The Employment Rights Act 2025, passed on 18 December 2025, marked the start of the implementation of many significant employment law changes over 2026/2027.
Described by the TUC general secretary Paul Nowak as “the biggest upgrade in workers’ rights in a generation”, employers of all sizes and in all sectors of the economy will be impacted. Where should employers start in staying ahead of the changes?
Preparation and planning is the best piece of practical advice. There is a government timetable for the proposed changes that, while subject to change, is a useful starting point. Key changes will happen throughout 2026 with further changes in January 2027.
Employers can use this timeline to assess which changes will impact their business, carry out risk assessments, consider the implications for them operationally and financially and decide what action to take.
For example, in April 2026 changes to rules about statutory trade union recognition mean that employers might start to receive requests for voluntary recognition. If that is likely, how might a particular employer respond?
Another April change is the increase in the maximum protective award from 90 to 180 days’ pay per affected employee where an employer has not fulfilled its collective consultation obligations in redundancy exercises.
Businesses planning larger-scale redundancies (of more than 20 employees) are already factoring this into their project planning and considering steps to mitigate this emerging risk.
Employers should take care to think beyond imminent changes and approach action planning strategically. For example, whilst the qualifying period of service for bringing an unfair dismissal claim will reduce from two years continuous service to six months from January 2027, employers will need to start planning now.
This change is expected to apply to those with six months service at 1 January 2027 so it will be relevant to any employee commencing employment by late June 2026. Employers are being advised to act now by looking at recruitment practices, probationary periods and their processes for managing probationers to ensure they are all fit for purpose.
Described as ‘the biggest upgrade in workers’ rights in a generation’, employers of all sizes and in all sectors will be impacted
One step being taken by many employers now is to reduce six-month probation periods to three months. The importance of this change is brought into sharp focus given the proposed removal of the compensatory award cap for successful unfair dismissal claims.
Reviewing and updating employment policies, procedures and employment contracts to ensure that they reflect the changes will be a key part of the planning process. This will help managers who rely on these to handle people matters fairly and consistently.
Policies needing attention include those relating to family leave (for example day one rights to paternity leave and unpaid parental leave), and harassment and whistleblowing (to include taking all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment; protection from third party harassment; and inclusion of allegations of sexual harassment as protected disclosures).
Employers should also consider updating provisions in employment contracts relating to probation, notice periods and clauses, allowing flexibility to make contractual changes.
HR professionals are ideally placed, given their skill set, to help their organisations navigate the changes by communicating them appropriately and effectively and training the workforce, specifically managers, so that they understand what is required and the consequences of getting things wrong.
They will also have a role to play in fostering good employee relations. Given the significant changes to trade union recognition and industrial action, good relations with existing trade unions will be more important than ever.
Alternatively, HR professionals can guide their organisations to introduce or strengthen other workplace bodies, such as employee forums, as a way of promoting a positive workplace culture. That can only help make the introduction of all these changes go more smoothly.
Lynne Marr is partner at Brodies LLP
Partner Content in association with Brodies LLP
