By spurring action on informal resolutions, the new ACAS Code of Practice can be a foundation for improving workplace cultures and a new benchmark for what makes a ‘good’ employer. …

An investigation establishes facts, it does not decide outcomes. It should be run by someone independent of the events, against clear terms of reference, with findings reached on the balance…

Bias matters most where it shapes decisions. Everyone has unconscious biases, and the risk for employers lies in how they influence recruitment, promotion, performance ratings and the handling of complaints. …

Whistleblowing protection has just widened. Since 6 April 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 made sexual harassment an explicit category of protected disclosure, closing a gap that previously forced these reports to…

Work-related stress, depression and anxiety is now the single largest cause of work-related ill health in Great Britain. HSE's 2024/25 figures show an estimated 964,000 workers affected, a record high, responsible for…

Take every discrimination complaint seriously the moment it is raised, whether it arrives as an offhand comment or a formal grievance. How it is handled in the first few days shapes whether…

Mediation and arbitration answer different questions. Mediation helps two people rebuild a working relationship through a voluntary process with no imposed outcome. Arbitration produces a binding decision from an independent…

A practical framework for HR and people leaders: when to step in informally, when to mediate, and when to call in an independent investigator.  Most workplace conflict resolves fastest through…

At a glance: When a complaint is investigated internally, the people doing the investigating often know the people involved. That matters more than most organisations admit. Unconscious bias does not…

Allegations of bullying and harassment rarely present themselves in a fully formed or easily categorised way, and in most organisations they tend to emerge gradually through a series of concerns,…