What's changing in UK employment law
Every confirmed change and the date it takes effect, checked against the legislation itself. The next one lands 1 January 2027 — in about 4 months.
Coming up
Unfair dismissal protection after 6 months
Unfair dismissal protection applies after 6 months' service, down from the current 2 years.
Fire and rehire automatically unfair
Fire and rehire becomes automatically unfair in most cases, without a financial necessity test.
Compensatory award cap removed
The cap on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal is removed entirely.
Menopause and gender pay gap action plans
Menopause and gender pay gap action plans become mandatory for employers with 250 or more employees. Employers may publish these voluntarily from April 2026.
New trade union rights
New trade union rights take effect, including the right for workers to be informed of their right to join a union.
Third-party harassment duty
From October 2026, employers must take ALL reasonable steps to prevent harassment of their employees by THIRD PARTIES — customers, clients, patients, service users, contractors, suppliers and members of the public. This covers all relevant protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation), not sexual harassment alone. The previous 'three strikes' rule is removed: there is no requirement for two prior incidents, and no requirement that the employer knew about them, so liability can arise from a single first incident. Third-party harassment protection was repealed in 2013 and this restores it in a stronger form. Government guidance indicates the expectations on employers for third-party harassment are somewhat lower than for harassment by their own staff, but the standard is still 'all reasonable steps', so employers should be able to evidence what they did to prevent it.
Tipping law consultation
From October 2026 (subject to parliamentary approval), employers must consult workers or their representatives before introducing or reviewing a tipping policy, and must repeat this consultation at least once every three years. Employers must give workers a written, anonymised summary of the consultation feedback. Non-compliance can be enforced via an employment tribunal claim, with compensation of up to £5,000 for financial loss.
Already in force this year
Changes that have already taken effect. If you have not reviewed your policies since these landed, they are the place to start.
Employment Tribunal time limit extension (ERA 2025)
For most Employment Tribunal claims (including unfair dismissal, discrimination, whistleblowing detriment, TUPE, Working Time Regulations breaches, and — per updated 2026 regulations — breach of contract), the time limit is 3 months less one day from the event, where the event occurred before 1 October 2026. For events occurring on or after 1 October 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 (s.152) extends this to 6 months less one day. Always compare the specific event date to 1 October 2026 to determine which limit applies — this is not simply "the new rule applies from October 2026 onward" for all cases, it depends on when the event itself happened. ACAS Early Conciliation notification remains mandatory before most claims regardless of which time limit applies. The ACAS EC period itself was separately extended from 6 to 12 weeks for notifications made on or after 1 December 2025.
Fair Work Agency
The Fair Work Agency launched on 7 April 2026 as the new state enforcement body for employment rights.
Statutory family pay weekly rate
Statutory family pay (maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental and bereavement) is 194.32 GBP per week.
Collective redundancy protective award doubled
The maximum collective redundancy protective award is doubled from 90 to 180 days' full pay per affected employee for failure to collectively consult.
Paternity and unpaid parental leave - day-one rights
Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave are day-one rights with no qualifying service period, for children born or placed on or after 6 April 2026.
Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave
Up to 52 weeks of unpaid leave is available if the mother or primary adopter dies within one year of the child's birth or adoption, regardless of length of service.
SSP weekly rate
Statutory Sick Pay is 123.25 GBP per week, or 80 percent of weekly earnings if lower.
Sexual harassment is a qualifying disclosure
Disclosures about sexual harassment are qualifying disclosures under whistleblowing law. Workers who disclose sexual harassment are protected from detriment and unfair dismissal.
Unfair dismissal compensatory award cap
The unfair dismissal compensatory award cap is 123,543 GBP.
Holiday pay records
Employers must keep annual leave and holiday pay records for at least 6 years.
Week's pay cap
The cap on a week's pay for redundancy payments and the basic award is 751 GBP.
Statutory Sick Pay - day-one right
SSP is payable from day one of sickness. The three waiting days are abolished and the lower earnings limit is removed, so all workers qualify regardless of earnings.
Vento bands
Vento bands for injury to feelings in discrimination claims: lower 1,300-12,600 GBP; middle 12,600-37,700 GBP; upper 37,700-62,900 GBP.
Dates reflect the commencement position at the time of writing and can move. Each entry links to its source. This is general guidance on UK employment law, not legal advice.