What is happening?
With Reform UK gaining momentum, one of their key pledges is to withdraw the UK from the ECHR. But what happens if the UK leaves the ECHR? The impact on HR, people management, and legal protections could be huge.
What is the ECHR?
The ECHR stands for the European Convention on Human Rights. It’s an international treaty created in 1950 to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. It’s overseen by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg, which individuals in member countries (including the UK) can appeal to if they feel their rights have been violated and they’ve exhausted all national legal options.
What does the ECHR do in the UK?
In a nutshell:
It’s embedded into UK law through the Human Rights Act 1998.
It means public bodies (like councils, police, schools, government departments) must uphold your human rights.
UK courts must take ECHR case law into account when making judgments.
If a person feels their rights have been breached, they can potentially go to the European Court of Human Rights.
What happens if UK leaves ECHR: HR and Legal Impact
Reform UK has proposed replacing the Human Rights Act 1998 with a "British Bill of Rights," aiming to redefine how human rights are applied and enforced in the UK. While the exact details of Reform UK's proposals are not fully outlined, they align with previous government efforts to reform human rights legislation. These efforts have included:
Introducing a permission stage: Claimants would need to demonstrate significant disadvantage before bringing a human rights claim to court.
Reducing the influence of the ECtHR: UK courts would no longer be required to consider ECtHR case law, emphasising domestic interpretations of rights.
Limiting positive obligations: Public bodies would not be required to take proactive steps to protect individuals' rights, potentially affecting protections for vulnerable groups.
These proposed changes could significantly alter the landscape of human rights protections in the UK, affecting how individuals seek redress and how public bodies uphold rights.
Leaving the ECHR could:
Remove a key legal route for people to challenge government decisions (especially vulnerable groups).
Reduce international accountability on the UK government regarding rights like free speech, right to protest, asylum protection, and fair trial.
Potentially undermine legal protections for workers, minorities, and migrants.
Make it harder for people to take human rights-based cases to court—particularly if UK law no longer recognises ECHR decisions.
This would mark a radical shift in how human rights are enforced in Britain — and would likely become one of the most legally and politically controversial moves in recent British history.
Why should HR care?
The ECHR underpins many of the everyday rights we take for granted in the workplace:
Fair disciplinary hearings
Protection from discrimination
Freedom of speech and belief
Privacy at work
The right to a life without degrading treatment
You might not see “ECHR” stamped on your HR policy handbook, but it’s in there, baked into the foundations of the policies, procedures, approaches and progressive employment practices of the current day.
Life After the ECHR: What it Could Mean for HR
If those rights go, HR doesn't disappear, but our role would shift, from being enforcers of fairness within a legal framework to defenders of common decency values in a legal vacuum.
Erosion of Employee Rights
HR professionals rely on ECHR principles all the time even if they don’t realise it. From protecting freedom of expression to fair treatment in disciplinary action, these rights set the baseline for fair treatment at work.
Without the ECHR:
Right to privacy at work (e.g. emails, surveillance) could weaken.
Freedom of belief or religion (e.g. dress codes, time off for religious holidays) might become less protected.
Disability, pregnancy or LGBT protections rooted in anti-discrimination laws (some influenced by ECHR) could be watered down if replaced by a weaker UK framework.
A Step Backwards on Whistleblowing and Dignity
ECHR rights underpin many whistleblowing cases, particularly around freedom of expression and the right to a fair hearing.
If these go:
Employers might feel less pressure to create open cultures.
Employees could lose legal power to challenge unethical behaviour or discrimination.
HR could face increased legal ambiguity, having to navigate a murky new landscape with fewer guardrails.
Increased Risk and Legal Confusion
Replacing the Human Rights Act with a “British Bill of Rights” sounds tidy, but it could be a legal minefield.
It risks:
Years of uncertainty while case law is rewritten.
Conflict between employment law and whatever new framework is introduced.
HR having to rewrite handbooks, policies and training materials with less clarity.
Imagine trying to conduct fair investigations, make decisions about disciplinary action, or defend against tribunal claims with no settled definition of what "fair treatment" means anymore.
Impact on Workplace Diversity and Inclusion
Many EDI policies reference rights under the ECHR, freedom of belief, protection from discrimination, privacy, etc.
If the UK scraps those rights?
Inclusion could become discretionary, not standard.
Legal recourse for workplace discrimination may weaken.
HR would be left holding the ethical line in organisations, without the legal foot hold.
Greater Pressure on HR to 'Do the Right Thing'
Ironically, removing ECHR rights might push HR into more of a moral leadership role. With less external protection, HR teams would need to:
Build internal ethics frameworks.
Rely more on organisational values and behaviours than legal rules.
Protect employee dignity and wellbeing alongside Trade Union colleagues.
And frankly, not all employers will step up. Without the law compelling it, doing the right thing may start to feel like an afterthought.
So, what should HR do?
Stay informed, this isn’t fearmongering. It’s being prepared.
Start the conversation – With your leadership team, your employees, your networks. If the UK changes tact, we’ll all need a game plan.
Double down on values – If the law retreats, your culture becomes your shield.
This isn’t about left vs right. It’s about whether we want our workplaces grounded in decency, dignity, and accountability. Scrapping the ECHR isn’t just a political move, it would tear up decades of progress in fair treatment, inclusion, and ethical workplaces. For HR, it would mean more risk, more ambiguity, and more pressure to protect people without the legal shield we've relied on.
At p3od, we believe fairness, inclusion, and accountability shouldn’t be optional they should be built into every workplace, every policy, every decision.
If you’re wondering how to future-proof your culture, your policies, and your people strategy in the face of change, we’re here to help.
Let’s talk about:
Reviewing your HR frameworks and policies for resilience
Embedding values and people management practices that go beyond legal compliance
Creating psychologically safe, high-performing teams, no matter what changes we are faced with.
Get in touch at hello@p3od.co.uk Visit www.p3od.co.uk to book your 15 minutes free consultation with our HR experts.
Let’s build workplaces where doing the right thing doesn’t rely on legislation, it lives in the culture. Because at the end of the day, HR isn’t just about policies, it’s about people. And people deserve rights that don’t shift with the political wind.