What Employment Law Has Changed and What Is Still to Come
The Employment Rights Act is the biggest shake-up to employment law in a generation. And it is not happening all at once.
Changes are coming in waves across 2026 and into 2027. Some are already in force. Others are approaching faster than most business owners realise. And a handful of the most significant reforms are still on the horizon, but close enough that you need to be thinking about them now.
Here is a clear breakdown of every milestone, what it means, and what your business needs to do at each stage.
Milestone 1: Already in force — April 2026
These changes are live. If your contracts, policies, and processes have not been reviewed against them, that needs to happen now.
What changed:
- ✅ Collective redundancy protective awards extended to up to six months' pay
- ✅ Day one rights to Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave
- ✅ Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave introduced
- ✅ Statutory Sick Pay from day one with no lower earnings limit
- ✅ Strengthened whistleblowing protections, including around sexual harassment
- ✅ Simplified trade union recognition process
- ✅ Fair Work Agency established with enforcement powers
- ✅ Updated menopause and gender equality guidance
What you need to do:
Most businesses are still working from documentation written years ago. Now is the time to check that your contracts, sickness processes, family leave arrangements, and manager guidance actually reflect where the law stands today. Not where it was two or three years ago.
Milestone 2: Six-month dismissal rights — prepare now for 1 July 2026
This one catches businesses off guard more than any other.
From 1 July 2026, anyone you hire starts building unfair dismissal protection after just six months. That right becomes fully enforceable from January 2027.
What you need to know:
- ⚠️ Poorly managed probation periods now carry much greater risk
- ⚠️ Underperformance that is not documented becomes very difficult to act on
- ⚠️ Informal dismissals, even of newer employees, can be challenged
- ⚠️ Decisions made late without evidence leave you exposed
The businesses that will navigate this well are the ones that treat recruitment, onboarding and early performance management as their first line of defence. Because they now are.
Milestone 3: October 2026 — fairness, safety and transparency
This phase is less about paperwork and more about culture and process.
What is changing:
- 🔶 New duty to prevent sexual harassment, including some forms of third-party harassment
- 🔶 Employers must inform employees of their right to join a trade union
- 🔶 Stronger trade union access rights
- 🔶 Fair Pay Agreement body for Adult Social Care
- 🔶 Tighter tipping rules
- 🔶 Further reforms to recognition processes
What you need to do:
The key phrase in this milestone is reasonable steps. Employers will need to demonstrate that they actively worked to prevent harassment. Not just that they had a policy sitting in a drawer somewhere.
That means updated training, clearer reporting routes and managers who actually know how to handle disclosures properly.
Milestone 4: 2027 — the biggest changes of all
These are the reforms that will have the deepest impact on small businesses. They are also the ones that require the longest lead time to prepare for properly.
What is coming:
- 🚨 Unfair dismissal qualifying period formally reduced to six months
- 🚨 Compensatory awards potentially uncapped
- 🚨 Enhanced protection for pregnant women and new mothers
- 🚨 Flexible working rights extended further
- 🚨 Statutory bereavement leave introduced, including pregnancy loss
- 🚨 Zero hours exploitation ended, with guaranteed hours and shift compensation required
- 🚨 Umbrella companies brought under regulation
- 🚨 Fire and rehire made automatically unfair in most circumstances
What you need to do:
Start now. Seriously.
By the time these changes land, businesses that have been managing people informally, avoiding difficult conversations or relying on short service as a safety net, will find themselves significantly exposed.
The businesses that come through this period well are the ones building better processes today. Not scrambling to catch up when the deadline arrives.
Where do you start?
You do not need to tackle all of this overnight. But you do need to know where you stand.
We offer a free impact assessment to help you work out the following:
- Which changes have already affected your business
- What documentation and processes need updating
- Where your financial and legal risk is increasing
- What to prioritise and in what order
Get in touch for a confidential chat, and we will talk you through exactly what applies to your business.
📞 0161 757 7576 📧 info@hrtoolbox.co.uk 🌐 www.hrtoolbox.co.uk
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