National Work-Life Week 2026: preparing for a changing workplace

National Work-Life Week takes place from 5–9 October 2026, providing employers with an opportunity to put work-life balance, employee wellbeing and flexible working firmly on the agenda. The annual campaign, run by Working Families, encourages organisations to showcase their flexible-working practices and have meaningful conversations with employees about balancing work and home life.

This year's week also comes at an important point for employers. A series of employment-law changes are being introduced under the Employment Rights Act 2025 and the Government's Plan to Make Work Pay, with further reforms scheduled for late 2026 and 2027. For employers, supporting work-life balance is therefore increasingly about more than wellbeing initiatives: it means ensuring workplace policies, management practices and employment arrangements are keeping pace with changing expectations and legal requirements.

Flexibility needs to become part of workplace culture

While further statutory changes to flexible working are scheduled for 2027, employers can use National Work-Life Week to review how flexibility operates in practice rather than waiting for legislation to require further changes.

That means looking beyond whether employees technically have a right to request flexible working. Employers could consider whether managers are equipped to have constructive conversations about working patterns, whether flexible arrangements are accessible to people with caring responsibilities, and whether employees feel that using flexibility could affect their career progression.

Government guidance also encourages employers to actively promote flexible-working and leave policies, including those relating to becoming a parent, caring responsibilities and bereavement.

Supporting employees through health and sickness

Another important consideration is how organisations support people when health affects their ability to work.

Statutory Sick Pay changed on 6 April 2026, with the removal of the Lower Earnings Limit and the three-day waiting period. SSP is now payable from the first full day of sickness absence for eligible employees.

For employers, this provides a useful prompt to review absence-management processes and, importantly, the support offered alongside them. A focus on early conversations, reasonable adjustments, phased returns and occupational-health support can help employees remain connected to work where appropriate, rather than viewing sickness absence simply as an administrative issue.

Don't overlook menopause and long-term health

Work-life balance also needs to recognise that employees' circumstances can change throughout their working lives. The Government's timetable includes measures around gender-equality action plans and supporting employees through the menopause, with voluntary measures already introduced in 2026 and mandatory action plans planned for 2027.

National Work-Life Week could therefore be a useful opportunity to assess whether managers understand issues such as menopause, caring responsibilities, disability and long-term health conditions – and whether employees know where to access support.

Preparing for stronger workplace protections

Employers should also use the week as an opportunity to look at the wider workplace environment. From October 2026, employers will have a strengthened duty to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment, alongside a new obligation relating to harassment by third parties.

This makes workplace culture particularly important. Policies need to be supported by effective training, clear reporting routes and confident managers who know how to respond when concerns are raised.

A practical opportunity for employers

Rather than treating National Work-Life Week as a one-off wellbeing campaign, employers could use it as a health check for their employment practices.

Key questions could include:

• Are flexible-working arrangements genuinely accessible across the organisation?
• Do managers know how to support employees experiencing health problems or caring responsibilities?
• Are sickness and return-to-work processes focused on supporting people as well as managing absence?
• Are employees aware of family-friendly leave and flexible-working options?
• Are policies and training ready for the next phase of employment-law reforms?
• Do employees feel able to raise concerns about harassment or workplace culture?
• Are managers equipped to have sensitive conversations about menopause, disability, caring and mental wellbeing?

National Work-Life Week 2026 offers employers a timely opportunity to connect employee wellbeing with the rapidly changing employment-law landscape. Organisations that use the week to review not just their wellbeing initiatives but also their everyday management practices, flexibility, absence processes and workplace culture will be better placed to support employees as further employment reforms come into effect through 2026 and 2027.