TO BE PUBLISHED May 2026
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This conference will consider next steps for women in the workplace in the UK, following the Employment Rights Act 2025 coming into law. Discussion will focus on new employer duties, and implementation of measures aimed at fairer work and pay, safer workplaces, and improved progression and retention.
Duties & protections enforced through the Act
It will bring stakeholders and policymakers together to discuss issues arising from the Act’s new rights and duties as they come into force. Delegates will consider priorities being raised by employers, regulators and workplace representatives in the context of phased commencement, including day-one protections, proposed changes to zero-hours arrangements, and implications being identified by some stakeholders for hiring, staffing models and workforce planning.
Sessions will assess issues emerging around expanded flexible working rights and the prevention of sexual harassment, with discussion on effective approaches to policy design, management capability, reporting and redress. Attendees will consider changes to Statutory Sick Pay - including eligibility from day one, removal of the lower earnings limit and earnings-based pay - and questions these raise around access to support, cost pressures and operational impacts, particularly in sectors with high levels of part-time and lower-paid work.
Further discussion will focus on measures affecting retention and progression, including menopause action plans, protections for pregnant women and new mothers, and how statutory duties interact with voluntary employer initiatives in practice.
Draft Equality Bill
We also expect consideration of the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill and related proposals on mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting, including practicalities for gathering and publishing intersectional data, treatment of agency and outsourced workforces, and differing views on monitoring and enforcement - with particular relevance for employers and workers in sectors with a predominantly female workforce, such as health, social care and retail.
Overview of areas for discussion
- Employment Rights Act 2025:
- considerations around phased commencement and implementation - implications of rights from day-one and extended protections
- approaches to guidance and enforcement - regulatory capacity
- flexible working rights:
- implications of expanded entitlements for work organisation - approaches to workforce planning and job design - possible effects on progression, pay and workplace inequalities
- Statutory Sick Pay reform:
- considerations linked to day-one eligibility and earnings-based pay - operational and cost implications for employers - access to support for lower-paid and insecure workers
- sexual harassment prevention:
- practical approaches to meeting new statutory duties - implementing culture change where needed
- management capability, reporting and redress arrangements - consistency and variation across sectors and workplace settings
- Equality (Race and Disability) Bill:
- considerations arising from proposals for mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting
- approaches to gathering and using intersectional data - treatment of agency and outsourced workforces
- compliance and enforcement:
- the mix and interaction of statutory duties and voluntary employer initiatives
- approaches for regulators in monitoring and assurance - use of sanctions, incentives and guidance in practice
- employer costs and resources:
- cumulative effects of new obligations across different business models - considerations for SMEs and labour-intensive sectors
- implications for hiring, staffing approaches and investment decisions
- career progression pathways:
- approaches to addressing barriers to retention and advancement - menopause action plans and protections related to pregnancy - mentoring, sponsorship and leadership pipelines
- sector-specific pressures:
- zero-hours and shift work - experiences of harassment in public-facing roles - implications of hybrid working for career development
