Employment laws in the UK are constantly evolving.
And if businesses want to avoid costly penalties or, worse, litigation, then it’s essential to keep pace with what’s happening.
The Employment Rights Act (ERA) 2025, which became law last year and is being implemented gradually, has already had a noticeable impact on workplace compliance.
What we’re seeing at Peach law
While areas like equal pay, health and safety, data protection, and fair termination procedures have always required meticulous attention, we are dealing with a higher volume of settlement agreements.
We’ve had a high volume of settlement agreements to review from individuals and businesses.
This is partly due to changes brought about by the ERA because it has expanded employee protections and underlined the need for stricter procedural requirements.
The act has put the focus on fairness, documentation, and process, meaning even the smallest of missteps can leave employers facing greater legal exposure.
At the same time, employees are more aware of their rights and increasingly willing to challenge decisions, which naturally increases the likelihood of a conflict.
As a result, many businesses are choosing negotiated exits (through settlement agreements) to resolve disputes rather than a drawn?out disciplinary or grievance process.
Settlement agreements cap financial risk, avoid tribunal unpredictability, and allow both sides to move on quickly and cleanly.
To prepare for this shift, we recommend businesses:
- Reassess internal grievance and disciplinary procedures
- Understand and follow statutory legal requirements
- Budget for potential financial costs
- Optimise their settlement terms
Another important are that has often been overlooked is Sexual harassment
The introduction of The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 in October 2024 placed a proactive duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
Now, additional ERA changes have (and will) place further emphasis and action on this.
It’s still early days and there are few headline-grabbing tribunal cases to follow, allowing the changes to fly beneath the radar.
However, the anti-sexual harassment reforms are not a minor tweak, and many organisations are drifting into non?compliance simply because employers are overlooking their significance.
To get ahead, and prevent their business from falling foul of non-compliance with both The Worker Protection Act and the ERA, they should:
- Review their policies
- Refresh staff training
- Strengthen reporting routes
- Make prevention a visible priority
Why staying legally compliant requires both HR and legal support
Typically, HR experts apply internal policy and oversee day?to?day compliance, while employment solicitors take care of anything that carries legal risk, legal interpretation, or potential liability.
In short, HR applies the policies inside an organisation while employment solicitors interpret relevant legislation as well as advise on legal risk.
Business owners don’t often realise that handbooks and contracts – which are often handled by HR specialists – are also legal documents that should be drafted by qualified employment solicitors for their specific needs.
Sometimes, employers choose a HR-only company because they believe that solicitors are too expensive.
While it’s true hiring legal support is an additional financial outlay, in the long run it can be even more costly if you’re presented with legal challenges.
Among the potential issues of overlooking legal support when handling HR topics are:
- Using a one-size-fits-all template: This can be time-saving and appear to be cost saving, but it can also often mean crucial legal information or clauses are missed, making processes more problematic.
- Tweaking a policy: Simply tweaking a policy may – on the surface – be a small change, but it could have bigger unknown legal implications if the relevant legal expertise isn’t sought.
Often, it’s more cost-effective to use a consulting firm that offers advice on HR and legal issues to help mitigate the risk of expensive claims.
At Peach Law, our comprehensive HR and legal service is quick, seamless, and value-driven.
Case study: Grievance officer support
We recently worked with a client who we supported from a HR perspective as the company’s grievance officer.
However, when the grievance wasn’t upheld, the employee wanted to pursue a claim – this where our support switched from HR to legal.
Our solicitors then stepped in to handle the situation, which ultimately resulted in the claim never being made.
This is where choosing an agency with HR and legal expertise can support a seamless transition of services, ensuring minimal disruption.
We also handled another separate grievance and even though this was upheld (against the business), the business owners have asked us for ongoing support to ensure they have the right policies and processes in place to support them and their employees.
This is their feedback:
“Thanks very much for your time and service with this occurrence.
“I was initially hesitant and nervous about an external source managing this but it actually reduced a lot of the stresses so thank you.
“If possible I’d like to arrange a time to chat through the report, and also ask some questions and advice for communicating with the impacted employee, and helping ensure we have the correct policies, procedures, and knowledge in place to best protect and support ourselves, our staff, and our members.”
Ensure legal compliance with Peach Law
At Peach Law, our services blend both HR and legal expertise, ensuring our team always provides comprehensive advice that’s people-focused, commercial, and – crucially – legally sound.
We can help with everything from settlement agreements and performance management to financial wellbeing and complex workplace relations.
To learn more about our blend of HR and legal services or to find out how we can help your business remain complaint, please don’t hesitate to speak to the helpful team at Peach Law today.
We welcome all enquiries made:
Online: Fill in our contact form
By phone: 0161 478 3800
