United Kingdom: Health & Safety

Customer-facing employees often find themselves in difficult situations when dealing with aggressive customers or suspected theft. This article examines the legal and practical considerations employers must navigate when employees confront customers, including disciplinary procedures, health and safety obligations, and the upcoming third-party harassment provisions under the Employment Rights Act 2025.

A death connected with a business can trigger a corporate manslaughter investigation, examining not just the immediate circumstances but how the organisation was managed, decisions made by senior management, and whether appropriate procedures were followed. Our specialist criminal and regulatory lawyers advise companies, directors and senior managers from the earliest stages of an investigation through to any prosecution, helping navigate the complex intersection of serious criminal liability and regulatory

A significant development has occurred regarding the use of Environmental Protection Act 1990 powers by local authority landlords seeking access to residential properties for statutory safety inspections. The Justices' Legal Advisers and Court Officer's Service issued urgent guidance advising that courts should no longer issue warrants under the EPA to enable local authority landlords to gain entry for gas appliance inspections. This development will undoubtedly have significant operational implications for

A recent High Court decision examines whether employers' duty of care obligations should evolve as extreme weather events become more frequent. Following a fatal accident during Storm Eunice's Red Weather Warning...

The High Court has reinforced critical principles regarding witness credibility and cross-examination in a construction accident case where a worker was seriously injured by a dumper truck. The judgment examines how courts should evaluate witness testimony against documentary evidence, particularly when witnesses present a united front but their accounts raise questions about fabricated evidence and unconscious bias.

Health and safety near-miss incidents often receive less attention than serious injuries or fatalities, yet they represent critical warning signs of potential systemic failures. Organizations that fail to investigate near-misses thoroughly may be exposing themselves to significant regulatory risk and missing opportunities to prevent future catastrophic events.

The Financial Conduct Authority's new non-financial misconduct rule, effective September 2026, will fundamentally change how firms handle workplace investigations involving bullying and harassment. This final instalment in a three-part series examines the critical operational challenges facing HR, legal and compliance teams as they adapt their investigation procedures to meet both employment law and regulatory requirements under the FCA Conduct Rules and Fit and Proper test.

For many employers, neurodiversity still feels like unfamiliar territory. It may come up quietly, through a request for flexibility, a conversation about struggling with workload, or a manager raising concerns about performance or communication. Sometimes it appears in the background of an absence issue, a grievance, or a difficult workplace relationship that has started to deteriorate.

A recent tribunal case has highlighted the risk of disability discrimination claims (for which uncapped compensation and injury to feelings may be awarded) where an employer's investigation...