Employment Rights Bill: What Business Groups Are Saying and Why It Matters for Workplace Safety
Business groups have responded to the government’s latest update on the Employment Rights Bill, welcoming clarity in some areas while raising concerns about implementation, cost pressures and operational impact. The Bill represents one of the most significant shifts in workplace rights in recent years, strengthening protections for workers while placing new responsibilities on employers.
At its core, the debate highlights a growing reality: fair treatment, dignity at work and safeguarding are no longer optional extras - these are fundamental expectations.
Why It Matters
Employment rights are directly linked to safety, wellbeing and trust at work. Stronger protections can:
reduce exploitation and harassment
improve staff confidence to speak up
strengthen retention and morale
create healthier, more productive workplaces
At the same time, businesses are navigating tight margins, skills shortages and regulatory change. The challenge is ensuring new rights are practical, enforceable and embedded into workplace culture - not just written into policy.
What This Means for Employers and Safeguarding
From compliance to culture: The Bill reinforces the shift away from reactive handling of issues towards preventative responsibility. Employers are expected not only to respond to harm, but to actively reduce risk.
Clear processes and accountability: businesses will need transparent reporting routes, documented responses and leadership ownership, particularly around harassment, unfair treatment and workplace dignity.
Empowering employee voice: when staff feel protected by law, they are more likely to raise concerns early. Organisations must be ready with systems that support safe, confidential reporting and fair investigation.
Joined-up safeguarding: employment rights increasingly intersect with other duties, including the Worker Protection Act, wellbeing obligations and equality law, requiring joined-up approaches rather than siloed responses.
imabi’s View
Legislation sets the standard - culture delivers the outcome.
At imabi, we see the Employment Rights Bill as part of a wider shift towards workplaces that are safer, fairer and more transparent. But rights only work when people know them, trust them and can use them in practice.
That’s why we advocate for:
accessible, confidential reporting tools
clear guidance and education for staff and managers
early intervention and prevention, not crisis response
digital systems that support accountability, insight and continuous improvement
Through imabi Pro, organisations can bring together reporting, guidance, wellbeing and safeguarding into one practical platform, helping businesses meet legal expectations while building trust with their people.
Employment rights are not just a legal framework. They are the foundation of safer, more resilient workplaces and the organisations that embrace them will be better prepared for the future.
Source: gov.uk (December, 2025)