Welcome to Breathe's employment law hub

In December 2025 

The government repealed the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, meaning that employers in selected public sectors can no longer rely on minimum service level rules during strike action.

In effect since 18 February 2026 

A number of trade union and industrial action changes came into force in February 2026. 

• Dismissal for participating in official, lawful strike action became automatically unfair and the previous 12-week safe period is gone. 

• Unions now only need to give 10 days' notice before action.
  
  
• Successful strike mandates can now last for 12 months.
  
  
• The 40% support threshold was scrapped for “important public services” ballots. 
  
  
• Ballot paper and notices have been simplified. 
  
  
• Legal requirements for picket supervisors have been removed. 
  
  
• New members are now automatically opted into their union's political fund.
   

In effect since 6 April 2026

• Unions can now win a recognition ballot with a simple majority vote cast. They no longer need a 40% majority to win.

• Unions no longer need to prove that that a majority of workers are likely to support them when applying to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC).

• Now, anyone hired more than 10 days after a union's application is received is excluded from voting.

Effective from 1 October 2026:

From 1 October 2026, under the Employment Rights Act, employers will be required to make it clear in employment contracts that employees have the right to join a trade union.

You'll also need to prepare a statement that you can provide new joiners with. 

This is designed to improve transparency around union membership and give workers more confidence to join and take part in union activity if they choose to.

The government has stated in consultation that this new obligation requires more than one line in a contract. So, make sure that you write and provide employees with statements that meet government requirements, once more clarity has been provided. 

Expected from October 2026:

It's expected that from October 2026, independent trade unions will have rights of access to workplaces to meet with workers and recruit members (even where access has previously been denied).

This means that trade unions will be able to ask any business with more than 20 employees for both physical and digital access to their workers. This could be in-person meetings, email addresses or online calls. Employers will have 15 days to respond to these requests.

If access agreements can't be reached, businesses can attract fines up to £500,000, depending on the level of the breach.

A consultation is taking place to create a Code of Practice for how this new right will operate and the consultation concludes on 20th May 2026.

Other trade union changes taking force in October include:

• Improved legal protection for employees for participating in lawful industrial action.

• New rights to reasonable accommodation and facilities for trade union representatives.

• Union Equality Representatives will have a formal, legal right to paid time off.

• New rules to stop unfair practices that are intended to influence workers during a union recognition ballot.

• The Adult Social Care Negotiating Body will begin sector-wide "Fair Pay" talks.

In effect since 6 April 2024:

As of April 2024, all employees have a statutory right to request flexible working from day one in the role, instead of waiting six months (26 weeks). Employers must handle requests reasonably, consult with the employee, and respond within two months. They can still refuse, but only for one of the recognised business reasons – and they should be ready to explain their decision clearly.

The change is designed to make flexible working feel more like the norm than a perk, and it sits alongside a wider programme of reforms that are expected to keep pushing work–life balance up the agenda over the next few years.

Effective from 2027:

From 2027, further changes will strengthen flexible working rights, including:

• Employers will have to hold a consultation meeting with employees to discuss flexible working requests before they can reject them.

• When rejecting a request, it won't be enough to just give one of the eight business reasons, employers must also prove that it's reasonable to refuse on those grounds. The explanation must be provided in writing.

In effect since 6 April 2024:

Pregnant employees and certain new parents have an extended period of protection in a redundancy situation. This runs from when an employee tells their employer they’re pregnant or starts maternity, adoption or shared parental leave, through that leave and for up to around 18 months from the child’s birth or placement.

During this protected period, if there is a suitable alternative vacancy, it must be offered to them as a priority before other employees at risk of redundancy.

Expected in 2027:

The Employment Rights Act also confirms stronger dismissal protections for parents, including pregnant women and new mothers on top of these redundancy rules. A commencement date is yet to be confirmed but the changes are expected in 2027.

Since October 2024, all employers have been required to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. This includes:

• Keeping policy and risk assessments up to date

• Providing regular training for staff and leadership

• Having clear communication and documentation strategies

• Using tools like Breathe to manage policy communication and documentation, helping keep your workplace safe and compliant

Although these duties apply employers of all sizes, growing SMEs in particular should see these steps as best practice for building a respectful, inclusive and legally compliant workplace

Effective from 1 October 2026:

From 1 October 2026, sexual harassment duties for employers increase again.

