HR Compliance Changes: What's Coming & What to Do

Prepared by What If HR | May 2026 | Based on the Employment Rights Act 2025 and law in force at 7 May 2026

CONFIRMED Date set in law — you must act

DATE TBC Coming in 2027 — exact date not yet confirmed

DROPPED Was proposed — not going ahead

Already in force — 6 April 2026

Status	What has changed	Risk if ignored	What you need to do
CONFIRMED	Statutory Sick Pay from day one The 3 waiting days are gone. SSP (£123.25/week, or 80% of average weekly earnings if lower) now starts from day one of sickness — for all workers, including lower earners who previously didn't qualify.	Critical	Update payroll now — SSP must be paid from day 1 Rewrite your sickness absence policy: remove any reference to waiting days Check lower-paid and part-time workers are now included The Fair Work Agency can enforce SSP directly — this is not optional
CONFIRMED	Annual leave records must be kept for 6 years You must now maintain "adequate" records of leave taken and holiday pay paid for every worker, and keep them for six years. Failure to comply is a criminal offence — unlimited fine.	Critical	Ensure your rota, HR system, or payroll records leave taken and holiday pay paid Set a 6-year retention rule from the date each record is created This covers all workers, including zero-hours and part-year staff These records can be used as evidence by the Fair Work Agency
CONFIRMED	Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave are now day-one rights No service requirement for the leave itself. Note: statutory paternity pay still requires 26 weeks' service — only the leave entitlement is now immediate.	High	Remove service thresholds from paternity and parental leave policies for the leave entitlement Keep the 26-week rule for statutory paternity pay — that hasn't changed Refusing this leave is automatically unfair dismissal — no service needed to bring a claim
CONFIRMED	Sexual harassment disclosures are now protected whistleblowing A worker who raises a sexual harassment concern is automatically protected from detriment — from day one, with no length of service required.	High	Update your whistleblowing policy to include sexual harassment as a qualifying disclosure Train managers to route sexual harassment concerns through your speak-up process Keep it separate from any performance issues involving that worker Compensation for whistleblowing detriment is uncapped
CONFIRMED	Collective redundancy penalty doubled For 20+ redundancies at one establishment within 90 days: failure to consult properly now carries a maximum penalty of 180 days' full pay per affected employee (was 90 days).	Critical	If 20+ redundancies are on the horizon, plan a properly resourced consultation from the start For a 20-person redundancy at average pay, a failed consultation could now cost six figures — on top of redundancy pay itself
CONFIRMED	Fair Work Agency is live Operational from 7 April 2026. Single enforcement body for NMW, holiday pay, SSP, agency worker rules, and modern slavery. Can visit unannounced and share intelligence with HMRC and the Home Office.	High	Tighten records on hours worked, holiday taken, SSP paid, and right-to-work checks — these are their stated first inspection priorities NMW enforcement stays with HMRC operationally through 2026/27; full transfer to FWA expected April 2027

Coming October 2026 — confirmed, prepare now

Status	What is changing	Risk if ignored	What you need to do
CONFIRMED	Harassment duty upgrades to "all reasonable steps" The current duty to take "reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment becomes "all reasonable steps" — a notably higher bar. Generic policies and one-off training won't be enough on their own.	Critical	Run a documented harassment risk assessment now — before October Update your harassment policy to make it specific to your workplace and roles Train all customer-facing staff and managers before the deadline Tribunals can add a 25% compensation uplift for failure to take preventive steps The Equality and Human Rights Commission can take direct enforcement action
CONFIRMED	Third-party harassment liability — all protected characteristics From October 2026, employers are liable for harassment of their staff by customers, clients, contractors, or members of the public — covering all protected characteristics (sex, race, disability, age, etc.), not just sexual harassment.	Critical	Highest risk: beauty, hospitality, retail, dog care, taxis, and any customer-facing business Update terms with contractors and clients where relevant Create a clear process for staff to report third-party harassment and document what you did about it Evidence of steps taken will be essential if a claim is brought against you
CONFIRMED	Employment Tribunal time limit extends to 6 months Most employment claims currently have a 3-month limit. This is expected to extend to 6 months from October 2026 (subject to final Parliamentary approval — draft regulations have been laid).	Medium	Keep records for longer — historical issues can surface further down the line Don't assume time has expired on an informally raised complaint Document and respond in writing to all grievances and concerns, even minor ones

