With August coming to a close and the final stretch of the year fast approaching, many organisations are starting to shift their focus from summer leave and keeping things moving to what's next. There's plenty to keep employers thinking about, from the changes coming in October to the wider employment law changes planned for 2027. Getting ahead now can help businesses avoid a last-minute scramble and give managers and teams the clarity they need to navigate what's next.
In this edition, we're looking at wellbeing strategies for charity teams, and exploring what employers should know about probation periods and the upcoming changes to unfair dismissal rights. And if Hybrid working is still on your agenda, our FREE Hybrid Connection & Belonging Toolkit is available to help you spot potential pressure points and build stronger connection across your teams.
We're also getting ready to expand the support we offer our clients, with Health & Safety becoming an even bigger part of the conversation. More on that soon...
As always, we hope you find something useful, practical and thought-provoking in this month's newsletter.
What We've Been Writing About
Wellbeing strategies for charity teams
Charity professionals dedicate their careers to making a difference. Whether supporting vulnerable communities, protecting the environment or raising funds for important causes, the work is meaningful, but it can also be emotionally demanding.
Many charities are managing increasing workloads, tighter budgets and growing expectations, often with relatively small teams. While passion for the cause keeps many people motivated, it isn’t enough on its own to protect against stress, burnout or fatigue.
A strong wellbeing strategy doesn’t have to involve expensive perks or large budgets. Often, it’s about creating the right culture, equipping managers with the right skills and making wellbeing part of everyday working life.
Probation periods: Everything employers need to know
Probation periods have been a standard part of employment contracts for decades. They give employers an opportunity to assess a new employee’s performance, skills and suitability for the role, while giving employees the chance to decide whether the organisation is right for them.
But with changes to unfair dismissal rights coming into force in 2027, many employers are asking whether probation periods need to change too.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 does not include a statutory probation period or dictate how long a probation period should last. However, the changes to unfair dismissal rights mean employers should take a closer look at how their probation process works in practice.
This article covers what the changes to unfair dismissal rights mean for probation periods, what employers should consider when reviewing their current processes, and how to make sure probation is being managed effectively.
When was the last time you measured team connection?
With around 28% of UK employees working in hybrid roles, this is one of the most common ways of working today. But when was the last time you gave your hybrid working structure a health check?
In hybrid and busy teams, connection rarely breaks all at once. It slips quietly: a cancelled check-in, an unclear office day, a new starter who takes too long to feel a part of the team. It might not always be obvious at first, but left unchecked, it shows up later as disengagement and people leaving.
That's why we've created our free Hybrid connection & Belonging Toolkit, designed to help you purposely add connection back in, without adding more meetings and admin.
It offers a quick review to spot where the pressure points are, an action planner to turn that into a focused plan, templates, checklists and guides to put to use straight away.
That's it for this month. If anything here prompts a question, or you'd like to talk through where your business stands, we're always happy to have that conversation.
