February 2026 |
| Simplified industrial action and ballot notices | The rules on industrial action became simpler. In particular, the notice period for industrial action was reduced from 14 days to 10 days. Ballot mandates now last for 12 months instead of 6 months, unions no longer need to give the same level of detail about the number of affected workers in each category, and the requirement to appoint a picket supervisor was removed. |
| Automatic unfair dismissal for trade union participation | Dismissal for taking part in lawful industrial action became automatically unfair, regardless of when the dismissal takes place. This replaced the previous position, under which protection generally only applied during a limited protected period. |
April 2026 (6 April) |
| Collective redundancy protective award | The maximum protective award for failing to comply properly with collective consultation obligations doubled from 90 days' pay to 180 days' pay. This significantly increases the financial risk for employers that do not follow the collective redundancy consultation rules correctly. |
| Day 1 paternity leave and unpaid parental leave | The service requirements for paternity leave and unpaid parental leave were removed, turning both into day 1 rights. Previously, employees needed 26 weeks' service to qualify for paternity leave and 1 year's service to qualify for unpaid parental leave. Employees who became eligible for day 1 paternity leave and unpaid parental leave were able to start giving notice in February for leave beginning on or after 6 April 2026. |
| Bereaved partners' paternity leave | Bereaved fathers and partners gained a day 1 right to take up to 52 weeks of paternity leave where the mother or primary adopter dies within the first year of the child's life. |
| Statutory Sick Pay reforms | Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) was also substantially reformed. The waiting period was removed, so SSP became payable from the first day of sickness absence rather than the 4th day. The Lower Earnings Limit was also removed, meaning lower-paid employees were no longer excluded from eligibility. For some lower earners, SSP is calculated as the lower of the prescribed weekly rate or 80% of normal weekly earnings. |
| Sexual harassment disclosures as whistleblowing | Sexual harassment disclosures were added to the list of matters capable of amounting to a qualifying disclosure for whistleblowing purposes, provided that the usual legal tests are met, including the requirement that the worker reasonably believes the disclosure is in the public interest. This strengthens protection for workers who raise broader concerns about workplace culture or misconduct. |
| Trade union recognition process | The statutory trade union recognition process was also simplified. Unions no longer need to show at the outset that a majority of the proposed bargaining unit is likely to support recognition, and, where a ballot was held, the requirement that at least 40% of all workers in the bargaining unit vote in favour was removed. |
| Gender equality and menopause action plans | Employers with 250 or more employees were able to begin publishing action plans dealing with gender pay gaps and support for employees experiencing the menopause, with publication expected to become mandatory in 2027. |
| Holiday entitlement and pay records | Employers are now required to keep records of annual leave and holiday pay. Those records should cover matters such as holiday taken, holiday carried over, holiday pay, and payments in lieu of untaken holiday on termination, and they must be retained for at least 6 years. |
7 April 2026 |
| Establishment of the Fair Work Agency | A new state enforcement body, the Fair Work Agency, was established on 7 April 2026. It is intended to bring together and strengthen enforcement of several employment rights, such as minimum wage, sick pay, labour exploitation and the regulation of employment businesses. |
August 2026 |
| Electronic balloting for statutory trade union ballots | Electronic balloting for certain statutory trade union ballots is expected. At present, these ballots are generally required to be conducted by post. Moving to electronic voting is likely to make participation easier and may increase turnout and engagement. |
October 2026 |
| 'All' reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment | The existing duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment is strengthened to a duty to take all reasonable steps. In practice, this is likely to require more thorough preventative action, such as better training, clearer reporting routes, regular risk assessments, and closer monitoring of workplace culture. |
| Liability for third-party harassment | Employers may be directly liable where a worker is harassed by a third party, such as a client, customer or contractor, and the employer has not taken all reasonable steps to prevent it. |
| Employment Tribunal time limits | The time limit for bringing most Employment Tribunal claims is expected to increase from 3 months to 6 months. This is expected to affect most claim types including unfair dismissal, discrimination, detriment, and whistleblowing. |
| Tipping law | The law on tipping is also tightened. Employers will be required, rather than merely encouraged, to consult on their tipping policy and review that policy at least once every 3 years. |
| Enhanced protection for union activity | A wider package of trade union reforms is also expected from October 2026. These include a duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union, expanded rights for trade union representatives, extended detriment protection linked to industrial action, and the introduction of trade union access agreements. |
| Duty to inform workers of the right to join a trade union | At the same time as providing the written statement of terms and conditions at the start of employment, employers will have to give workers a written statement explaining that they have the right to join a trade union. |
| Trade union access rights | Trade unions will also gain stronger rights of access to workplaces and workers. Access is expected to include both physical entry and general communication with workers for purposes such as meeting, supporting, representing, recruiting or organising workers and facilitating collective bargaining. |
January 2027 |
| Unfair dismissal qualifying period reduced to 6 months | The qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal is expected to reduce from 2 years' service to 6 months. This is one of the most significant reforms for employers because more employees will gain unfair dismissal protection much earlier in their employment. |
| Removal of the unfair dismissal compensation cap | The statutory cap on compensation for ordinary unfair dismissal will likely be removed. Once the cap is removed, tribunals will be able to award compensation based on actual and future loss, without that ceiling. |
| Restrictions on fire and rehire | The rules governing dismissal and re-engagement, often described as "fire and rehire", will tighten from January 2027. |
2027 (exact dates to be confirmed) |
| Collective redundancy threshold changes | Employers will need to consider the total number of proposed redundancies across the whole organisation, rather than only at individual establishments, when assessing whether collective consultation obligations are triggered. |
| Guaranteed hours and shift scheduling for zero-hours and low-hours working arrangements | Workers are expected to gain a right to request a contract that reflects their average hours after 12 weeks' service. They are also expected to gain rights to reasonable notice of shifts and shift changes, plus compensation where shifts are cancelled, shortened, or moved at short notice. |
| Flexible working requests | Where an employer refuses a flexible working request for one of the accepted business reasons, it will also need to explain why that refusal is reasonable. |
| Mandatory gender pay gap and menopause action plans | Following the voluntary introduction of equality action plans in April 2026, publication of gender pay gap and menopause action plans will become mandatory for larger employers. |
| Enhanced protection for maternity returners | Protection against dismissal for pregnant workers and those returning from maternity leave is expected to strengthen. |
| Regulation of umbrella companies | The definition of employment agencies is expected to be expanded to include umbrella companies. |
| Bereavement leave, including pregnancy loss | A new right to statutory bereavement leave is likely to include pregnancy loss. The reform is intended to recognise the emotional and physical impact of pregnancy loss and will provide employees with protected time away from work. |
| Further protections against sexual harassment | Further regulations on sexual harassment are expected, following the October 2026 move to an "all reasonable steps" duty. |
| Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) | Restrictions on the use of NDAs are also awaited. Clauses that seek to prevent workers from alleging or disclosing work-related harassment, discrimination or similar unlawful conduct are likely to be void. |
| Further trade union reforms | These reforms include extending protection against discrimination and blacklisting for trade union members, introducing a new industrial relations framework to support engagement between employers and unions, and allowing electronic voting in recognition and derecognition ballots. |
