Legislative Updates – 28JUL26

1. United Kingdom

Employment Rights Act 2025

Why Health & Safety Professionals Should Be Paying Attention

Although the Employment Rights Act 2025 is primarily employment legislation rather than health and safety legislation, it is likely to have a significant impact on how organisations manage workplace wellbeing, consultation and organisational culture over the next two years. Most provisions are being introduced in stages during 2026 and 2027.

Key changes

Some of the headline reforms include:

• Day-one rights for Statutory Sick Pay, paternity leave and unpaid parental leave.
• Expanded rights to request flexible working.
• Stronger protections against workplace harassment, including third-party harassment.
• Greater protections for whistleblowers.
• New restrictions on “fire and rehire” practices (to be phased in).
• Increased enforcement through the new Fair Work Agency.
• Greater obligations relating to collective consultation and redundancy processes.

Why this matters from an H&S perspective

Many organisations still separate Human Resources from Health & Safety.

Increasingly, legislation is blurring that distinction.

Several of these reforms directly influence issues already recognised as workplace health and safety risks, including:

• psychosocial hazards;
• stress and fatigue;
• bullying and harassment;
• organisational justice;
• worker consultation;
• reporting culture.

For example, stronger whistleblower protections may encourage earlier reporting of unsafe practices, while improved flexible working arrangements may assist organisations in managing fatigue and supporting workers with health conditions.

Although these are employment rights, they also contribute to healthier organisational cultures and can influence overall safety performance.

What organisations should be doing

Organisations should consider:

• reviewing HR and H&S policies together rather than separately;
• ensuring bullying and harassment procedures align with both HR and safety expectations;
• reviewing consultation processes to encourage workers to raise safety concerns without fear of reprisal;
• training managers on the interaction between employment rights and psychological safety;
• monitoring forthcoming implementation dates and updating policies as new provisions commence.

2. United States

OSHA Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Rule

One of the most significant occupational safety developments globally is OSHA’s proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Standard.

Although it has not yet become law, the proposal would introduce the first comprehensive federal heat exposure standard covering indoor and outdoor work across general industry, construction, agriculture and maritime sectors. The proposal remains part of OSHA’s formal rulemaking process.

Proposed requirements

If adopted, employers would be expected to establish formal heat illness prevention programmes including:

• heat hazard assessments;
• access to drinking water;
• shaded or cooled recovery areas;
• acclimatisation procedures for new and returning workers;
• monitoring environmental heat conditions;
• emergency response planning;
• worker training;
• procedures for recognising and responding to heat illness.

Why this matters

Historically, many organisations treated heat as an operational issue rather than a strategic safety risk.

This proposal changes that mindset.

Heat would become a workplace hazard requiring the same structured management approach as chemical exposure, confined spaces or falls from height.

Given increasing global temperatures, similar approaches may eventually appear in other jurisdictions.

What organisations should be doing now

Even organisations outside the United States should consider:

• identifying work activities involving heat exposure;
• developing formal heat stress management plans;
• implementing acclimatisation procedures;
• reviewing work-rest cycles during hot weather;
• improving hydration arrangements;
• ensuring supervisors can recognise early symptoms of heat illness;
• reviewing emergency arrangements for heat stroke.

Many organisations already have these controls in place informally. This proposal suggests they may soon need to be formally documented and consistently implemented.

3. Canada (Ontario)

Working for Workers Reforms

Ontario continues to expand its “Working for Workers” legislative programme through a series of reforms designed to strengthen worker protections and modernise occupational health and safety.

Several recent measures affect workplace safety directly.

Key health and safety changes

Recent reforms include:

• Mandatory Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) on certain larger construction projects.
• Increased enforcement powers through administrative monetary penalties.
• New sanitation record requirements on construction sites.
• Expanded protection from workplace harassment for remote workers.
• Greater emphasis on accredited health and safety management systems in some procurement processes.

Why this matters

Perhaps the most interesting change is the mandatory AED requirement.

Rather than focusing solely on preventing incidents, the legislation recognises that organisations must also be prepared to respond effectively when emergencies occur.

This represents a broader approach to health and safety—one that values emergency preparedness alongside hazard prevention.

Similarly, extending harassment protections to remote workers reflects the growing recognition that workplace health and safety obligations extend beyond traditional physical workplaces.

What organisations should consider

Employers should review whether they:

• have suitable emergency medical response arrangements;
• maintain first aid equipment appropriate to the workplace risks;
• provide training in AED use where required;
• review remote work policies for psychosocial hazards and harassment;
• ensure construction site welfare facilities meet current standards;
• understand how increased enforcement powers may influence compliance expectations.