Statutory sick pay – removal of three days waiting period and lower earnings limit

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Change payroll systems Ensure sickness reporting is accurate and robust Review sickness absence procedures to ensure fit for purpose

Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave – employees entitled to these rights from day one of employment

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Update relevant policies Inform managers of changes Note this does not change notice provisions nor is the right to statutory paternity pay a day one right

Reports of sexual harassment can be a protected disclosure

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Update whistleblowing policy to reflect this change Ensure managers understand the change and the steps they need to take when a report of sexual harassment is made Consider how to strengthen a culture where sexual harassment is not tolerated

Duty to keep records adequate to show compliance with right to paid holiday for six years

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Audit current record keeping regards holiday entitlement and pay for all staff and assess whether accurate and up to date and compliant with the provisions of the WTR 1998 Where gaps are evident, consider what steps will need to be taken to address those gaps Update systems to ensure that these records are now kept within the system for six years

Collective redundancy protective award doubled

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Calculate correctly the number of redundancies in one establishment to assess whether collective consultation on redundancies is required Ensure any consultation exercise provides time and material enough for employees to contribute Consider the increased liability of this failure to consult in commercial discussions on terms

Action plans on gender equality and supporting employees through menopause (voluntary only)

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Read the Government announcement with details on new action plans Consider what an action plan would look like for your organisation using the Government guidance Discuss what this action plan would look like for your organisation in preparation for April 2027 (If employ over 250 employees) Note that he deadline for publishing a voluntary action plan will be 30 March 2027 for most public authority employers and 4 April 2027 for private, voluntary and other public authority employers. From this we assume that the deadlines for the mandatory reporting of the action plans will be 30 March 2028 and 4 April 2028

Simplifying trade union recognition – removing 40% support thresholds and removing likely majority test on application for recognition

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare If union presence within organisation, consider voluntary recognition and how that can be negotiated to avoid statutory regime If no union presence, consider strengthening relationships with employee representatives to provide a viable alternative to union involvement If no current union presence nor employee representative body, consider a framework for consulting with employees effectively to ensure staff feel they have a voice

Establishment of the Fair Work Agency

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Audit compliance for NMW records, SSP payments, holiday pay and rest breaks, checks etc. as the FWA’s authority will cover all these areas Consider mock inspections to identify the gaps in your processes and systems Be mindful that FWA is established in April 2026, but HMRC will continue to inspect organisations for NMW compliance until the FWA fully assumes that role – expected to be from April 2027. The FWA’s role in enforcing holiday pay and SSP will not be in place until sometime in 2027. The FWA will have the powers to issue notices of underpayments and penalty payments of 200% of the amount due. This will apply to failures to pay holiday pay and SSP once the FWA’s role in enforcing those rights are in place sometime in 2027, however, ensuring accurate and compliant records now is essential to prepare for these changes in 2027.

Electronic and workplace balloting for statutory trade union ballots

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Read Government consultation document here and Code of Practice here to understand how the Government intends to introduce electronic balloting effectively Monitor closely trade union activity to gauge whether it’s likely your unions will be pushing for this new balloting in the autumn

Extending Employment Tribunal limit from three to six months

How to prepare Ensure your record keeping and all paperwork related to disciplinary and grievance hearings and dismissals are accurate, comprehensive and easy to access. This will help with the preparation for tribunal cases which, given this extended limitation period and the tribunal backlog, maybe scheduled to be heard years after the event. Consider whether additional training is needed for relevant staff on managing disciplinary and grievance matters to ensure that they are 1) run and managed appropriately and 2) the correct records and correspondence are produced.

Regulations establishing the Fair Pay Agreement Adult Social Care Negotiating Body in England

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Read the Government’s response to their consultation here The Government has confirmed that first Fair Pay Agreement will take effect from April 2028 so stay mindful of this date

Procurement – Two tier code

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Look out for publication of regulations and code of practice which will complete definitions and provide more guidance and detail Note the impact on contract costs as new hires will need to match the salary and benefits of transferred public sector employees Consider these increased costs when negotiating contracts going forward where public sector employees are being transferred – it will apply to contracts post October 2026

Duty to inform workers of their right to join a union

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare We are still awaiting information on what information will need to be given to employees and at what regularity For further information on the Government’s suggestions see the consultation document linked on this page Once this information is published, employers will need to consider what changes will need to be made to onboarding processes, HR templates and systems to ensure sufficient information is provided and at the required times

Strengthening trade union access rights in the workplace

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Look at the Code of Practice published July 2026 and found here for further details on what the process will look like in practice Consider your current employee/employer relations; are there steps you could make to strengthen employee representation bodies to avoid access requests?

Employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Audit your compliance with the duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment – are your risk assessments current and relevant? Have you recently sought feedback from staff on the culture of your workplace? Are there enough points of contact for staff to go to and report sexual harassment? Have you done sufficient training for all staff on sexual harassment? In the absence of guidance from the Government (not expected until 2027) complying with these steps and following the EHRC recommendations are best preparatory steps

Employers liable for third party harassment

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Consider your contract provisions with third parties – is it clear that harassment will not be tolerated and may be terminated if such behaviours continue? Consider whether there needs to be public signage – or additional signage – in areas of your organisation making it clear that any harassment of staff will not be tolerated Ensure that staff are aware of what they can do should they witness or be the victim of third-party harassment Consider whether additional training needs to be given to managers and HR teams about what this new duty on employers will mean – this could include how to deal with staff who may overhear offensive conversations and whether this constitutes harassment

Trade union – Facilities for union officials and learning representatives

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Ensure that have considered what accommodation or facilities could be provided Read the ACAS updated Code of Practice here.

Trade union – facilities for equality representatives

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Note this new right for equality representatives of recognised trade unions to take paid time off for purposes related to equality matters Read the ACAS updated Code of Practice here

Unfair practices in trade union recognition process

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare The extension of the Code of Practice on unfair practices during statutory recognition to the entirety of the recognition process will be a relevant consideration for organisations facing statutory recognition – little preparation that can be done until that process has begun Read the updated Code of Practice found here

Extending protections against detriment for employees taking industrial action

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Government confirmed on 22 June 2026 that ‘detriment’ will not be limited but will have the wider interpretation used in other legislation. A copy of this response can be found here. No further preparation advised at this stage.

Qualification period for unfair dismissal claim reduced to 6 months and removal of compensation cap

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Consider your probation periods in new contracts – ensure they are less than six months so can complete probationary period and potentially dismiss before qualification period applies Consider changing probation periods in existing contracts to shorter periods where relevant Audit current probationary procedures and ensure that managers understand the purpose of these periods and are following relevant procedures and policies Consider recruitment processes – are there improvements to be made to improve retention levels Consider the impact of the removal of the compensation cap to your workforce and whether there are members of staff on higher salaries who would benefit from this change

Protection against fire and rehire practices

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Note the results of a recent Government consultation as to whether a restricted variation will include a change in shift patterns and what that will mean for your organisation. Likewise, note any change to include change in expenses and benefits as a restricted variation and the impact on issues such as travel expenses etc. Consider employee representation and relevant bodies. It is likely that in any contractual changes after January 2027 organisations are going to have to engage more effectively with representatives to avoid tribunal claims and so good ongoing relationships with these bodies will be beneficial

Mandatory action plans for Gender Pay Gap and supporting employees experiencing menopause

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Read the Government announcement with details on new action plans Consider what an action plan would look like for your organisation using the Government guidance Discuss what this action plan would look like for your organisation in preparation for April 2027 (If employ over 250 employees)

Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare No preparation yet – we are still waiting to see outcome of the Government consultation on the extent of the protections

Extending blacklisting protections

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare No preparation as yet – we are waiting on the draft regulations

Regulation of umbrella companies

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare No preparation as yet – we are waiting on the results of the government consultation

Collective redundancy thresholds

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare We are waiting on the results of the Government consultation on calculation of new thresholds

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare We are waiting for results of the Government consultation on the new process and test of reasonableness Audit your current level of requests and which are accepted and which are denied to understand the impact of this change to your organisation

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare Diarise to consider drafting new policy and consider how fits with any contractual provision

Right to guaranteed hours offer for zero-hours/guaranteed hours/agency workers and the right to reasonable notice and compensation for short notice

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare In the absence of more detail on these provisions, organisations can begin to consider the impact of this right on their workforce Audit the reliance on atypical workers within organisation and whether could pivot to permanent roles to avoid this new duty Audit the administrative implications of meeting the duty to make regular GHOs Assess current notice and cancellation provisions and practices to assess the impact of new provisions regards reasonable notice and compensation provisions – consider what financial impact this may have and whether that will then impact the cost of providing care

Electronic and workplace balloting for recognition and derecognition ballots

Key provisions can be accessed here How to prepare We are waiting the outcome of Government consultation on how these ballots will be run fairly.

Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs); regulations that will prevent the misuse of NDAs in cases of workplace harassment or discrimination

Read consultation document here for more details of the Government’s proposals.

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