The Employment Rights Bill won’t fail on policy — it will fail on implementation

Vicky Gutteridge, CEO of Citizens Advice LeicesterShire, delves into the Employment Rights Bill.

The Employment Rights Bill is being described as the biggest shift in UK employment law in a generation. Its ambition is clear: stronger protections, clearer rights, fairer workplaces.

But history – and evidence – tells us something uncomfortable.

Employment reform rarely fails because of poor policy. It fails in the space between policy and practice.

And that space is occupied almost entirely by line managers.

I have a passion for supporting the critical role of line managers and this was the topic of my MA dissertation in 2023. Through research and experience I fully believe that investing skills for line managers pays dividends. This belief has been realised during my past two years at Citizens Advice LeicesterShire, reducing costs of around £140K through reduced staff turnover, sickness and formal processes against an investment of less than £20K!

Where employment law becomes real

For most employees, employment law isn’t experienced through legislation or policy documents. It’s experienced through everyday interactions with their manager.

Line managers are the ones:

• handling sickness and return-to-work conversations
• responding to flexible working requests
• managing probation, performance and capability
• navigating early conflict before it escalates

Yet despite this central role, evidence consistently shows that many line managers are underprepared for people management responsibilities.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) evidence review on people managers highlights that effective people management depends not just on technical competence, but on confidence, judgement and people skills – all of which require deliberate upskilling (CIPD, 2023).

Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) research reinforces this, showing that investment in line manager capability is critical to ensuring workplace policies are applied consistently and fairly in practice – not just correctly on paper (Acas, 2024).

The policy–practice gap is well evidenced

Academic research has long warned us about what happens when line manager capability is overlooked.

Alfes et al. (2013) demonstrate that employees respond less to HR policies themselves and more to how those policies are enacted by their line manager. Engagement and performance are shaped by lived experience, not written intent.

Further research shows that gaps between intended HR practices and perceived practices, often mediated through line manager behaviour, can undermine trust, consistency and organisational outcomes (Andreeva et al., 2022).

In simple terms: Good policy enables outcomes. Skilled implementation delivers them.

Why the Employment Rights Bill raises the stakes

The Employment Rights Bill will strengthen or expand rights around:

• sickness absence and sick pay
• flexible working
• dismissal protections
• worker status
• tribunal access

These are not just administrative changes. They require judgement, confidence and consistency at the point of implementation.

Without capable line managers, organisations risk:

• more formal processes
• increased grievances and claims
• inconsistent application of rights
• managers avoiding difficult conversations altogether

The Bill doesn’t just increase legal obligations – it raises the capability bar – or costs if applied incorrectly.

Why emotional intelligence matters

Policies are applied through relationships.

Research into emotional intelligence shows that leaders with strong self-awareness, empathy and social skills are better equipped to manage conflict, have difficult conversations and sustain trust within teams (Ćwiąkała et al., 2025).

This matters because compliance alone is not enough. Managers need the relational capability to apply policy in a way that is fair, human and consistent.

Citizens Advice LeicesterShire: a case study in investing in managers

At Citizens Advice LeicesterShire, we recognised a policy implementation gap that prevented us delivering the outcomes we wanted – for our people and our organisation.

So we invested in a structured leadership and line manager development programme, focused on people management, emotional intelligence and early conflict resolution.

The results were clear:

• 93% of managers showed peer-rated improvement in leadership capability
• Formal HR processes reduced by over 60% year-on-year, with no formal processes being initiated in the second half of this year.
• 95% improvement in average staff sickness days reduced, improving both wellbeing and productivity
• 56% reduction in staff turnover, reducing avoidable turnover and associated costs

This work was later recognised externally, with Citizens Advice LeicesterShire shortlisted for a CIPD People Management Award.