There are two employment law changes arriving next month. Both make it more important to handle workplace concerns carefully and keep good records.
The 30-second version
- From 1 October, employees have six months rather than three to bring most Employment Tribunal claims.
- From 30 October, employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. Since October 2024 the standard has been “reasonable steps”, so this is a higher bar than the one you may have prepared for.
- From the same date, you can be liable where a third party such as a customer, client, supplier or visitor harasses your employee. This covers harassment linked to any protected characteristic, not only sexual harassment.
Four things worth doing before 30 October
- Review your harassment policy and reporting procedure and check it covers third parties.
- Make sure employees know how to raise a concern and give managers practical training on handling one.
- Identify the higher risk situations in your business.
- Check how employment decisions are recorded, and how long emails, messages and personnel records are kept.
If a sale is on your radar or even a few years away, i’d suggest:
- Getting your company’s share ownership records checked, including whether they’re consistent with the relevant Companies House filings.
- Making sure you have the supporting paperwork for previous share transfers, allotments and buybacks.
- Asking your advisers about their experience of helping owners sell and who would actually handle the work.
None of this needs to become a major compliance exercise. The aim is sensible, workable processes, and evidence that your business takes concerns seriously.
Disputes will stay live for longer
Doubling the tribunal time limit means you may not know for six months whether a former employee intends to claim. By then memories fade, the people involved may have left and the emails that would have settled it are hard to find.
To challenge this, when you make a significant employment decision keep a clear record of what happened, what information you considered, who was involved, the reason for the outcome and what you told the employee.
A policy in the handbook will not be enough
From 30 October you will need to show you have thought about the risks in your own business and taken practical steps to reduce them.
The higher risk situations are usually the ones outside the office. Client-facing roles, employees working at customer premises, conferences and networking events, the Christmas party, informal WhatsApp groups, and anything involving alcohol or overnight travel.
A key question to ask yourself is this:
Would your managers know what to do if an important customer behaved inappropriately towards one of your employees?
If you would like us to review your policies or help you get ready, please get in touch.
Ryan has helped a vast number of businesses protect and control their intellectual property as well as drafting and advising on consumer and commercial contracts.
