Ask the wrong question in an interview and you could be facing a discrimination claim before you've even picked a candidate. Often these kinds of questions get asked innocently. The interviewer is usually just making conversation. But "I was just being friendly" doesn't matter under discrimination law. The law judges the effect of a question on the candidate, regardless of what you meant by asking it. If a question hits a protected characteristic and the candidate doesn'

SOSR stands for "some other substantial reason" and, somewhere along the way, it became a catch-all excuse for employers who want to fire an employee but don't have a compelling reason why. But, be warned employers. If you choose to use SOSR as your "we'll work it out later" excuse for a dismissal, a tribunal will dismantle it in minutes. If the reason you're dismissing someone doesn't fall into one of the other categories under the Employment Rights Act 1996 you have to be

If an employee abuses their sick leave, understandably it's a stressful and frustrating time for you as an employer. It can be tempting to get proof they're "faking it". But spying on your workers is a risky game and could get you into more trouble than it's worth. Three recent tribunal cases prove that covert surveillance not done properly can end in unfair dismissal and disability discrimination claims. In one of those cases, the employer is facing a bill of over £329,00

From October 2026, employers will have two tougher legal duties around harassment. The first: if you're taken to tribunal over a sexual harassment claim, you need to be able to show that there were genuinely no further steps you could reasonably have taken to prevent it from happening. On top of that, employers will also be liable for third-party harassment. This means that you also need to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment by clients, customers, con

One in five businesses not offering sexual harassment training Visa sponsorship done wrong: a £30k lesson for employers The government wants to give zero-hours workers guaranteed hours More than half of UK businesses say that hiring is harder than it was a year ago Is your employee's AI use leaving you exposed? What counts as "all reasonable steps" to prevent harassment? Can I change an employee's working hours without their agreement? Do I have to give a reference if a forme