Hi hi everyone, very long time no speak.
With our amazing bigger team and the fact that we’ve all been having various much deserved annual leave, it feels like donkeys years since I last did a post.
As some of my clients will know, I have been MIA the last few weeks on annual leave, of which one of the weeks was spent sunning it up on holiday at Cape Verde. We had the most glorious perfect little time getting to reconnect as a family and just have a true switch off from the world. It’s our first family holiday since our daughter was 7 months old so it’s been over 2 years and wow was it needed. We essentially stayed put at the hotel the whole week and did nothing but play in the pool, splash park, eat and watch some children’s entertainment. I wouldn’t say it was the relaxing holiday we once knew before having Halle, but it was as relaxing as it could be with the wildling child that we have.
Some things that we very much learnt from our time away with little beany:
- The feeling of sitting next to a ticking, whilst cute, time bomb on a plane journey. The journey was around 6 hours, and we honestly had no clue how it was going to go. All we kept wondering was at what point she may turn into the Omen. All jokes aside, she was actually incredible on both journeys
- Parents are next level when it comes to pool toys. We took none, other than her arm floats, so we massively failed on this part. Whilst she was happy for us to just entertain her or just constantly jumping in, other parents were coming out with basically any pool toy you would ever want.
- There is no limit to how long a child can stay in a pool, Halle would have basically slept in it if she could.
- The beauty of having a few minutes to enjoy a glass of wine whilst Halle took yonks to devour an ice cream. She of course had numerous during the week.
- How much we developed our ninja skills in having Halle stay in our room and us needing to sneak around.
- That you must start packing and being organised like 1 year in advance (slight exaggeration). I would say we started packing a few days before and honestly were doing it until the early hours each night. Like whattttt…
If anyone else has any other things they have been enlightened on during a family trip, then please do share. But in all honesty, we had the best time and will most definitely not be leaving it as long until our next getaway. I also had my amazing team covering me during my time away and am very grateful for all the work they did holding the fort for me.
Now, let’s get onto the reason you’re really reading this, our HR insight for the week!
Crime & Policing Act 2026
On 29 June 2026, the Crime & Policing Act 2026 (the Act) comes into effect.
What is this Act I hear you say?
In a nutshell, the Act broadens risk for companies because it extends the situations in which they can be prosecuted for criminal offences committed by individuals within the business. Previously, when an individual committed a criminal offence, it could generally only be attributed to the company if the individual was the “directing mind and will” of the company.
Under the Act, companies can be prosecuted where a senior manager commits any criminal offence when acting in their actual or apparent level of authority. Just another thing for companies to now have to think about?!
Of course, there is no one set definition for “senior manager” so it’s not a case of identifying job titles and saying “they are captured”. We are unfortunately just going to have to wait for case law from the courts to tell us precisely what is meant by a “senior manager”.
For now, we have to look at the role the individual plays in the business. We can look at job title and remuneration but beyond that we will need to ask:
- Do they play a significant role in making decisions about how a substantial part of the company’s activities are managed or are they be significantly involved in actually managing or organising a substantial part of the company’s activities?
- Where does real decision making authority sit within the business?
It will be those who have the power to influence important decisions or decisions that impact a substantial part of the business are likely to be captured.
There is not going to be a “we took reasonable steps to prevent the activity” defence here. However, this doesn’t mean that having clear processes and controls in place is not important.
Below I have outlined some practical steps that you can be putting in place:
- Undertake a review of who is likely to have the authority to influence decisions on substantial parts of the business – don’t just look at job titles or where people sit in the structure, look at the power they hold. This is so you can properly assess who might fall under the remit of the Act;
- Clearly document the above– their authority and or responsibilities (we can help undertake a review of this with you if that helps);
- Brief out to all employees the impact of the Crime & Policing Act 2026 to reiterate that they should not be committing criminal offences (I know that sounds like something we don’t need to tell them, but we’re better to be clear). They can be prosecuted as individuals, but it could also result in prosecution for the company, it will not be tolerated and a zero tolerance approach will be taken (again should you want to run past us any wording or comms for this then just let us know);
- Ensure that you have proper, written down processes for either raising concerns (whistleblowing and/or grievance processes) and for taking action where concerns come to light (robust disciplinary policies) (we can of course undertake any reviews of all relevant policies to ensure they are fit for purpose); and
- Ensure all employees are aware of whistleblowing and grievance reporting procedures and encouraged to raise concerns where they arise (if you want any training on any elements of this than this is one of Precept’s amazing offerings. Find out more here.
This is another case of ‘wait and see what the courts say’ unfortunately, but it is better to get ahead of the game and get your ducks in a row using some of the tips I have outlined above. We will then of course update you as and when we know more, make sure you are signed up to our mailing list to be the first to know about any changes.
If you want to see what the amazing Precept can bring to you to make your life that bit easier as an employer, then check out our website here to see the services we provide, particularly if you want to find out more about our super and easy to follow training offering click here.
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