Manager know-how “critical” to navigating Employment Rights changes, says HR expert

Better training for line managers will be essential for companies wanting to prevent HR issues as new employment laws take effect, according to an experienced HR professional based in the region.

Cited as the biggest shake-up of employment law in 30 years, the Employment Rights Act 2025 started being rolled out by government in February.

From April, employees will be entitled to a host of ‘day one rights’ like statutory sick leave, paternity and parental leave entitlements.

However, the changes with some of the most demanding impacts on employers will take effect from October this year and into 2027 and could cause issues for businesses that are unprepared.

Helen Russell, lead HR consultant and solicitor at Lancashire-based law firm Harrison Drury, has urged businesses not to panic.

She says equipping line managers with the knowledge to deal with staff issues more effectively and earlier will be key to improving employee relations and avoiding potentially costly employment claims.

Helen, who has been advising businesses on people management issues for over 25 years, said: “You can have the best HR team, staff contracts and employee handbooks in the world, but if the person dealing with the initial report of an issue from an employee doesn’t take the right steps and deal with it properly, that’s where problems are likely to occur.”

Some of the big upcoming changes to employment regulations are centred around sexual harassment, with allegations of sexual harassment acquiring protected status under whistleblowing protections from April.

From October, employers will also be required to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment, including the prevention of harassment by third parties, which means employers could be liable for failing to do enough to protect employees from harassment by customers, suppliers and members of the public.

Then from January 2027, regulations to give employees earlier unfair dismissal rights (at six months’ service rather than two years) also come into effect, while the ability for employers to ‘fire and rehire’ also becomes extremely limited, making it difficult for employers to adjust contractual terms.  

Both of these changes will make it imperative for employers to get their recruitment right and their contracts fit for purpose, according to Helen.

Helen added: “To prevent issues, employers should concentrate on better management of absences, more considered and robust recruitment and selection, rigorous management of employee probations and dealing better with complaints from employees.

"It makes ‘good hygiene’ in line manager practices critical for businesses and effective management can help the organisations to deal with issues before they become problematic and contentious.

“Almost no matter what the issue is, my initial recommendation is make no assumptions, talk to employees, deal with issues proactively and document how you’ve done this. Taking those first steps often dictates how the case pans out, but opportunities are too often missed.”  

Harrison Drury has introduced a range of support for businesses looking to navigate the changes being introduced under the Employment Rights Act. The support includes Employment Rights Act briefings, audits and action plans to support employers, as well as line manager training workshops.