The Management Exposure Check
The rules changed in October. Have your managers?
Since 1 October 2026, most employment tribunal claims can be brought up to six months after the event, and from January unfair dismissal protection starts after six months rather than two years. Your policies may already be up to date, but your real risk sits in what your managers do on an ordinary Tuesday afternoon.
Fifteen questions and about five minutes will show you where your organisation is covered and where it's exposed.
Take the checkIt's free, you don't need any HR knowledge and your full report arrives by email.
Management risk rarely looks like risk.
It looks like a manager who means to have a word with someone but keeps waiting to see whether things settle down. It looks like a quick chat about lateness that nobody wrote down, or two managers giving two different answers to the same request. And it looks like good managers fitting the people side of their job into their evenings, because there's no room for it in the working week.
None of that feels urgent until someone raises a grievance, resigns and makes a claim, or asks why a colleague was treated differently. By then, the questions are about what happened months ago and what anyone can actually show.
The Management Exposure Check helps you see those gaps now, while they're still small and much cheaper to put right.
Five areas where people problems usually start
- Evidence and records: what your managers write down, and whether it would still stand up six months later.
- The conversation nobody had: whether difficult conversations happen early or get put off until they turn formal.
- Consistency between managers: whether the same request gets the same answer, whoever is asked.
- Permission and capacity: whether your managers have the time, training and authority to do the people side of their job.
- The duties now in force: whether your managers know what's changed and what to do on the day.
Each area has three practical questions about what really happens day to day in your organisation.
What you'll get
Straight away, on screen
Your overall result and a score for each of the five areas, so you can see at a glance where you're holding steady and where things are thin.
In your inbox
Your Management Exposure Report, written for your result. It takes each area in turn and explains what the gaps are likely to be costing you. Every section ends with a question for your next leadership meeting and one small thing you can do this week, with space for your notes so you can print it and work through it with your team.
Over the following days
A few short emails from me with practical ideas for the areas that need the most attention. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Who it's for
The check is written for founders, managing directors, senior leaders and HR leads in UK organisations with around 50 to 200 employees, where managers are handling the people side of their role with varying levels of confidence and support.
If you're responsible for how your managers manage, it's for you.
Take the check
Answer as honestly as you can. Your answers are only used to put together your result and your report, and the more honest you are, the more useful that report will be.
The Management Exposure Check
Fifteen questions. Five minutes. An honest read on where your management risk actually sits.
This check scores your organisation, not you. Answer about your managers as a group, as they actually are on an ordinary busy week.
Answer honestly rather than generously. The last option on every question is some version of "I don't know", and it scores zero, because not knowing is the exposure.
Where should I send your report?
Your score is ready. Your full Management Exposure Report breaks it down area by area and shows what each gap is likely to be costing you.
Your result
Your five areas
Make a note of your two lowest areas. Your report covers all five, and those two are the best place to start.
Why I created it
I'm Nicola Richardson, founder of The People Mentor. I've spent more than 40 years managing, leading and supporting people, and I'm a Chartered Fellow of the CMI.
In that time I've seen how often the expensive people problems start small. A conversation gets put off, a note doesn't get written or a new manager is left to work it out alone. Nobody does any of it on purpose, which is exactly why these gaps are so easy to miss. I created this check so you can spot them in five minutes, before they turn into something formal.
I've worked with her for a year now and have seen a direct impact on how I think, communicate, act and lead in my role as a result of her insightful and thoughtful sessions. They aren't rinse and repeat sessions but sessions built around what the community needs at the time.Programme member, Google review
Nicola's training gave our staff member the confidence and self-belief we always knew she had. Her support ensured our dispensary has a bright future with strong leadership and fresh ideas. We highly recommend Nicola.Chris Maddison, GP Practice Manager
I can highly recommend Nicola, she has been instrumental in creating real positive change at the Butterfly Hospice.Linda Sanderson, Butterfly Hospice
Without hesitation, I would recommend Nicola's services to anyone. She has been instrumental in creating a powerful team and an environment in which they enjoy coming to work each day.Clint Johnson, Director, Electrical Engineer
Questions employers ask
How long does it take?
About five minutes. There are fifteen questions, each with four options.
Do I need to know employment law?
No. The questions are about what happens day to day in your organisation. Where the law has changed, the question explains what's different.
Who should take it?
Whoever has the clearest view of how your managers actually work. It can also be really useful for two or three senior people to take it separately and compare results, because different answers often tell you as much as the scores.
Is this legal advice?
No. It's a practical check on management habits and gaps. If you're dealing with a specific case, it's worth speaking to an employment law specialist.
What happens to my email address?
I'll send your report and a short series of emails with practical ideas. You can unsubscribe at any time, and you can read how I look after your information in my privacy policy.
Find out where you stand before someone else asks.
Most of the gaps this check finds can be put right with small changes made early. It takes five minutes to see where yours are.
Take the checkWould you rather talk it through first? Book a virtual cuppa with me.