

Employers must think about how to manage probation periods and new hires due to the reduced timescales. We are recommending a shorter probation period of 3 months with the ability to extend for up to a further 2 months, ensuring that there is then time to enact a dismissal, if necessary, before the 6-month “deadline”.

If terminations are not enacted within this 6-month window, a full and fair procedure has to be followed to meet the fair and reasonable requirements of the Employment Rights Act 1996. For example, in the context of a conduct dismissal, this would involve a series of disciplinary warnings given over time, in accordance with your disciplinary procedure.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 also extends the time limit for bringing an unfair dismissal tribunal claim from three months to six months, effective from October 2026, giving employees more time to bring claims.

The risk of an unfair dismissal claim is further increased by the removal of the compensation cap for unfair dismissal claims, effective from the 1st of January 2027. The cap is currently the lower of a year’s pay or £123,543. By removing this cap, the potential award in unfair dismissal claims is unlimited, which could be costly for employers of high earners.

Alongside the extension of tribunal time limits, the Government has also amended the Acas Early Conciliation regime. Under the Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, where a prospective claimant presents an Early Conciliation notification to Acas the conciliation period may now last for up to 12 weeks (previously six).

The Department for Business and Trade will produce guidance for employers to help them understand the likely practical implications of the changes in due course.

If you are unsure whether you have valid consent before responding to a reference request, contact Solutions for HR today.

What do employers need to know about data protection rules and references?

Providing a reference involves the disclosure and processing of personal data under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).

So what do employers need to be aware of when responding to a reference request?

Employers must identify a lawful basis for all data processing activities. When providing a reference, this lawful basis is that the data subject (the individual asking for a reference) has given their consent.

For consent to be valid under data protection principles, it must be unambiguous and freely given.

So how does an employer ensure that they have this consent?

1. Record consent at an exit interview
2. Require the prospective employer to obtain written consent

Employers should keep a copy of the evidence of consent to be able to demonstrate their lawful basis for processing.

If you are uncertain whether you have consent, you should always contact the individual to check this and, ideally, obtain the consent in writing.

It is worth noting that GDPR provisions expressly exempt references from data subject access requests (DSARs), meaning that references do not have to be disclosed under a DSAR.

However, care should always be taken if providing anything other than a “basic” reference, containing dates of employment and job role. Employers have a duty of care to ensure that references are truthful and fair and do not mislead the reference receiver. Failing to do so could lead to a civil claim against the reference giver.

If you are unsure whether you have valid consent before responding to a reference request, contact Solutions for HR today.

A new requirement for employers

There is a huge increase in the number of data subject access requests (DSARs) that we are seeing.

Employees are more aware of their rights, and they are being used in workplace disputes as a mechanism to obtain as much information as possible to feed into a grievance or tribunal claim.

From the 19th of June 2026, however, there is a key legal change which employers must be aware of.

New provisions under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 now require employers to have a formal data protection complaints procedure in place to allow employees to raise a complaint directly with their employer about how their personal data has been handled, including how a DSAR has been dealt with.

Where a complaint is received, employers must:

• Acknowledge complaints within 30 days of receipt
• Carry out a reasonable investigation into the complaint
• Take appropriate steps to respond without undue delay
• Inform the complainant of the outcome without undue delay
• Keep records of complaints and outcomes

Importantly, this does not replace complaints to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO); if employees are not satisfied with their employer’s response, they can still escalate the issue to the ICO.

Employers must now:

1. Put a data protection complaints procedure in place setting out how employees can raise concerns and how those concerns will be handled.
2. Update privacy notices to signpost employees to the internal complaints procedure.
3. Train anyone responsible for handling DSARs to ensure they can identify a data protection complaint.

We have prepared a data protection complaints procedure and updated privacy notice that can be adapted for your business.

If you’re not sure your complaints procedure meets the new requirement, contact Solutions for HR today.

The case of Gharabli v Cedar Hope Care Services Ltd has ruled that paying a higher salary to sponsored workers, compared to domestic workers who are working in the same role, amounted to indirect race discrimination.

Gharabli was a Support Worker at Cedar Hope Care Services Ltd who had been promoted to a Senior Support Worker in May 2023, with an increase in her hourly pay, and a further increase scheduled, subject to completing her probation.

