Chartered HR & Leadership Consultancy · Leeds
I'm Nichola Morgan, a Chartered HR consultant and leadership development specialist working with SME owners and directors across Yorkshire and the North East.
“Most businesses promote great people into management and then leave them to figure it out. I help make sure that doesn't happen.”
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is landing in stages between now and 2027. Some of it is already in force. Here's what actually affects an owner-managed business — and what each bit means in practice.
These are already law. If your handbook, payroll or contracts still say otherwise, you're non-compliant today — not in future.Coming into force. Handbooks, payroll and contracts need to be ready before these land.
Waiting days are gone and the lower earnings limit has been removed, so statutory sick pay starts on the first full day of absence for every worker.
Check your payroll and sick pay policy actually reflect this.The 26-week qualifying period no longer exists.
Most SME handbooks still say 26 weeks. Yours probably does.You must retain records of leave taken, leave carried over and holiday pay for six years.
A spreadsheet someone updates now and then isn't a record.The maximum protective award for getting collective consultation wrong has doubled from 90 to 180 days' pay.
Shortcuts in a restructure now cost double.Reporting sexual harassment is now explicitly protected as a whistleblowing disclosure.
A single enforcement body for pay, holiday and agency rules has been operating since 7 April 2026.
One body now joins up things that used to be checked separately.Still ahead. Two of these change how long your paperwork has to survive, and who you're responsible for.Already law. Your paperwork now has to survive twice as long, and you're responsible for more people than before.
Claims can be brought up to six months after the event, instead of three.
Twice as long for a disgruntled leaver to decide to act — and for your notes to be scrutinised.You become liable for harassment of your staff by customers, contractors and suppliers unless you took all reasonable steps to prevent it.
Relevant to anyone with a customer-facing team.The sexual harassment prevention standard rises from reasonable steps to all reasonable steps.
A policy sitting in a drawer will not meet that test.Workers must be consulted before a tipping policy is set, and it must be reviewed every three years.
Hospitality, retail and anywhere tips are shared.The big one. Most SME probation and performance processes were designed around a two-year runway. That runway disappears.That runway is gone.
Protection begins after six months' service rather than two years.
If you rely on "we'll know within the first year", you no longer can.The statutory cap on compensatory awards for unfair dismissal is removed.
The downside of getting a dismissal wrong stops having a ceiling.Dismissing someone and re-engaging them on worse terms is automatically unfair.
Changing terms now has to be done by agreement.Timing still to be confirmed by commencement regulations, but the direction is set. Check for the latest position before relying on this.
Zero-hours and low-hours workers gain the right to guaranteed hours reflecting what they actually work, on request.
Reasonable notice of shifts becomes a requirement, and compensation is payable when shifts are cancelled, moved or cut short.
Turning down a flexible working request will require citing specific business reasons.
Confidentiality clauses covering harassment or discrimination become void.
Check what your settlement agreement template says.A new statutory right to bereavement leave is introduced.
Dismissal protections for pregnant employees and new mothers are strengthened.
Implementation timetable per Acas. Dates after October 2026 remain subject to change by government. General information, not legal advice.
Many HR consultants have limited experience outside the world of HR. I spent the first half of my career managing large, unionised operations — at one point leading a transport function of more than 400 drivers running 2,500 deliveries a week, with team leaders, agencies and cost controls underneath it.
That's the difference. When a business owner tells me a manager isn't coping, or that a grievance has gone sideways, or that they can't take a fortnight off without the wheels coming off, I've been on the other side of that desk. I know what the advice actually costs to implement.
I established Aware HR in 2020 while studying for an MA in Human Resource Management at Leeds Beckett, graduating with Distinction. I'm a Chartered Member of the CIPD, a Leadership Development Associate at Leeds Beckett's Leadership Centre, and I've delivered ILM Level 3 and Level 5 programmes to managers at organisations including Flutter Entertainment and Sky Betting & Gaming.
Day to day I work with digital agencies, professional services firms and media businesses across the UK — on a single project or as an ongoing strategic partner. Every engagement starts by understanding the specific situation rather than reaching for an off-the-shelf solution.
I have recently been promoted to Manager level at the company I work for and that was in a huge part due to the ILM course. The qualification undoubtedly gave me the confidence to put into practice the theory I learnt.
What I appreciated most was how naturally inclusive Nichola is. She made sure everyone felt involved, encouraged open conversation, and always gave people the space and confidence to share their thoughts.
She clearly recognises that people learn in very different ways. Despite being a fairly substantial programme, the training was made genuinely digestible and enjoyable — highly interactive rather than lecture based.
The course content and examples were clear, well structured, and easy to follow, which made the learning practical and engaging. An excellent facilitator throughout.
Call or email me and we'll book a time. You tell me what's actually going on — the manager, the grievance, the growth plan, whatever it is.
You leave with the three things I'd fix first and what each involves. That's yours to keep, whether or not we work together.
If it makes sense, I'll scope it properly. No long tie-ins — monthly or by the project, whichever suits.
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I'll aim to get back to you as soon as possible.
No pitch. You'll leave with the three things I'd fix first — whether or not we work together.
I aim to get back to you as soon as possible.
