Citation wrapped: Our 2025 year in review
2025 has been a year of major developments. With the Employment Rights Bill in its final stages in Parliament, and new Health & Safety focus areas, there are a lot of changing priorities in UK workplaces. You’ve kept us busy and by your side through it all.
So, here’s a look at the support you asked for, the challenges you faced, and what’s coming next.
Introducing… your Citation wrapped for 2025!
This year, you:
- Received 323,000 pieces of HR advice
- Received 19,583 pieces of Health & Safety advice
- Welcomed our Health & Safety consultants on site 19,093 times
- Benefited from 53,357 hours of client-facing Health & Safety
- Held 1,913 meetings with us to draft tailored contracts and handbooks
- Had 910 on-demand meetings for support with HR processes
- Gave us an ‘Excellent’ Net Promotor Score (NPS) of 78
- Celebrated 30 years of Citation – happy birthday us!
How our advice line helped you
Our 24/7 advice line gives you instant access to expert HR and Health & Safety guidance, whenever you need it.
Every call helps us understand your sector, spot trends early, and stay ahead of the challenges affecting your people and your workplace.
Here’s what you asked us about most in 2025.
HR advice trends
Since January, you’ve received over 323,000 pieces of HR advice, covering everything from disciplinary processes to sickness absence, and maternity leave to Christmas parties.
1. Disciplinary issues (30% of HR queries)
- 52% general misconduct (persistent lateness, breaching company rules etc.)
- 48% gross misconduct (harassment, violence, theft, etc.)
What this means for 2026:
- Set clear behaviour expectations in your handbook
- Have a clear disciplinary process
- Tackle concerns early before they build into something more serious
2. Sickness queries
- 45,000+ calls
- 15% of HR advice
Sickness was the next biggest topic you needed support with.
With Statutory Sick Pay changes on the horizon and rising long-term sickness, you focused heavily on absence, wellbeing, and your responsibilities as an employer.
Did you know?
The ONS reported 148.9 million working days lost due sickness or injury in 2024 – about 4.4 days lost per worker!
What this means for 2026:
- Review your sickness policies and follow your processes
- Emphasise employee wellbeing – mentally and physically
- Discourage presenteeism and make sure employees take time off when they need it
3. Grievances
- 21,000+ calls
- 7% of HR queries
A grievance is when an employee formally raises an issue with their employer. Workplace concerns range from conflict and communication issues to more serious allegations.
What this means for 2026:
- Have clear reporting lines so employees know who to speak to
- Maintain strong documenting habits for clear auditing trails
- Stay up to date on your responsibilities around harassment and equality
4. Probation
- ~19,000 times
- 6% of HR advice
You had a range of questions from managing the employee onboarding to probation dismissals. Probation periods continued to be a key tool for making sure you’re recruiting the right people and building strong teams.
What this means for 2026:
- Use probations effectively – regular reviews with your new employees are essential
- Understand your rights around probations and extensions
Redundancy queries
- ~18,000 calls
- 6% of HR advice
Redundancy is an uncomfortable, tricky issue to tackle. And it’s one where your processes really matter.
Handling redundancies properly is vital – to make sure you pay your employees what they’re owed, we also provide a free to use redundancy calculator.
What this means for 2026:
- Follow a fair redundancy process every time
- Document your decisions thoroughly and clearly
- Explore alternatives before opting for redundancy
Health & Safety advice trends
This year, you asked for:
- 30,000+ pieces of Health & Safety advice
- 19,583 answers via phone
- Thousands more by email
Here are your top topics:
Top five advice areas
1. Health & Safety policies
- 9.31% of advice
- ~ 2,000 calls
Why it’s trending:
To keep up with new regulations (like the HSE enforcement trends), you’ve been asking for help understanding what should be in your Health & Safety policies. And many of you want new policy arrangements!
2. RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations)
- 8.66% of advice
- ~ 1,700 calls
Why it’s trending:
It can be a tricky subject, and you need help understanding what is and isn’t reportable. Fear of getting RIDDOR wrong (either over-reporting or failing to report) is a consistent concern.
3. Risk assessments
- 7.87% of advice
- ~ 1,500 calls
Why it’s trending:
Risk assessments constantly need updating, especially following staffing changes, new equipment, and evolving work practices.
4. Accidents
- 7.24% of advice
- ~ 1,400 calls
Why it’s trending:
You want to prevent repeat incidents, understand root causes, and make sure you follow the right processes immediately after an accident.
5. Accreditation
- 6.82% of advice
- ~ 1,300 calls
Why it’s trending:
Accreditations are a great way to win new work, as it demonstrates your competence and improves your business’s reputation – especially in the construction and service-based sectors!
