Sarah Jackman warns of a major shift in management of behaviour and culture
With new rules coming into force on 1 September 2026, addressing non-financial misconduct (NFM) is no longer a developing theme for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), but rather a fixed regulatory expectation of financial services firms.
At the same time, HR and employment law teams across all sectors are facing a wave of change relating to conduct at work under the Employment Rights Act.
Blowing the whistle on sexual harassment is now automatically recognised as a protected disclosure, and from October 2026, the duty to prevent sexual harassment will increase to a requirement to take all reasonable steps to stop such behaviour, alongside the reintroduced obligation on employers not to permit harassment of employees by third parties.
Further changes will follow in 2027, including new limits on the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in cases of workplace harassment or discrimination.
From 1 January 2027, the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal protection reduces from two years to six months, and compensation for being unfairly dismissed will be uncapped.
The potential for unlimited compensation is particularly significant in cases involving allegations of NFM, where individuals may argue that dismissal – or the impact of regulatory disclosures on a reference – has caused long-term or career-ending loss.
Individually, each of these developments is significant. Taken together,...
A person in his 30s who demanded compensation for alleged foreign substances in cup noodles and the absence of meat in stir-fried pork was sentenced to prison in both the first trial and the appel...