HR PRIORITIES FOR 2025: Your To-Do List
Rachel Yorke, Sam Butler & Joanne Alvey
As we step into the New Year, HR professionals are preparing their strategic priorities. To help guide your planning, we’ve outlined a recap of last year’s key legal changes, along with the most important tasks to focus on in 2025.
Re-Cap of 2024: Embedding Last Year’s Changes
Before moving forward, ensure your organisation has fully implemented and embedded the significant employment law changes introduced in 2024. These changes offer opportunities to enhance workplace policies and culture, but only if they are applied effectively.
Re-Cap of 2024: Embedding Last Year’s Changes
Before moving forward, ensure your organisation has fully implemented and embedded the significant employment law changes introduced in 2024. These changes offer opportunities to enhance workplace policies and culture, but only if they are applied effectively.
Carer’s Leave
Employees with caring responsibilities are now entitled to take up to one week of unpaid Carer’s Leave per year to provide or arrange care for dependants, regardless of length of service.
Action Points:
Update your policies and employee handbook to reflect this entitlement.
Train managers to handle Carer’s Leave requests sensitively.
Communicate these rights clearly to employees.
Flexible Working Rights
The 2024 amendments to flexible working legislation removed the 26-week qualifying period, enabling employees to request flexible working from day one of employment. Employers must now respond to requests within two months. Employees are also now entitled to make 2 requests per year.
Action Points:
Update flexible working policies to reflect the new rules.
Provide training for managers to handle requests fairly and consistently.
Monitor decisions to minimise risks of indirect discrimination claims.
Prevention of Sexual Harassment
2024 saw new employer duties to prevent sexual harassment, with the Employment Rights Bill also including potential liability for harassment by third parties.
Action Points:
Conduct workplace risk assessments to identify potential issues.
Update harassment and grievance policies with clear reporting mechanisms.
Proactively assess your workplace by engaging with staff and monitor and evaluate the actions taken under your policies and procedures.
Roll out training for all staff on identifying and addressing inappropriate behaviour.
Paternity Policy Updates
Eligible employees can now take their two weeks of statutory paternity leave flexibly within the 12 months following their child’s birth or placement for adoption.
Action Points:
Update parental leave policies and payroll systems accordingly.
Ensure managers are aware of the new rules to better support employees.
Clearly communicate the changes to staff.
Embedding these changes:
Consider reviewing how well these updates have been integrated into your workplace. Evaluate whether:
Policies are consistently applied.
Training has been effective.
Feedback mechanisms address any ongoing challenges.
Taking the time to ensure these changes are fully embedded will set a strong foundation for the months ahead.
HR PRIORITIES FOR 2025
The New Year is here, and so you may be spending this week putting together your ‘2025 to do list’. To assist you with the task, we have set out below some of the things which we think should feature on your list:
Check in with colleagues
The festive break may have been challenging for some employees, particularly those dealing with bereavement or caring responsibilities. A supportive check-in during the first weeks of January can make a significant difference.
2. Book in staff training
Staff training often takes a back seat to daily demands, but equipping managers with the right tools reduces HR issues in the long term.
Action Points:
Schedule non-negotiable training sessions early.
Focus on management-specific training (e.g., handling conduct, capability, and absence issues).
Provide equality and anti-harassment training for all staff, ensuring employees understand how to report and address harassment concerns.
3. Remind staff about 2025 holiday entitlements
For organisations with a holiday year starting on 1 January, now is the perfect time to:
Remind employees of their holiday entitlement and the importance of planning leave throughout the year.
Review and remind staff of your holiday policy.
Ensure your holiday pay calculations include all payments linked to work performance, such as overtime, commission, and other regular payments.
If you have workers whose hours are ‘mostly or completely variable’ (i.e. irregular, casual or zero-hours workers) or workers who are contracted to work for only part of the year (e.g. seasonal workers or term-time only workers), and your holiday year renewed on or after 1 April 2024 (e.g. on 1 January 2025), these workers can now either:
· accrue holiday entitlement as a bank of leave to take as holiday or
· receive rolled-up holiday pay, provided you itemise any holiday pay separately on their payslips
Irregular hour and part-year workers that receive 5.6 weeks statutory holiday entitlement will be calculated at 12.07% of actual hours worked in a pay period.
4. Keep up to date with the Employment Rights Bill
The Employment Rights Bill promises significant reforms, including the removal of the two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims and restrictions on fire-and-rehire practices. On an immediate note, from 20 January 2025, tribunals can increase the level of any protective award by up to 25% where an employer has failed to follow the Code of Practice of Dismissal and Reengagement during collective consultation exercises.
Action Points:
Review onboarding processes and performance management systems to address potential risks arising from the removal of the qualifying period.
If there are big changes you are planning, now is the time to consider your timelines and process plans to account for potential bans on termination and re-engagement practices.
We will, of course, continue to update you on the Bill’s progress and its implications.
5. Champion equality and neurodiversity
Organisations are increasingly expected to embrace strategies that support neurodivergent employees and individuals with disabilities.
Action Points:
Assess recruitment processes, physical environments, and manager training for inclusivity.
Develop strategies to ensure equitable experiences for all employees.
6. Address emerging topics: Menopause, fertility, and transgender inclusion
2025 brings a continued focus on underrepresented topics that require proactive strategies:
Menopause: Introduce or improve menopause-specific policies to support employees and reduce the risk of discrimination claims on the grounds of disability, age and/or sex.
Fertility at work: Ensure policies address the growing recognition of fertility challenges.
Transgender inclusion: Review policies, training, and culture to foster a supportive environment for transgender employees, whilst balancing the need to ensure freedom of speech for those with differing views on gender rights.
7. Holistic well-being
Mental health remains a priority in 2025. To address this:
Consider more deep level initiatives by implementing burnout prevention strategies and robust mental health policies.
Address life-stage-specific needs such as eldercare and menopause support.
8. AI and workplace strategy
AI adoption is growing, but organisations must balance its benefits with governance frameworks addressing concerns like data privacy and algorithmic bias.
Action Points:
Develop policies to ensure fairness and transparency in AI-driven decision-making.
Consider whether training managers and employees on AI’s role and implications would be useful or role specific.
9. Flexible working debates
While hybrid working is here to stay, debates continue around balancing flexibility with workplace culture. Organisations must experiment and adapt to meet evolving employee expectations.
10. Employment Tribunals
New Practice Directions on the presentation of tribunal claims and responses are due to come into force imminently (i.e. by the end of January). The Practice Directions will (among other matters) preclude respondents from submitting ET3 response forms by email save in exceptional circumstances. If you do need to submit a claim or response, let us know and we can ensure this is submitted to the tribunal using an appropriate method.
By reflecting on last year’s achievements and focusing on these priorities for 2025, your organisation will be well-equipped to navigate the challenges ahead. Let us know how we can support you in meeting these goals.