ELTO’s ELD NextGen programme has reached an important milestone, with the design stage now well underway and recent research and discussion workshops helping to shape the future of the Employers’ Liability Database (ELD). 

Over the past month, ELTO has been working closely with our delivery partners Softwire and Digital Wonderlab, to gather insight, feedback and practical input from across our Membership and platform users. These sessions marked a key point in the programme, enabling ELTO and its partners to share emerging design thinking, test proposed policy upload and file format changes, and assess how well the future approach fits Member needs, operating models and change readiness. 

Research-led design and early user insight 

As part of the design stage, ELTO, Softwire and Digital Wonderlab have completed a series of research sessions with search users. These sessions explored how the ELD is used today, identifying what works well and where improvements could make the greatest difference. The findings from this activity have already helped to shape and refine early design concepts, particularly around usability, reliability and clarity of results. 

Building on this research, ELTO invited Members to take part in live discussion workshops, following a call for expressions of interest. The strong response from  

Members highlighted the importance of this change and the appetite to help shape the ELD’s future. Due to high demand, additional workshop dates were added to ensure as many Members as possible could attend. 

Collaborative workshops with Members 

The discussion workshops were led by Sam Reevey (Delivery Lead) and Emily Feinson (Data Specialist) from Softwire, with Nathan Baranowski from Digital Wonderlab attending as a consultant and technical challenger. Nathan is supporting the programme’s technical strategy and working directly with ELTO and Softwire to help ensure the future ELD performs at its best for users and Members. 

The objectives of the workshops were to: 

• Inform the final designs and overall approach for policy upload 

• Shape the transition and adoption approach for Members 

• Ensure the solution is modern, practical and realistic to implement 

During the sessions, the programme team shared current thinking on the future of the ELD, including proposed approaches to policy upload, file formats, data handling and user experience. Members were invited to ask questions, challenge assumptions and provide direct input based on their own operational realities and constraints. Participants also received a sneak peek at the proposed look and feel of the new ELD, as well as early concepts for future functionality and workflows. 

Key themes and learning 

One clear message emerged from the workshops: Members are starting from different positions. Systems, processes and levels of technical capability vary across organisations, and this needs to be reflected in how ELD NextGen is delivered and adopted. 

ELTO has taken this feedback on board. A managed, well-communicated transition will be essential, and supporting Members through their individual change and adoption journeys will remain a key focus as the programme progresses. 

The discussions also reinforced the importance of ELD NextGen’s core policy upload objectives, which include: 

• Improving reliability and overall data quality 

• Simplifying and streamlining policy submission 

• Enhancing auditability and traceability 

• Reducing long-term operational burden 

• Aligning technology to modern standards 

• Providing a clear, achievable transition for Members 

Input from Members during the workshops has been invaluable in testing these objectives against real-world constraints and operational experience. 

What happens next? 

ELTO would like to thank all Members who took the time to attend a workshop, ask questions and share their views. The level of engagement and quality of discussion have been extremely valuable. 

The programme team is now analysing the feedback and insights gathered across all sessions. This will directly inform the next phase of design and delivery. As part of this work, ELTO and its delivery partners will produce a Member Integration Guide, which will include: 

• A summary of the proposed approach for upload methods, file formats and processing behaviour 

• An outline of the proposed future-state data model, highlighting key changes 

• Validation rules for policy upload 

• API specifications 

ELTO plans to share this document with Members over the coming weeks and will allow time for questions, feedback and discussion before progressing further. 

Continuing the conversation 

These workshops represent a key opportunity to shape the future of the ELD, and they are only the beginning. ELTO remains committed to working closely and transparently with Members throughout the ELD NextGen programme, ensuring that the new platform is practical to adopt, future-ready and works effectively for everyone involved. 

To help us stay in touch and tailor future engagement, Members are encouraged to ensure their contact details and preferences are up to date here. 

Further updates will be shared as the programme progresses, however if you or members of your organisation are not already, please do sign up to receive the NextGen News monthly newsletter.