Health and safety | UK Regulatory Outlook September 2026

Regulations determining 'principal use' of premises under Martyn's Law laid before Parliament

New regulations were laid before Parliament on 10 September 2026, with accompanying Home Office guidance. Previously, the Act gave no mechanism for identifying the responsible person at premises with two or more Schedule 1 uses. The regulations close this gap with a two-stage test: first, which use relates most closely to the purpose and nature of the premises, having regard to the premises' construction or modification, continued use, physical characteristics and local authority treatment; and, only if that is inconclusive, a wider assessment of all relevant circumstances, including the proportion of the premises and time given to each use and whether one use supports another. The person controlling the premises for the resulting principal use becomes the responsible person for the whole premises.

Martyn's Law, formally the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, places duties on those responsible for certain publicly accessible premises and events to prepare for and mitigate the impact of a terrorist attack, with obligations scaled to a standard or enhanced tier depending on expected occupancy.

No commencement regulations have yet been made for these substantive duties, with commencement expected in spring 2027 (April 2027 at the earliest).

In a further update on 11 September 2026, the Security Industry Authority (SIA) confirmed that a scope-checking tool and optional compliance templates are in development, its second round of pilot inspections begins this autumn, and its GOV.UK notification portal remains in testing.

Government lays legislation to end discrepancy in asbestos and dust-disease compensation for dependants

The Department for Work and Pensions has laid legislation in Parliament to end the discrepancy between compensation paid to sufferers of asbestos-related and dust-related diseases, such as mesothelioma and pneumoconiosis, and the reduced rate currently paid to their dependants where the sufferer has died before payment. Dependants currently receive £10,700 on average, compared with £17,700 for sufferers, a shortfall of £7,000. Under the new rules, dependants will receive the same rate as sufferers in full.

The changes also simplify how awards are calculated under the Pneumoconiosis etc. (Workers' Compensation) Act 1979 scheme and the 2008 Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme, removing outdated top-up payments tied to the now-defunct Pneumoconiosis Medical Boards and introducing a single, clear award structure with a defined "relevant date" for calculations. The changes follow an independent legal review of the schemes, and are expected to increase payments to dependants by between £2 million and £6 million annually. Subject to parliamentary approval, the changes will come into force on 31 October 2026.

BSI and ISO launch new global standard on menstruation and menopause at work

BSI and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) have published BS ISO 45010, a new global standard providing practical guidance for employers on supporting employees experiencing menstruation and menopause at work, building on the original British Standard published in May 2023. Analysis by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) for BSI found that enabling employees to raise menstrual and menopausal health challenges with confidence carries a potential productivity premium worth almost £300 million a year.

Sitting within the ISO 45000 occupational health and safety standards series, the new standard adds a clause on disclosure and privacy, expanded definitions, a wider range of practical actions across areas including workplace culture, policies, manager training and job design, and two new annexes, including a template workplace charter and a cross-reference matrix showing alignment with ISO 45001.

Its publication comes ahead of UK employers being required by the government to publish Menopause Action Plans from spring 2027.

MEPs call for new EU law on work-related psychosocial risks

The European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs has adopted a report calling on the European Commission to draft a new law setting minimum requirements to prevent, eliminate or reduce work-related psychosocial risks that can lead to stress, burnout, and mental and physical disorders. The request for a legislative initiative passed by 41 votes to 12, with four abstentions. The rapporteur noted that work-related depression alone costs the EU an estimated €100 billion annually, citing International Labour Organisation figures that more than 840,000 people die each year from health conditions linked to psychosocial risks.

MEPs want binding obligations on employers to protect workers' mental and physical health, including adopting policies to define and prohibit violence, harassment, bullying and discriminatory behaviour; carrying out regular psychosocial risk assessments (including before significant restructuring, teleworking changes or the introduction of automated decision-making or monitoring systems); ensuring human oversight of algorithmic systems; and recognising the right to disconnect. They also propose that employers provide supported return-to-work plans for affected workers, and that where a worker establishes injury or health damage from exposure to psychosocial risk factors, it should be presumed work-related unless the employer proves otherwise.

The Parliament is expected to vote on the legislative initiative during its October plenary session, after which the Commission will have three months to respond.