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The Bounda Blog

Practical HR compliance advice. No jargon. No fluff.

Desk scene with a Sickness Absence Policy document highlighting the Bradford Factor formula S squared times D, stamped "Legal but risky", beside a score card reading 5 absences times 2 days equals 250 points, a calculator, a laptop showing an HR compliance dashboard, and a clipboard checklist: discount disability-related absence, exclude pregnancy-related absence, human review before any action
Featured
Compliance•8 min read

Is the Bradford Factor Legal? Yes — And That’s the Problem

The Bradford Factor is perfectly legal. Applying it on autopilot is how employers end up at tribunal. Where the formula crosses into Equality Act territory, what the case law pattern shows, and what a defensible trigger system looks like in 2026.

17 July 2026Read more

Blog Articles

Desk scene with an April calendar, a Sickness Absence Policy binder with "SSP paid from day 4" crossed out and replaced by "From day one — April 2026", a laptop showing an HR compliance dashboard, and a clipboard checklist of the April 2026 changes: day-one SSP, day-one paternity leave, parental leave and whistleblowing
ERA 20258 min

April 2026 Happened. Has Your Handbook Noticed?

The April 2026 employment law changes are three months old: day-one SSP, day-one paternity and parental leave, a doubled protective award. Most handbooks still describe the old rules. The find-and-fix checklist for UK employers.

15 Jul 2026
Graphic reading 'Your 2-year rule ends in January: unfair dismissal rights drop to 6 months, act now', beside a clipboard stamped 6 months and an employment policies handbook, summarising the UK unfair dismissal changes for small businesses
ERA 20258 min

Anyone You Hire This Month Gets Unfair Dismissal Rights in January

The unfair dismissal qualifying period drops to six months on 1 January 2027 and it covers existing staff. What UK small businesses need to do before then.

4 Jul 2026
Anti-harassment policy binder with the year 2024 crossed out and replaced by 2026 all reasonable steps, beside a laptop showing a Bounda compliance dashboard and a checklist covering risk assessment, third-party harassment, refresher training and a reporting route
Compliance6 min

You Already Sorted Harassment in 2024. The Bar Just Moved Again.

Most employers treated the harassment duty as a 2024 job and ticked the box. From October 2026 the standard rises from 'reasonable steps' to 'all reasonable steps', and harassment of your staff by customers and clients becomes a tribunal claim. Here's what changes — and what your handbook needs before October.

2 Jun 2026
Five labelled HR binders on a desk — employee handbook, contract, sickness absence, disciplinary, and data protection — with a Christmas HR checklist for UK small businesses
Compliance10 min

The Five HR Documents Your Business Doesn't Have (And Needs by Christmas)

The HR documents UK SMEs most often miss in 2026 — even with a £600 template pack. Five specific gaps, why they create liability, and what to do before the end of the year.

14 May 2026
Employee and manager discussing a flexible working request with a UK 2026 compliance checklist covering day-one rights, consultation, and decision deadlines
ERA 20258 min

The Flexible Working Request You Can't Legally Refuse Anymore

Flexible working is a day-one right, two requests a year, a two-month decision window — and refusal without documented consultation loses claims. Here's what a flexible working request UK process and flexible working policy need in 2026.

9 Apr 2026
Desk scene showing probation periods crossed out on a calendar, replaced by wooden blocks listing clear expectations, ongoing feedback, regular check-ins, support and development, and fair performance management
ERA 20257 min

Probation Periods Are Dead. Here's What Replaces Them.

The muscle memory SMEs have built around six-month probation — low-risk months before the "real" process kicks in — is colliding with new unfair dismissal rules and statutory probation frameworks. Here's what a probation period UK 2026 actually needs.

12 Mar 2026
Sickness absence policy document stamped illegal on a desk, with checklist for review, update, communicate and support, and a mug reading fair, legal, supportive
Compliance9 min

Why Your Sickness Absence Policy Is Probably Illegal (And You Don't Know It)

A handbook from 2019 and a Bradford Factor trigger cost one employer £4,200 at ACAS — because disability-related absence wasn't carved out and reasonable adjustments barely featured. Here's what a 2026 sickness absence policy UK actually needs.

10 Feb 2026
Laptop showing Bounda ERA 2025 readiness dashboard on a desk with employee handbook, listing flexible working, probation, family leave, absence policy and day-one rights to update
ERA 20256 min

ERA 2025: What You Actually Need to Change

Day-one SSP and removal of the lower earnings limit have been in force since 6 April 2026, while other Employment Rights Act 2025 changes are still being phased in. Here's what actually matters for your handbook.

8 Jan 2026
Laptop showing Bounda flexible working request workflow on a desk with checklist for acknowledge, discuss, decide and confirm in writing
ERA 202512 min

How to Handle a Flexible Working Request: The Step-by-Step Process

The step-by-step operational walkthrough: receipt, consultation, decision, response, appeal — with templates and the eight statutory refusal grounds.

5 Jan 2026
Laptop showing Bounda disciplinary policy compliance dashboard on a desk with clipboard listing investigate, hearing, accompaniment, written decision and appeal steps
Guides14 min

Writing a Disciplinary Policy That Actually Works

Most UK disciplinary policies fail at tribunal for the same three reasons. ERA 2025, the ACAS Code, real award figures, and a working template.

3 Jan 2026
Bounda laptop dashboard on a desk with branded mug and notebook, headline why we built Bounda with real HR support for small businesses
Opinion10 min

Why I Built Bounda: A Founder's Take on UK HR Compliance

After thirty years running and advising UK businesses, I kept seeing the same compliance pattern repeat. This is why I built Bounda, and what I believe HR tech should actually do.

15 Dec 2025
Five numbered Bounda policy binders on a desk for employment rights, disciplinary, sickness absence, flexible working and data protection that every UK business must have
Compliance6 min

The 5 Policies Every UK Business Must Have (By Law)

Not 'should have' or 'recommended' — actually legally required. Here's what the law says, with no padding.

8 Dec 2025

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