This year, UK employment law made 3 significant strides on inclusion.
Stricter legal duties on sexual harrassment
- In April 2026, sexual harassment was added to the whistleblowing legislation: disclosures are now protected, making retaliatory dismissals automatically unfair.
- From October 2026, employers must take ALL reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.
- Also in October, employers will become liable for harassment of their staff by third parties (including customers, suppliers and members of the public)
⬩➤ Why it matters:
Sexual harassment and workplace inequalities are linked in an unhealthy dance of mutual cause and effect. On the one hand, harassment thrives in environments prone to systemic bias. On the other hand, harassment, and the way an organisation handles it, gravely erodes psychological safety (of the victims, as well as third parties).
By demanding that employers actively prevent harassment, the UK government is sending a strong message than fixing EDI issues after they caused damage is no longer good enough.
Broader and fairer parental leave
- Ordinary parental leave is now available from Day 1.
- Paternity leave is also available from Day 1, and taking shared parental leave no longer negates access to paternity leave. However, Statutory Paternity Pay remains under the 26-week service rule.
- A new Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave has been introduced, for parents whose partner dies during childbirth or within a year of birth or adoption. Note that, despite its less-than-ideal name, this leave can be taken by anyone who meets the eligibility criteria, including those in same sex partnerships.
⬩➤ Why it matters:
Parental leave is a central EDI issue. Recognising the diversity of family structures (adoptive, single, LGBTQ+…) and their equal need for support; fostering shared caregiving responsibilities; keeping parents in employment through the challenges of childrearing: all these aspects foster greater workplace equity on gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic circumstances, and of course maternity and parenthood themselves.
Tangible action to tackle inequities
This year, the UK government introduced voluntary Equality Action Plans reporting. It encourages organisations with 250+ employees to report on the concrete steps they are taking on both their gender pay gap and their menopause support.
It is will become compulsory in 2027.
⬩➤ Why it matters:
Equality Action Plans reporting sends a strong message to industry: transparency about your gender pay gap was only a first step; now what are you going to do to fix it?
On the plus side, this certainly raises the bar of what good EDI means (real actions, not just good words). However, what happens with these actions plans remains to be seen: how will progress be reviewed? Will there be penalties on employers for lack of progress? Will this just be a paper exercise?
#EDI #inclusion #legal
