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Unfair Dismissal Law Changes 2027: What Employers Need to Know From 1 January 2027, the qualifying period for an employee to bring an unfair dismissal claim will fall from two years to just six months. On the same day, the cap on compensation for successful claims disappears entirely. Together, these are the two biggest changes to unfair dismissal law in a generation, and many employers are not yet aware of either one. This matters because so much current employment practice, from probation length to how quickly a dismissal decision gets made, is built around the old two-year window. That window is closing. Employers who don't update their contracts, probation policies and internal processes before 1 January 2027 risk finding out the hard way that the rules have changed. What is changing with unfair dismissal claims from January 2027? Two things change on the same day. First, the qualifying period for unfair dismissal protection reduces from two [...]

The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025, making it law after more than a year of parliamentary debate. The Act introduces phased UK employment reforms with major updates from 6  April 2026. These updates change the rules for statutory sick pay (SSP), parental rights, dismissal rules, and enforcement through a new regulator. One of these changes is the introduction of the Fair Work Agency which is a new enforcement body effective from 7 April 2026. It is a single point of contact and is responsible for the enforcement of employment rights, such as the National Minimum Wage, holiday pay and agency worker protections all together under one Agency. The Agency is given considerable powers which include the ability to carry out workplace inspections. Accordingly, employers need to ensure that their records and compliance are in good order. If you are an employee or employer seeking advice on the changes the [...]

Parental leave rights can be difficult to understand if you’re expecting a baby, adopting a child or planning to split leave with your partner.If you're expecting a baby, adopting a child, or planning to split leave with your partner, working out exactly what you're entitled to isn't straightforward. Paternity leave, shared parental leave and unpaid parental leave are three different things with three different sets of rules, and the rules themselves changed from 6 April 2026. This guide sets out what you're entitled to now, what's changed, and where the rules still catch people out. Paternity leave: what you're entitled to Eligible employees can take one or two consecutive weeks of paternity leave following the birth or adoption of a child. It must be taken as a single block, either one week or two, and it has to be taken within a set window after the birth (or placement, for adoption). Since 6 April 2026, [...]

Statutory Sick Pay changes 2026: SSP is now payable from the first day of illness, the lower earnings limit has been removed, and a new rate applies to lower earners. We know that being unwell is hard enough without having to work out whether you'll be paid for it. Plenty of people have gone into work poorly because the first few days off would have been unpaid, and just as many have discovered, usually at the worst possible moment, that they don't earn enough to qualify for sick pay at all. From 6 April 2026, both of those problems are addressed by law rather than left to an individual employer's goodwill. The three changes to SSP Waiting days are abolished. SSP used to only become payable from the fourth day of sickness, meaning the first three days were unpaid. From 6 April 2026, it's payable from day one. The lower earnings limit is removed. Previously, [...]