• Employers will be required to take all reasonable steps, rather than just reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. It won't be enough to just have a policy and respond when something goes wrong. Employers will need to be able to show they've actively anticipated risks, planned for them and taken practical steps to prevent sexual harassment before it happens.

• Employers will also become directly liable if a worker is harassed by a third party where the employer hasn't taken all reasonable steps to prevent it. This includes any type of harassment (not just sex) from customers, clients, contractors or patients. This change means thinking beyond your own team and taking steps to manage risks from public-facing interactions too.

In effect since 6 April 2026:

As of 6 April 2026, employers have a legal duty to keep adequate records for holiday and holiday pay for up to six years.

This requirement will be monitored by the Fair Work Agency (more details below).

In effect since 6 April 2026:

Under the Employment Rights Act, employees now have day-one access to key types of family leave, including paternity leave, unpaid parental leave and a new right to bereavement leave. This change was made to make it easier for people to balance work and family life from their very first day in the role.

A new statutory leave type called Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave is also now in force. It was created to fill a specific legal gap for fathers and partners whose partner (the child's mother or primary adopter) dies within the first year of a child's birth or adoption.

This means that eligible employees can now take up to 52 weeks leave in a single block and this leave is also a day-one right.

It's also worth noting a change in leave entitlements specifically in Northern Ireland where Statutory Bereavement Leave now applies to miscarriages and early pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. This change (plus other expansions to bereavement leave) are expected to take effect in Great Britain in 2027.

• SSP is payable from the first full day of sickness absence, removing the previous three-day waiting period.

• The Lower Earnings Limit is no longer a condition for SSP.*

• SSP is accessible from day-one of illness for all eligible employees.

These changes are designed to extend sick pay protection to around 1.3 million lower-paid workers. Employers will experience higher sickness absence costs and need to have updated their policies and payroll processes.

*Keep in mind that the Lower Earnings Limit still applies to other statutory payments like Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Paternity Pay, Statutory Shared Parental Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay.

In effect since 6 April 2026:

As of 6 April 2026, reporting sexual harassment at work is formally classified as a qualifying disclosure under whistleblowing law. This is a significant shift - previously, sexual harassment complaints were typically handled through grievance procedures, but they didn't carry the same whistleblowing protections.

Now:

• Workers who report sexual harassment are protected from detriment and unfair dismissal in the same way as any other whistleblower.

• Any NDA or confidentiality clause that tries to prevent a worker from making a whistleblowing disclosure is automatically void.

• Workers dismissed or subjected to detriment for making such a disclosure can apply for interim relief at an employment tribunal - meaning the tribunal can order the employer to maintain their employment and continue paying them while the case is ongoing.

These changes apply to all workers, including contractors and agency workers.

What this means in practice is that employers need updated whistleblowing policies which explicitly reference sexual harassment as a category of qualifying disclosure. They should also make clear that NDAs can't be used to prevent protected disclosures.

Breathe makes it easy to store and share your policies in one secure place, so everyone knows exactly where to find them.

In effect since 6 April 2026:

If you're making 20 or more redundancies at one site within a 90-day period and don't follow the proper collective consultation process, you already face a significant financial penalty. As of 6 April 2026, that penalty doubles.

This means the maximum protective award increases from 90 days' pay per employee to 180 days' pay per employee.

Expected in 2027:

The government is also proposing further changes to collective redundancy rules.

At the moment, employers usually only need to begin collective consultation if they are making 20 or more redundancies at one site within a 90-day period. From 2027, the proposal is that this threshold would be counted across the whole business, not just individual sites.

This means that businesses with multiple locations may need to think more carefully about redundancy planning across the organisation, even where no single site reaches the threshold on its own.

In effect since 7 April 2026:

As of 7 April 2026, a new government body called the Fair Work Agency will be responsible for making sure businesses are complying with employment law, focusing at first on everyday basics like pay, holiday, sick pay, fair treatment and record-keeping.

It can inspect workplaces without prior complaints, demand documents, issue Notices of Underpayment (recovering up to six years’ arrears plus penalties of up to 200% per underpayment), publicly name non-compliant employers, take tribunal cases on behalf of workers, impose legally binding orders to change practices, and recover its own enforcement costs.

