It's All About People - 24th July 2025

READ TIME - 4 minute read

Over 500 people have already downloaded our brand-new Employment Rights Bill Guide — a huge thank you if you're one of them! If you haven’t grabbed your copy yet, you can download it here:

👉 Download the Guide

It breaks down what the changes actually mean for employers (no scaremongering!) and what you should do next — all in plain English. It's designed to help you stay compliant and confident, without losing hours to research.

This week I was also a guest on a LinkedIn Live all about Sexual Harassment Law changes – which changed in October 2024 and will change again in 2026 and 2027. You can watch the replay here.

Probation periods: 6 months? 9 months? Let’s talk about what really matters.

This week’s big development in the HR world? Rumblings around extending probationary periods from six to nine months. We’ll keep you posted if anything changes legally, but in the meantime, here’s our take:

Whether it's six months or nine, what really matters is this:

• You follow a fair process.

• You have a fair reason if things don’t work out.

Remember the five potentially fair reasons to dismiss:

1. Conduct

2. Capability

3. Redundancy

4. Statutory restriction

5. Some other substantial reason

And a fair process? The key elements being:

• Meet the ACAS Code

• Making expectations clear

• Giving regular feedback

• Addressing concerns early

• Offering support and time to improve

• Having documented discussions and a final review before dismissal

But here’s where we step even further back — to recruitment. The best way to avoid probation headaches is to make sure you're hiring well in the first place. Don't settle for the “best of a bad bunch.” If no one fits, keep looking.

And when you do hire, make sure your managers know how to:

• Run a solid induction

• Set people up for success during probation

• Spot early warning signs and act on them confidently

💡 Need help training your managers to do that? It’s one of our favourite things to support clients with — and it makes a huge difference to performance, retention, and team morale. You can see details of our e-learning CMI course here, and remember to use discount code EARLY to get £100 off!

And as always, if you’ve got any questions, just hit reply.

Until next week…

Best wishes,
Emma

P.S. All the legal updates will be covered in our 100s of resources in the HR Hub. Why not try the HR Hub free for a month here.

Events to Join in the coming weeks

🎥 Free Webinar- Managing Sickness Absence - — understanding the real costs, reducing absenteeism, and preparing for the 2026 changes.

🎥 Free Webinar- Managing Conflict - — coming in the next few weeks, the next in our series of free webinars. Click on the title to join the waiting list.

🎥 LinkedIn Live on Sexual Harassment Legislation and How to Be Complaint - Click on re-watch it.

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