Performance Management in the Workplace 2026
Performance management sits at the centre of how organisations translate strategy into day-to-day behaviour. In practice, however, it is one of the most inconsistently applied and least trusted aspects of HR governance. Many employers invest heavily in frameworks, forms and systems, yet still struggle with underperformance, disengagement, manager avoidance and escalating employee relations risk. For […]
What Is Employee Development in the Workplace? 2026
Employee development is often talked about as a positive cultural initiative or a retention tool, but in practice it sits at the centre of some of the most difficult operational decisions HR teams and business owners face. Decisions about who gets developed, how, when and why directly affect workforce capability, cost control, employee relations and […]
Employee Liability UK: Employer Risk & Compliance 2026
Employee liability is one of the most consistently misunderstood risk areas for UK employers. It is often treated as a technical legal concept, something that only matters once lawyers or insurers become involved. In practice, employee liability is a live operational risk that flows directly from day-to-day management decisions, HR controls and organisational culture. At […]
Employee Development Plans: HR Strategy Guide 2026
Employee development plans are often treated as a benign HR tool — something that signals investment in people, supports engagement and ticks a “good employer” box. In practice, they are far more consequential. How development plans are designed, communicated and applied has a direct impact on workforce capability, retention risk, employee relations and, in some […]
Employee Surveys: HR Strategy, Risk and Action 2026
Employee surveys are often positioned as engagement tools, culture diagnostics or listening exercises. In practice, they function as something more consequential: a mechanism through which organisations expose management quality, leadership credibility, operational stress points and latent people risk. For HR teams, employee surveys sit at an uncomfortable intersection. They generate expectations of action, surface issues […]
Employee Share Schemes: HR Strategy & Risk 2026
This article examines employee share schemes as an HR operating issue, not a technical reward footnote. In practice, share schemes shape employee expectations, influence retention patterns, affect how exits are handled and can create real employee relations exposure if the scheme design and day-to-day handling do not match workforce reality. What this article is about […]
Employee Recognition Software 2026 for UK Employers
Employee recognition software is increasingly positioned as a solution to disengagement, retention risk and cultural fragmentation. In practice, its impact depends far less on the technology itself and far more on how HR teams frame, govern and integrate recognition into everyday people management. Poorly implemented systems can entrench bias, distort behaviour and undermine trust. Well-governed […]
Employee Experience: HR Risk, Strategy & Practice 2026
Employee experience has moved from a vague HR concept to a material business concern. For many employers, it now sits uncomfortably at the intersection of people strategy, operational delivery and organisational risk. While often framed in the language of engagement, wellbeing or culture, employee experience is better understood as the day-to-day reality of how work […]
Dismissing an Employee 2026: UK Law, Process & Risks
Dismissing an employee is one of the highest-risk decisions an employer can make. Even where there are genuine performance issues, misconduct concerns or commercial pressures on the business, the legal framework governing dismissal in the UK is tightly regulated and heavily scrutinised by employment tribunals. What often exposes employers to claims is not the decision […]
Conflicts of Interest at Work Explained | Meaning & Examples
In this guide for employers, we consider the risks associated with conflicts of interest at work, and the steps you can take to manage conflicts of interest and to mitigate legal and commercial risk. What are conflicts of interest at work? A conflict of interest arises where an employee’s personal interests are at […]