However, Gharabli became aware that Support Workers who were sponsored under the Skilled Worker visa were being paid a higher hourly rate of pay than their domestic counterparts.

After voicing her concerns in August 2023, Gharabli’s pay was increased, but this did not happen for the domestic Support Workers.

When Gharabli later requested a return to her previous role of Support Worker, due to personal reasons, her pay was reduced back down to the domestic Support Worker rate, which was lower than the sponsored rate.

Gharabli argued that domestic and sponsored staff were carrying out the same role and, as such, should receive the same rate of pay. However, the employer defended their actions, claiming that they were adhering to the minimum pay requirements of the Home Office and that sponsored workers had additional responsibilities.

The Tribunal, however, found that both groups of Support Workers were performing the same role. There was no evidence as to why the pay disparity was necessary, and the employer was unable to justify why domestic workers couldn’t have received pay that was equal to their sponsored colleagues.

As a result, Gharabli’s claim of indirect race discrimination was upheld, and she was awarded over £14,000, with £10,000 for injury to feelings, £2,237 for financial losses and an additional £1,938 for interest.

This is an important outcome for employers who employ sponsored workers. While pay for sponsored workers may be dictated by Home Office requirements, this is not a sufficient justification for offering different terms compared to domestic workers.

If this case raises questions about your pay structure or sponsored workers, contact Solutions for HR today.

Over the next few weeks, there are several international sporting events taking place. It is worth employers thinking about how they can manage the excitement while ensuring productivity doesn’t take a hit.

Both the FIFA World Cup and ICC Women’s T20 World Cup began in the second week of June, and the Wimbledon Championships will follow at the end of the month, with proceedings for all three coming to an end by mid-July.

In addition, the time zones for the FIFA World Cup mean that matches are scheduled for late into the night, with some starting at three in the morning.

There are plenty of ways that employers could get involved and bring excitement into the workplace, such as having themed events, lunches, and games, giving live result notifications, and even creating a World Cup quiz.

However, this could have an impact on productivity levels, absenteeism and presenteeism, and not to mention the issue of sporting rivalries and potential conflict in the workplace!

If you have not already done so, introducing a policy for international sporting events can be beneficial for outlining clear expectations on what is and isn’t allowed, and will provide the necessary guidance for management.

This might include showing matches in communal areas and determining a fair way of who can watch games. Or, if viewing is not feasible, making this clear from the outset.

It is also important to emphasise the need for respectful behaviour to ensure that staff don’t get carried away in competitive “banter”, which can so easily evolve into bullying and harassing behaviour.

Employers might see a rise in overlapping holiday requests or requests for adjustments to break or working hours. Employers should therefore ensure they have a fair and consistent process for managing such requests, and that these are communicated.

While there are a lot of management challenges during these times, it can also be exciting for sports fans, and if managed successfully, it can help bring staff together.

If the upcoming sporting schedule raises questions about managing absence or workplace behaviour, contact Solutions for HR today.

The Government are launching a series of pilots aimed at tackling what is being described as the “broken” fit note system.

The four pilots will last a year and will be introduced to GP practices in various areas of England, covering up to 100,000 appointments, with the hope of identifying the most effective method of tackling the steep growth in fit notes being issued.

Commencing in July 2026, there will be four different models in operation:

• Birmingham and Solihull – GPs issue the first fit note, and all patients are referred to a new support service led by non-clinical staff (i.e. social prescribers and work and health coaches).
• Coventry and Warwickshire – GPs issue the first fit note, and patients can be referred to a support service of both clinical and non-clinical staff.
• Cornwall and Isles of Scilly – GPs refer patients directly to a non-clinical support service without issuing a fit note.
• Lancashire and South Cumbria – GPs refer patients to a support service of clinical and non-clinical staff without issuing a fit note.

The support service will provide work and health support, encourage three-way discussions between patients, employers and professionals, and look at reasonable adjustments to help patients to stay in work.

The results of the pilot will then help to build legislation and create a more efficient and sustainable system for both patients, employers and healthcare professionals.

If the fit note reforms raise questions about your absence management process, contact Solutions for HR today.