There’s been a lot of panic-mongering about the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) and the changes it will bring.

Although it may potentially lead to significant shifts in employment practices, we don’t yet know what the changes will definitely look like, or what might be watered down along the way.

Read more: Employment Rights Bill: HR reacts

As such, it’s a better use of HR professionals’ energy to pause and wait for more detail before leaping into action and committing to wholesale changes or investments.

There’s plenty to get grips with in the meantime:

• The duty to take "reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment has been in force since October 2024. The ERB tweaks this to taking “all reasonable steps,” but let’s park that for now. Employers should be scanning their organisations, identifying potential issues, conducting training and regular reviews, taking any complaints seriously, and ensuring that appropriate grievance and disciplinary procedures are followed. In short, get legal advice early; prevention is better than (crisis-PR-necessitating) cure.
  
  
• National Insurance changes are coming in April 2025. The rate is increasing from 13.8% to 15%, and thresholds are changing too. It’s hard to summarise the impact because it will depend on the business. The main thing is to ensure you’re taking advice on the implications for your business. Suffice to say, I expect that increased NI costs will remain a factor in planning and decision-making, particularly in recruitment,...

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