Insight from an HR consultant in Milton Keynes on what the Employment Rights Act means for your business, what’s already changed, and what’s still ahead.
I’m working with a lot of business owners right now who had no idea how much employment law shifted in April this year.
Some of the changes are already live. Others land in the next few months.
The risk isn’t just about getting fined. It’s about making a decision you can’t undo because your contracts or processes were out of date.
I’ve put together a clear breakdown of what’s happened so far and what you need to get ready for next.
What happened in April 2026
Several significant changes under the Employment Rights Act came into force at the start of April. If you haven’t already reviewed your documentation, this is where gaps are most likely sitting.
Two of the biggest shifts affect leave entitlements. Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave are now day one rights. That means any new starter is entitled from their first day of employment. There’s also a new category of bereaved partner’s paternity leave that you’ll need to account for in your policies.
Statutory Sick Pay has changed too. It now applies from day one of absence, and the lower earnings limit has been removed. If you’ve been relying on the old waiting days or earnings thresholds, your current sickness policy is likely out of step.
Alongside those, there have been updates to whistleblowing protections (now covering disclosures linked to sexual harassment), changes to trade union recognition processes, the establishment of the Fair Work Agency, and refreshed guidance around menopause and gender equality.
Collective redundancy protective awards have also been extended to up to six months’ pay. If you’re planning any restructuring, that’s a number worth knowing.
What you should be checking:
- Are your employment contracts and staff handbook reflecting day one leave entitlements?
- Does your sickness absence policy match the new SSP rules?
- Have your managers been briefed on what’s changed and how to handle it?
A lot of businesses are still running on documentation written several years ago. That’s where inconsistencies start to surface.
The 6-month unfair dismissal window opens on 1 July 2026
From 1 July 2026, anyone you bring into your business will gain unfair dismissal protection after just six months. The full legal effect kicks in from January 2027.
That’s a much shorter runway than the two years you may be used to.
For smaller businesses, this changes how you need to think about hiring and early-stage management. If someone isn’t performing, you can’t afford to wait and hope things improve. You’ll need documented conversations, structured probation reviews, and clear expectations set from the start.
The commercial exposure here is real. Poorly run probation periods, informal chats instead of documented feedback, or late decisions without supporting evidence could all leave you vulnerable to a claim.
If you’re bringing people on board this summer, your onboarding process and probation framework need to be solid before they start. Not after.
October 2026 brings a focus on prevention
The next wave of changes arrives in October, and the theme is about demonstrating that you’ve taken proactive steps to protect your people.
The standout change is a new legal duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. This includes certain forms of third-party harassment. Employers will need to show they’ve taken reasonable steps to prevent it. A policy sitting in a drawer won’t be enough.
You’ll also be required to tell employees about their right to join a trade union. Union access rights are being strengthened at the same time, along with further reforms to recognition processes.
Other updates include tighter rules around tipping and the creation of a Fair Pay Agreement body for Adult Social Care.
Practically, you’ll want to look at:
- Your harassment prevention measures and whether they go beyond a written policy
- Training for managers on how to handle complaints and set the right tone
- Your onboarding materials and whether they cover union rights
- Internal reporting routes and how clearly they’re communicated to staff
The emphasis here is on being able to evidence what you’ve done. Reacting after a complaint won’t meet the standard.
2027 reforms carry the heaviest impact
The changes arriving in 2027 will have the most significant operational and financial consequences for small businesses. If you provide HR consultancy services in Bedford or anywhere else in the region, you’ll know that many employers aren’t yet aware of what’s coming.
Here’s a summary of the key reforms:
- The six-month unfair dismissal qualifying period becomes formally established
- Compensatory awards could become uncapped
- Pregnant employees and new mothers will receive enhanced protections
- Flexible working rights are being updated
- A new statutory bereavement leave will cover pregnancy loss
- Zero hours contracts face major reform, including requirements around guaranteed hours and shift compensation
- Umbrella companies will come under new regulation
- Fire and rehire will become automatically unfair in most circumstances
The potential for uncapped compensatory awards is one that should get your attention. Combined with a shorter qualifying period, the financial risk of getting a dismissal wrong goes up considerably.
And the zero hours reforms will affect any business that relies on flexible or variable scheduling. If you use zero hours contracts, you’ll need to review how you allocate hours and what happens when shifts are cancelled.
Fire and rehire becoming automatically unfair in most cases also limits your options during restructures or when you need to change contractual terms. Planning ahead will matter more than ever.
Questions worth asking yourself now
Before the next set of deadlines arrives, it’s worth taking stock of where your business stands:
- When was the last time your employment contracts were properly reviewed against current legislation?
- Do your managers know how to run a structured probation review and document it correctly?
- If an employee raised a harassment complaint tomorrow, could you demonstrate the preventative steps you’ve already taken?
- Are you confident your approach to zero hours workers will hold up under the 2027 reforms?
- Do you have a clear process for managing underperformance that doesn’t rely on informal conversations?
If any of those gave you pause, that’s a sign it’s worth getting some support in place sooner rather than later.
Where to start
At Flourish HR & Coaching, I offer a free, short impact assessment designed to help you understand which of these changes affect your business directly. We’ll look at what needs updating, where your financial or operational risk might increase, and what to prioritise first.
You don’t need to work through all of this alone. As an outsourced HR consultant in Bedfordshire, I work with business owners to make sense of these changes and put practical steps in place. No jargon, no overwhelm.
If you’d like a confidential chat about what applies to you and what needs doing next, get in touch and we’ll book a discovery call.
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