October sees the next raft of changes brought in by the Employment Rights Act, among them being the express duty on employers to prevent third party harassment. Employers will be liable if they fail to take all reasonable steps to prevent a third party from harassing their employees during the course of their employment.

Join our employment law experts to understand the scope of this new duty and the practical steps employers should be taking now to prepare.

Due to the amount of information that we will cover in these sessions, do feel free to send questions in advance to events@penningtonslaw.com or add to the RSVP form.

If you have any queries, please email Alice Hill.

Join Penningtons Manches Cooper’s expert trio for a webinar on the expected introduction of stricter basic compliance assessment thresholds and subsequent publication of RAG ratings. We will examine how this will impact your institution and what you need to do to prepare.  

The webinar will focus on effective risk management, and what ‘good compliance’ will look like under the new regime, and is aimed at those responsible for sponsor compliance and senior leaders at education institutions.

If you have any queries, or to register, please email Vicki Cozens.

Significant reforms are being phased in across 2026 and 2027 to strengthen the rights of casual workers on zero hours and low hours contracts.

Employers will be required to give reasonable advance notice of shifts, provide compensation when shifts are cancelled, changed or cut short at short notice, and – most significantly – offer guaranteed hours contracts to qualifying workers who work regular hours over an agreed reference period.

Alongside this, enhanced protections such as stronger unfair dismissal rights, wider access to statutory sick pay, and enhanced family leave rights will further improve security for many casual workers, marking a shift away from one sided flexibility toward greater predictability and fairness at work.

In this session, our employment law experts explored what these changes mean in practice, when each right comes into force, and the practical steps employers should be taking now to prepare.

Significant changes to ‘fire and rehire’ practices will take effect from January 2027.

In this session, our employment law experts talked through the changes ahead, including the reduced flexibility for employers when changing terms and conditions that fall within the definition of ‘restricted variations’. The session also explored the relevant exceptions and the potential implications for both employers and employees.

The coming year will see a significant number of developments following the passing into law of the Employment Rights Act, including collective bargaining and trade union rights.

In February we’ll see the repeal of parts of the Trade Union Act 2016, including those imposing certain limitations on strike action, restrictions on picketing, and the expiry of industrial action mandates after six months. In April we’ll see simpler trade union recognition processes and the introduction of electronic balloting, and October will see further trade union rights changes. In this webinar, we’ll talk through the industrial relations changes to come and what they mean for your business.

The Employment Rights Bill became the Employment Rights Act on 18 December 2025, marking one of the most significant changes to employment legislation in recent years. But what does this mean for businesses now?

This webinar was our first HR insights session following the passing into law of the Employment Rights Act (ERA) 2025. Members of our employment law team set out the key points and changes; when they are likely to be implemented; and practical tips to deal with the changes, including how best to prepare now.

Topics covered

• Unfair dismissal
• Fair Work Agency
• Limitation periods for Employment Tribunal claims
• Trade unions and strike action
• Harassment
• Flexible working
• Family friendly rights
• Equality reporting
• Fire and rehire
• Collective redundancy consultation
• Zero and low hours contracts
• Holiday and sick pay