- within Employment and HR topic(s)
- with Senior Company Executives, HR and Inhouse Counsel
- in United Kingdom
- with readers working within the Law Firm and Construction & Engineering industries
Happy New Year from the Employment team.
With the Employment Rights Act 2025 coming into force just before Christmas, HR reform will be a defining theme of 2026. Early, joined‑up planning across HR, Legal and Compliance with a focus on policy, training and implementation will pay dividends.
We have prepared a six-month snapshot calendar for 2026 to help you prioritise activity and allocate ownership.
What's changing and when?
The Government's Implementation Roadmap outlines indicative timings. Some industrial relations changes are already live: the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 has been repealed, so employers in key public services can no longer require minimum service levels during industrial action. In addition, certain restrictions under the Trade Union Act 2016 are expected to be lifted in February.
From April 2026 through late 2026 and into early 2027, a broader package of reforms will start to shape day‑to‑day people management. Expect updates to sickness absence/notification procedures, whistleblowing frameworks, and anti‑bullying and anti‑harassment policies. Manager training and comms should be scheduled well ahead of each go‑live date.
Unfair dismissal: material changes and preparation
A major and last-minute shift is the removal of the unfair dismissal compensation cap. Previously, compensation was capped, which meant many high earners prioritised more lucrative routes (e.g., discrimination) instead. With the cap gone, unfair dismissal becomes a viable standalone claim for senior and highly paid employees. Expect:
- more high‑value unfair dismissal claims (both procedural and substantive);
- greater settlement leverage for claimants; and
- heightened scrutiny of process, evidence and documentation at every stage.
Additionally, the qualifying period to bring an unfair dismissal claim will reduce from two years to six months for dismissals occurring on and after 1 January 2027.
Although the change takes effect in 2027, it will have immediate practical implications for recruitment cohorts starting in 2026, including the design and use of probationary periods and performance/probationary reviews.
Refresh recruitment processes and probation clauses; tighten performance management to ensure timely feedback, fair process and robust records; and stress‑test dismissal decision‑making (including alternatives, consistency and contemporaneous notes).
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
