Your October at-a-glance summary of insights, tools and resources to keep your people practices impactful and relevant in a changing world of work
The world of work is constantly changing, and as your professional body, we’re here to help you stay ahead of the curve and feel fully supported in your role as a people professional. This month, we released a further teaser for our upcoming Annual Conference and Exhibition and delved into how we championed better working lives at the 2025 party conferences. And, as we celebrate ten years of driving workforce development in the Middle East, we shared exciting developments such as the creation of the KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) Advisory Committee and details of the upcoming annual CIPD Middle East People Awards. There’s lots more besides, so read on to see everything new this month.
Join thousands of senior leaders and people professionals at our Annual Conference and Exhibition to explore how the people profession is driving productivity, unlocking performance and tackling today’s most pressing business challenges.
Taking place in Manchester, UK, on 5 and 6 November, the event is a must-attend for anyone looking to connect, learn and drive meaningful change in the world of work. There will also be valuable opportunities for you to discover and share insights and expertise as the UK redefines its approach to employment rights through the upcoming Employment Rights Bill.
Don’t miss your opportunity to get ahead of the game, connect with fellow professionals, and help us make the new reforms work for you and your organisation.
Our policy experts have been engaging with the main UK political parties, and with trade unions, to ensure that the voice of the people profession is heard in debates shaping the future of work, skills and employment rights, with a view to improving productivity across the economy.
With discussions across all conferences ranging from the adoption of AI, the need for collaboration between employers, policy-makers and educators, to the major changes ahead for employment and skills policy, our message throughout was clear: the people professional is central to the future of the workplace and investment in skills.
The recent CIPD/Simplyhealth Health and Wellbeing at Work report, published last month, shed light on some of the factors driving record-high employee absences. While minor illness remains the most common cause of short-term absence, poor mental health and stress both featured strongly as drivers of both short- and long-term absence.
It’s clear to see that, while 75% of organisations are taking action to improve employee health and wellbeing, more must be done. People professionals are vital in driving positive outcomes in productivity in performance, but it’s equally vital that they are fully supported in return.
Responding to this, we’ve launched new tools on how to manage stress in the workplace, with practical, downloadable checklists and templates to help create a stress policy, understand and identify signs of stress and have a conversation about stress.
The Employment Rights Bill is entering its final stages and returned to the House of Lords for consideration on 28 October. In anticipation of this final phase, our Senior Public Affairs Manager Carl Quilliam and Senior Public Affairs Officer Claire Deller-Rust summarised the bill’s progress so far, what happens next, and how people professionals can stay up to date with the latest developments.
In delivering Budget 2026 Minister Pascal O’Donohoe identified uncertainty as the defining feature of the global economy this year, and greater fragmentation as widespread tariffs were introduced. Budget 2026 measures were designed to take account of the challenges Ireland faces in this environment.
We’ve drawn out the key developments listed in this year’s Budget, focusing on the measures most relevant to the people profession.
We released new research this month highlighting that Irish companies investing in employee wellbeing are seeing higher profits and enjoying stronger reputation rankings.
In this study, carried out in conjunction with Welliba, researchers analysed publicly available information on employee experience and wellbeing from platforms such as LinkedIn, Glassdoor and Reddit. We then used this data to score 566 organisations across areas such as wellbeing, employer brand, career growth and learning and development.
Key findings included:
We presented this new research at the Ireland Wellbeing Conference earlier this month in Croke Park, Dublin.
For some time, we’ve called for a comprehensive review and reform of the parental leave and pay system in the UK. The provisions as they stand are not fit for purpose and reform is needed to provide greater choice, fairness and flexibility for working parents. This will in turn help the attraction, retention and wellbeing of employees, which benefits organisations and people professionals.
The UK Government’s parental leave and pay review is ongoing and expected to run for 18 months. The review aims to assess the current system’s effectiveness and propose improvements to better support working families. As your professional body, we’ll continue to engage with policy-makers to make sure your needs are considered as part of any reforms.
We recently formed a new advisory committee to inform and strengthen our support for people professionals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The KSA Advisory Committee will bring together HR leaders to advise the CIPD on ways to empower people professionals to support economic transformation and national workforce goals.
This month also saw us reveal our finalists in the CIPD Middle East People Awards. A panel of 34 independent judges, including experienced HR professionals, CIPD members and non-members, used the CIPD Profession Map to assess over 200 entries (a record-breaking number). The nominations showed a strong focus on skills, talent and national workforce goals, and are reflective of our 10 years of championing better work and working lives across the Middle East. We look forward to seeing the winners announced in December.
The employment law landscape never stands still, and we’re always updating our knowledge hub with the latest information on upcoming changes and reforms – particularly now as the Employment Rights Bill enters its final phase. Here’s everything you need to know this month:
Our discussion forums provide a safe, open space for our global community of people professionals like you. Members share their insights and seek advice on the issues they may be facing in their day-to-day roles. Topics of discussion this month included:
We have around 100 regularly-updated factsheets providing overviews and information on key topics
Our guides provide recommendations and advice on how to apply good practices in the workplace
Listen to episodes from our podcast series on a range of topical workplace, HR and L&D issues
Practical resources to support you in the workplace