Employers should:

• Review pay and holiday calculations

• Tighten HR and payroll records

• Update contracts and policies

• Clarify that staff know how to raise concerns

• Check agency/umbrella arrangements

• Brief managers on what the FWA is and what it looks for.

For more information on the Fair Work Agency, read our blog. And to find out if your business is prepared, take our free quiz.

Effective from 1 October 2026:

From 1 October 2026, employers will no longer be able to create or change a tipping policy without consulting their workers. While this used to be encouraged, it is becoming a requirement under the Employment Rights Act.

The Act will also enforce a three-year review cycle, meaning that tipping policies must be reviewed at least every three years. Workers must be consulted during the review and be given a summary of the consultation.

If employers do not comply with these requirements, workers will be able to make a claim to an employment tribunal.

Effective from 1 October 2026:

From 1 October 2026, employees will have six months to bring claims to employment tribunals, rather than only three.

For employers, this means disputes you thought had been resolved could resurface further down the line, making diligent, consistent record-keeping more important than ever.

Expected from October 2026:

The UK government is reinstating a stronger 'Two-Tier Code' to protect private sector workers who are on public contracts. It will make sure that these workers receive pay and terms that are no less favourable than former public sector employees working alongside them. The goal is to prevent contracted staff from worse working conditions.

Effective from 1 January 2027

The government has stepped back from its earlier plan to make unfair dismissal protection a day-one right. Instead, the current two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal is being reduced to six months.

This means more employees gain unfair dismissal protection earlier in their employment.

On the same date, the government will also remove the cap on unfair dismissal compensation, significantly increasing financial exposure for businesses.

So, it’ll be even more important for employers to keep an eye on how they manage probation, feedback and documentation during the first six months of employment.

Effective from 1 January 2027:

The Employment Rights Act introduces a new category of automatic unfair dismissal covering most 'fire and rehire' situations. This was originally scheduled to take effect in October 2026 but has been delayed until January 2027.

In practice, this change means it will usually be automatically unfair to dismiss an employee for refusing changes to core terms – such as pay, pensions, working hours, shift patterns or time off – unless the change is genuinely unavoidable due to serious financial difficulties.

Employers will still be able to make legitimate changes, but the bar will be higher. SMEs will need clear business reasons and a well-documented process, including consultation with staff, exploring alternatives and communicating openly about any proposed contract changes.

Expected in 2027:

Statutory bereavement leave will extend beyond the loss of a child or primary carer to include a wider range of relationships and this will be a day-one right. This includes miscarriages and early pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.

The official roadmap indicates that this will take effect in 2027, using the usual common commencement dates of 6 April or 1 October. Until then, employers should keep an eye on government and Acas updates and start reviewing internal policies, procedures and manager guidance so they can update them quickly once the final rules and start date are confirmed.

Scheduled for 2027:

The Employment Rights Act has confirmed that:

• If a worker consistently works set hours over a 12-week period, employers will need to offer them a contract that reflects that. The employee will be able to choose to stay on zero-hours terms - but the offer has to be made.

• Employers must give workers reasonable notice of shifts and provide compensation for any shifts that are cancelled or reduced at short notice.

These changes are expected to come into force in 2027 and will also apply to low-hours and agency workers.

For a full breakdown of these changes and what you need to do, take a look at our zero-hours contracts guide.

Expected Spring 2027 for businesses with 250+ employees:

Large employers will face tougher reporting requirements including:

• Enhanced gender pay data disclosures

• Mandatory menopause action plans to support women’s health and career longevity

These steps are part of a wider movement toward workplace equality and inclusivity, with gender pay gap reporting and menopause action plans fast becoming everyday expectations.

It's also best practice for all organisations to review and prepare for these measures, especially those in a growth phase, as early adoption can support long-term equity and sustainability.

Expected in 2027 for businesses with 250+ employees:

Pay gap reporting is expected to extend to ethnicity and disability in a similar way to gender pay gap requirements for businesses with over 250 employees as part of the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.

The bill is also likely to extend equal pay rights to protect workers from experiencing discrimination.

Expected in 2027: 

Umbrella companies are expected to face tighter regulation, with a greater focus on transparency around how agency workers are paid.

For employers, this means that if you use agency staff or are thinking about doing so, it will be increasingly important to work with reputable providers and understand how worker pay is being handled. Poor practice by umbrella companies could create risk for the businesses that use them too.