Employment & HR

18 February 2026: Trade union and industrial action reforms

April 2026: New day-one rights and increased employer exposure

Family Leave Rights

• Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave become day-one rights from 6 April 2026.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) updates

• Effective from 6 April 2026, protective awards for failure to consult during a collective redundancy will double.
• Effective from 6 April 2026, disclosures relating to sexual harassment will become protected disclosures under whistleblowing legislation.
• Establishment of the Fair Work Agency

October 2026: Harassment and contractual change

• Employment Tribunal time limits will increase to 6 months for all claims (currently 3 months for most claims).
• New liability for third-party harassment, requiring employers to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent harassment by clients, customers and suppliers.
• Anticipated reform to the law on non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).
• Expected changes to tipping legislation.
• Further trade union law reforms anticipated.

January 2027 onwards: Structural workforce reforms

Major Reform are expected to be implemented from January 2027.

• The qualifying period for unfair dismissal will reduce from two years to six months from 1 January 2027.
• The cap on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal is expected to be removed (currently subject to a statutory limit).

Other Anticipated Changes

• Fire and rehire protections from 1 January 2027
• Further flexible working reforms
• Mandatory gender pay gap and menopause action measures