Welcome to the Winter edition of Employment Matters: our round-up of the latest developments in employment law and key issues affecting employers and HR professionals.
In this edition, we are pleased to present two new dedicated hubs. The first is our Employment Rights Bill Hub, which will house our insights into the new Employment Rights Bill, as it makes its way through Parliament. Visit this hub to keep up to date with all of the latest developments on what promises to be the most sweeping reforms to employment law in a generation.
The second is our new Duty to Prevent Sexual Harassment Hub. This relates to the new employer duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, which is now in force. Employers need to be able to demonstrate that they have taken proactive steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. A failure to do so could be costly both financially and to the reputation of the employer's business. Our dedicated resource and training hub explores the new regime and showcases our comprehensive suite of practical training solutions to assist employers in complying with the new duty.
We also have a number of articles in this edition. With AI becoming increasingly integrated into recruitment and employment processes, understanding the employment implications of harnessing AI is critical. We consider the EHRC's latest guidance on the risks of using generative AI in recruitment.
Our latest article on unfair dismissal explores lessons for employers when holding "protected conversations" with employees, in light of the Employment Appeal Tribunal's decision in Gallagher v McKinnon's Auto and Tyres.
We also discuss the key, employment-related issues following the Autumn Budget, including changes to National Insurance Contributions, employee benefits and share schemes.
Finally, our white-collar crime specialists explain what you need to know about the new corporate offence of failure to prevent fraud. The new offence is due to come into force from 1 September 2025 and will create criminal liability for corporates where a fraud is committed by their employees, agents or subsidiaries.