Act before July 2026 — to protect yourself from January 2027

Status	What is changing	Risk if ignored	What you need to do
CONFIRMED	Unfair dismissal qualifying period drops to 6 months (1 January 2027) Currently employees need 2 years' service to bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim. From 1 January 2027, this drops to 6 months. Anyone hired after 1 July 2026 will hit that threshold on 1 January 2027.	Critical	Introduce or tighten structured probation now: written objectives, a formal mid-point review, and a documented pass/fail decision New hires from 1 July 2026 onward will have unfair dismissal protection at 6 months — probation must complete with documented evidence before that point There is no statutory "lighter touch" probation procedure — the Government dropped it during the Bill's passage Every dismissal from 1 January 2027 must follow a full fair process, even for staff with under a year's service

Coming 1 January 2027 — confirmed, major changes

Status	What is changing	Risk if ignored	What you need to do
CONFIRMED	Unfair dismissal compensation cap is abolished The current cap of £123,543 (or 52 weeks' pay, whichever is lower) is removed entirely. Every unfair dismissal claim carries uncapped financial exposure from this date.	Critical	Build fair process discipline into every dismissal: investigate first, hold a meeting, allow appeal, document everything Review your Employment Practices Liability insurance — or get it if you don't have it A senior unfair dismissal claim could easily be a six-figure liability for a small business
CONFIRMED	"Fire and rehire" becomes automatically unfair dismissal Dismissing someone in order to rehire them on worse terms is automatically unfair dismissal from 1 January 2027. Very limited exceptions exist only for genuine financial distress.	Critical	If you are considering changing any employment terms, take advice now — options narrow significantly after this date Pursue contractual variation by genuine agreement as the legally safe route to changing terms

Coming 2027 — confirmed in the Act, but date not yet set by regulations

Status	What is changing	Risk if ignored	What to do now to prepare
DATE TBC	Guaranteed hours offer for zero-hours workers Employers will have to offer guaranteed hours to zero/low-hours workers who regularly exceed their contracted minimum over a reference period (likely 12 weeks).	High	Start tracking actual hours worked by all zero/irregular-hours staff now Review your workforce model if you rely heavily on zero-hours arrangements Without records, you won't know who qualifies when this takes effect
DATE TBC	Shift cancellation compensation for zero/low-hours workers Workers will gain the right to compensation when shifts are cancelled, shortened, or moved at short notice.	High	Develop a process for giving reasonable advance notice of shifts Start thinking now about how you will document and compensate short-notice cancellations
DATE TBC	Extended dismissal protection during pregnancy and post-return Enhanced protection from dismissal during pregnancy and for at least six months after return from maternity or adoption leave.	High	Update return-to-work and redundancy procedures before this lands Any dismissal in these protected periods will require a very high evidential bar
DATE TBC	Extended bereavement leave New day-one right to unpaid bereavement leave for a wider group of close relatives, plus a new right for bereavement leave following pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.	Medium	Update your compassionate leave policy now — before regulations confirm the date Once in force, refusing leave or penalising someone for taking it is a Tribunal claim with no service requirement
DATE TBC	Flexible working refusals must be objectively reasonable The eight statutory grounds for refusing flexible working remain, but the refusal itself must also be objectively reasonable — not just listed under a ground. Employees have had a day-one right to request since April 2024.	Medium	Build a structured flexible working decision template that records both the ground relied on and the business reasoning — in writing Verbal or unexplained refusals will not hold up
DATE TBC	Collective redundancy threshold to cover whole organisation The 20-redundancy threshold for collective consultation is expected to apply across your whole organisation, not just per establishment.	Medium	If you have multiple sites, start tracking redundancies organisation-wide Group-level workforce planning will matter more when this takes effect

Proposed but not going ahead — no action required

Status	What was proposed	Current position	What this means for you
DROPPED	Unfair dismissal as a day-one right	Not going ahead	Replaced with the 6-month qualifying period from 1 January 2027. Still requires action on probation — but protection does not start from day one of employment.
DROPPED	Statutory "lighter touch" probation procedure	Not going ahead	There is no statutory short-cut for dismissing staff in their first few months. A full fair process is required for every dismissal from month seven onward.
DROPPED	Right to disconnect / switch off Code of Practice	Shelved for now	Not currently in force. The Government may consult on this in future. No action required at this stage.

Important: This table is a summary reference tool and does not constitute legal advice. Employment law is complex and your specific circumstances matter. Where any of these changes affect your business, seek advice from a qualified HR or employment law professional before taking action. Commencement dates are correct as at 7 May 2026; dates marked "DATE TBC" will be confirmed by further regulations under the Employment Rights Act 2025.

Prepared by What If HR | whatifhr.co.uk | elena@whatifhr.co.uk | Book a free 20-minute call: calendly.com/whatifhr/20min