Harassment special update
On 30 October 2026, two critical pieces of the Employment Rights Act 2025 came into force affecting all UK employers. Firms must now take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of staff, plus ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent harassment by third parties like customers.
Here are some of our recent articles on this subject from October.
UK regulatory update
The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill faces a choppy process in the House of Lords, where the government was defeated by peers on two crucial votes that could impact the final shape of the law and firms’ compliance responsibilities.
MPs have backed significantly stronger modern slavery reporting requirements inside the Immigration and Asylum Bill. This will bring in over 1,000 public sector bodies too, and could see fines of £1 million or 1% of turnover for failing to publish a proper modern slavery statement.
The UK government has given itself new human rights sanctions powers under the Global Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Sanctions Regulations 2026. This will allow ministers to designate groups of people or businesses anywhere in the world as being in violation of international treaties and creates penalties for firms who deal with them.
The UK government has launched a major consultation on changes to whistleblowing rules, and it may require companies with 50 or more employees to have policies and mandatory reporting procedures.
A report on neurodiversity backed by the government has called for more support for neurodiverse employees. If accepted, the government may require that firms take a proactive approach to supporting what employees find difficult and expand reasonable adjustments.
US regulatory update
A major bribery settlement between the DOJ and alcohol distributor Southern Glazer has outlined precisely what US firms are expected to do to prevent bribery and improve their compliance programmes.
The legal market
The latest AML report from the SRA has shown the gap between having money laundering controls on paper and applying them in practice. The SRA carried out its largest ever AML supervision, finding an improvement in paper compliance but a steady risk in practical application.
The NatWest AML saga has led to another round of convictions, with two people sentenced to years in prison for their roles in laundering millions in cash through Bradford-based scrap jewellery businesses.
Around the world
China’s new anti-bribery law will require significant new procedures from international companies operating in the Communist country. China’s sweeping anti-corruption rules will require mandatory risk assessments, whistleblowing procedures and employee training.
Upcoming webinars:
See our latest webinars and watch again on demand.
New guides
See all our guides freely available to download.
Where can I find more?
Follow our daily blog. Check out our new guides. Subscribe to the podcast.
Harassment special update
On 30 October 2026, two critical pieces of the Employment Rights Act 2025 came into force affecting all UK employers. Firms must now take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of staff, plus ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent harassment by third parties like customers.
Here are some of our recent articles on this subject from October.
UK regulatory update
The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill faces a choppy process in the House of Lords, where the government was defeated by peers on two crucial votes that could impact the final shape of the law and firms’ compliance responsibilities.
MPs have backed significantly stronger modern slavery reporting requirements inside the Immigration and Asylum Bill. This will bring in over 1,000 public sector bodies too, and could see fines of £1 million or 1% of turnover for failing to publish a proper modern slavery statement.
The UK government has given itself new human rights sanctions powers under the Global Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Sanctions Regulations 2026. This will allow ministers to designate groups of people or businesses anywhere in the world as being in violation of international treaties and creates penalties for firms who deal with them.
The UK government has launched a major consultation on changes to whistleblowing rules, and it may require companies with 50 or more employees to have policies and mandatory reporting procedures.
A report on neurodiversity backed by the government has called for more support for neurodiverse employees. If accepted, the government may require that firms take a proactive approach to supporting what employees find difficult and expand reasonable adjustments.
US regulatory update
A major bribery settlement between the DOJ and alcohol distributor Southern Glazer has outlined precisely what US firms are expected to do to prevent bribery and improve their compliance programmes.
The legal market
The latest AML report from the SRA has shown the gap between having money laundering controls on paper and applying them in practice. The SRA carried out its largest ever AML supervision, finding an improvement in paper compliance but a steady risk in practical application.
The NatWest AML saga has led to another round of convictions, with two people sentenced to years in prison for their roles in laundering millions in cash through Bradford-based scrap jewellery businesses.
Around the world
China’s new anti-bribery law will require significant new procedures from international companies operating in the Communist country. China’s sweeping anti-corruption rules will require mandatory risk assessments, whistleblowing procedures and employee training.
Upcoming webinars:
See our latest webinars and watch again on demand.
New guides
See all our guides freely available to download.
Where can I find more?
Follow our daily blog. Check out our new guides. Subscribe to the podcast.
