Employment law changes your business can't afford to miss

Insights on what the Employment Rights Act means for your business and what you need to do about it.

You've probably been too busy running your business to keep track of every employment law update this year.

That's a problem, because several have already come into force.

More are landing in the next few months, and the ones arriving in 2027 carry real financial consequences for small businesses.

The risk of getting caught out isn't theoretical. I'm already seeing it with clients whose paperwork and processes haven't kept pace.

Here's a practical breakdown of what's changed and what's still coming.

 

What you should already have in place

A batch of changes took effect in April 2026. If you haven't updated your documentation or spoken to your managers about them, you're already behind.

One of the biggest shifts is around Statutory Sick Pay. It's now payable from day one of absence, and the lower earnings limit has been removed. That means more of your team will qualify, and your existing sickness policies may no longer reflect the law.

Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave are also now day one entitlements. Previously, employees needed qualifying service before they could access these. That's gone. A new provision for bereaved partners has been introduced too, giving paternity leave rights following the death of a partner.

Whistleblowing protections have been strengthened, with specific coverage now extended to disclosures connected to sexual harassment.

Alongside these, there have been updates to collective redundancy protective awards (now up to six months' pay), trade union recognition processes, the establishment of the Fair Work Agency, and revised guidance on menopause and gender equality.

If your contracts and policies were last reviewed a couple of years ago, there's a good chance they don't align with what's now required. Manager training matters here too. Your team leaders need to understand these new entitlements so they handle requests properly from the start.

Do I really need to worry about the July 2026 changes?

Yes. From 1 July 2026, anyone you hire will gain unfair dismissal protection after just six months of service. The full effect kicks in from January 2027.

That's a major shift from the previous two-year qualifying period.

For small businesses, this changes the stakes around how you recruit and manage new starters. If someone isn't performing well in their first few months, you can't just quietly let things drift and hope it resolves itself.

What actually increases your risk here?

Probation periods that aren't properly structured. Performance concerns that go undocumented. Conversations that happen too late, or don't happen at all. Decisions made without a clear paper trail.

The fix isn't complicated, but it does need to be deliberate. Your onboarding process should include clear expectations from day one, scheduled check-ins, and written records of how someone is progressing. If things aren't working out, you need evidence that you addressed it fairly and gave the person a proper chance.

 

What's arriving in October 2026?

October brings a new duty on employers to actively prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. That includes, in some circumstances, harassment by third parties such as customers or clients.

You won't be able to deal with this reactively. The expectation is that you can demonstrate you've taken reasonable steps to prevent it happening in the first place. That means having proper policies, delivering training, and making sure your team knows how to report concerns.

There's also a new obligation to tell employees about their right to join a trade union, along with stronger access rights for unions themselves. Your onboarding materials will need updating to reflect this.

Other October changes include tighter rules around tipping, a Fair Pay Agreement body for Adult Social Care, and further reforms to union recognition processes.

For most small businesses, the harassment prevention duty is the one that requires the most preparation. If you don't already have a clear reporting route and evidence of staff training, now is the time to put that in place.  As your local HR consultancy services in Thanet, we can help you get this right without overcomplicating things.

What about 2027? Is that where the real impact hits?

It is.

The 2027 changes carry the biggest operational and financial weight for smaller employers.

The six-month unfair dismissal qualifying period becomes formally established. But on top of that, there's the potential for uncapped compensatory awards at tribunal. That alone should sharpen your focus on how you manage people issues.

Here are some of the other key changes landing in 2027:

• Enhanced protections for pregnant employees and new mothers
• Statutory bereavement leave, including for pregnancy loss
• Reforms to zero hours contracts, with requirements around guaranteed hours and shift compensation
• Changes to flexible working rights
• Regulation of umbrella companies
• Fire and rehire becoming automatically unfair in most situations

Each of these touches a different part of how you run your business. Workforce planning, scheduling, restructures, contractual changes. If you currently rely on zero hours arrangements, or you've ever considered changing someone's terms and re-engaging them, the rules around that are tightening considerably.

By 2027, managing your people informally or on the back foot will carry significantly more risk than it does today.

Questions worth asking yourself now

Rather than waiting until something goes wrong, it's worth taking stock of where you stand. Here are a few things to think about:

• When were your employment contracts and HR policies last properly reviewed?
• Do your managers know what new entitlements apply from day one of employment?
• Is your probation process structured enough to withstand scrutiny if challenged?
• Could you demonstrate to a tribunal that you've taken steps to prevent harassment?
• Are your zero hours or flexible arrangements ready for the 2027 reforms?

If you're unsure on any of those, that's a sign it's worth getting some support sooner rather than later.

A practical way forward

I offer a free, no obligation chat for businesses who want to understand which of these changes apply to them. It's a straightforward chat that helps you see what needs updating, where your financial or operational risk might be increasing, and what to prioritise.

No jargon, no pressure. Just a clear picture of where you are and what to do next.

As your trusted outsourced HR consultant in Thanet, I work with small businesses across the area to get ahead of exactly these kinds of changes. If you'd like a confidential chat about how any of this affects your business, get in touch and we'll take it from there.