The top sectors seeking Health & Safety support
Your businesses span a huge range of industries and sectors – but the three key ones we heard from most were:
- Construction: 20.6% (around 4,000 calls)
- Manufacturing: 11.83% (around 2,300 calls)
- Care: 11.22% (around 2,200 calls)
Why demand is high in these sectors
- Construction: High risk environment, with frequent changes in personnel, equipment, and site conditions. Clients have been seeking clarification on documents, incident responsibilities, and accreditations.
- Manufacturing: Dealing with complex processes, machinery, and hazardous substances. Clients have reached out with questions about the technical nature of compliance.
- Care: Constant hazards from high-risk activities, vulnerable individuals, and intense regulation. Clients have been calling for tailored advice on how to handle individual situations to help keep people safe.
Mind if we drop by? Our impact away from the office…
You were visited by us 19,093 times, totalling to a staggering 53,357 hours on the ground with you!
That’s over six years’ worth of time, split amongst our incredible team of assessors, consultants, and specialists.
Our consultants helped with:
- Noise, vibration and air consultancy
- Fire safety support
- DSEAR compliance
- Risk assessments
- Site inspections
Thanks for having us in your workplaces, it’s a great part of our job.
Our Health & Safety customer satisfaction
This year, you’ve given us:
- An ‘Excellent’ NPS score of 78
- Our Health & Safety consultants an overall satisfaction score of 9.6/10
- And you’ve boosted us up to nearly 6,500 five-star reviews on Trustpilot
What to look out for in 2026
Now, as 2025 fades into the distance, here are some big changes for you to look out for in 2026.
1. National Minimum Wage changes
The National Minimum Wage (NMW) is set to increase in April 2026, which businesses will have to budget for.
| Current NMW rate | NMW rate from April 2026
| Increase (£) | Increase (%)
| |
| National Living Wage (21 and over) | £12.21 | £12.71 | 50p | 4.1 |
| 18-20 Year Old Rate | £10.00 | £10.85 | 85p | 8.5 |
| 16-17 Year Old Rate | £7.55 | £8.00 | 45p | 6.0 |
| Apprentice Rate | £7.55 | £8.00 | 45p | 6.0 |
| Accommodation Offset | £10.66 | £11.10 | 44p | 4.1 |
2. The Employment Rights Bill
As of writing this newsletter, the highly anticipated Employment Rights Bill (ERB) still hasn’t reached Royal Assent – though it’s nearly there. Here are some of the topics we’re keeping the closest eye on…
- SSP: From April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will be payable from day one of sickness (replacing the current three waiting days). It’ll be available to all employees, with no lower earnings limit. It will be paid at either the standard rate, or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is the lower amount.
- Six months for tribunal claims: After intense debate, it’s been decided that employees will have to wait for a six-month qualifying period before they can bring unfair dismissal claims against an employer, rather than the original plan to have this as a day-one right. This is set to be implemented from 1 January 2027.
- Fair Work Agency enforcement: The FWA is a new workplace enforcement body that will bring all enforcement powers under one roof. They have the power to proactively inspect workplaces, bring tribunal claims on a worker’s behalf without being asked, and issue penalties for non-compliance (potential fines up to 200% for underpayments)
You can find out more about the Employment Rights Bill timeline here!
3. New HSE priorities – a greater focus on health
Back in May, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announced their plans to complete more proactive inspections with a particular emphasis on:
- Work related ill health, with a focus on mental health and stress
- Asbestos regulations
- Hazardous dusts such as crystalline silica and isocyanates
4. Building Safety Act
The Building Safety Act 2022 is a landmark piece of legislation to help ensure the safety of higher-risk buildings throughout their lifecycles.
In 2026, a few new changes are coming:
- October: Building Safety Levy to be introduced as a tax on new residential buildings. You can find out more here.
- The HSE and the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) will separate in January 2026, becoming two separate bodies. This will give the BSR full authority to enforce building safety laws across the UK.
Merry Christmas, from Citation!
Thank you for trusting us this year. Whether it was with urgent advice, on-site support, or just another pair of eyes on something tricky – we’re glad to be there for you.
And that’s a wrap! Our advice line will be open all throughout the holiday season for you.
Simply give us a call on 0161 532 4684* or email hradvice@citation.co.uk for any HR queries, or handsadvice@citation.co.uk for Health & Safety advice.
On behalf of everyone at Citation, we want to thank you for being with us this year – and we look forward to seeing you in 2026.
Wishing you a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!
*Applicable for all clients who’ve purchased Citation’s HR & Employment Law and/or Health & Safety core service, including H&S and HR Workplace Expert. Please note that our H&S and HR Virtual Assistance clients cannot access 24/7 advice.
