UK employment law changes 2026: your questions answered

Juliet says:

Adding clauses to customer contracts or terms can be a sensible preventative step, especially for third-party risk. But it should sit alongside other measures such as reporting routes, manager guidance and awareness, risk assessments, plus meaningful and timely action when issues are raised.

Juliet says:

While the government isn't expected to publish full guidance on the "all reasonable steps" requirement until 2027/2028, the legislation officially takes effect on Oct 1, 2026. This means you should start preparing now.

The core expectation is that if a preventative measure is straightforward and comes at a reasonable cost, you should implement it. This includes things like a clear anti-harassment policy, regular training, specific sexual harassment risk assessments, visible leadership commitment and clear reporting routes. It’d also be good to set-up regular reviews to check if harassment prevention measures are actually working.

And of course, if harassment is reported, make sure you investigate promptly, act on complaints and document everything.

If you’re a Breathe customer, you can upload your anti-harassment policy to the system and ask employees to confirm they’ve read it. You could also ask your employees to complete the harassment and sexual harassment risk assessment training in Breathe Learn, and you could create and share a harassment risk assessment for the business in the Health and Safety module too.

Juliet says:

It depends on their status. If your volunteers receive any type of reward or have contracts requiring work in exchange for payment, they are classified as workers and you’ll be required to take all reasonable steps to prevent them from sexual harassment. If they are true volunteers, you don’t have the same legal duty, though including them in your prevention plans would be best practice to foster a positive workplace environment and ensure you’re exercising your general duty of care for their health and safety.

Crucially, you may also still face direct legal liability if your employees or workers are harassed by third-party volunteers they interact with during their work hours, unless you can prove you took all reasonable steps to prevent it. So again, we’d recommend including volunteers in your harassment prevention strategy.

Juliet says:

Social gatherings between employees, even if off-site and arranged informally, can be classified as an extension of the workplace. This means that you need to handle any reports of harassment in the same way as you would for complaints made during working hours or in a working environment.

The first step should always be making sure the affected employee is safe and offering support. You should then document the complaint and assess it to decide whether informal action or a formal investigation is needed. If you do need to conduct a formal investigation, you should follow your formal grievance policy. If the investigation shows that some form of harassment did take place, you can progress this to take disciplinary action and this might result in a dismissal for gross misconduct. The most important thing is that you take any complaints seriously, look into them properly and handle them with the right process.

Juliet says:

For a smaller business, “reasonable” harassment training doesn’t need to mean something huge or overly formal. It should be proportionate, practical and regular, for example, clear induction training, manager guidance, refresher training, and a simple explanation of how to raise concerns.

Online training is a great way to tackle this. Breathe Learn - Breathe’s e-learning module - includes harassment and sexual harassment training for employees, with easy-tracking so you know who’s completed it and who hasn’t.

Juliet says:

We’d recommend giving people clear options for who to speak to (for example their line manager, another named manager, HR or a designated contact), plus an alternative route if their manager is involved. Explain clearly how to raise issues verbally and in writing, including key details like dates, times, people involved, witnesses and any evidence. It’s also important to protect confidentiality as far as possible and be open about any limits to this.

You should acknowledge concerns promptly, assess whether informal action or a formal investigation is needed, and ensure they’re handled by someone impartial. Make sure you securely document investigations, what happened and why decisions were made, and offer ongoing support and follow up with people who raise concerns. You should also be clear that victimisation or retaliation will not be tolerated and monitor for any signs of this.

We’d suggest documenting your concern-raising process in a policy or handbook, which can be shared via Breathe to ensure all staff have access. You can also contact Impact HR directly for expert advice on creating your policy and process.

Juliet says:

Yes - examples include clear third-party contract clauses, staff guidance on how to end unsafe interactions, named escalation points, incident logging, signage or written standards for visitors, and adjusting working arrangements where a role has higher third-party risk that might have been identified through a risk assessment.

Jemma says:

Yes, the October 2026 changes do apply to small businesses. All businesses will be required to comply with the duty to inform employees about their right to join a trade union and all eligible unions will have a strict statutory right to both physical and digital access to your workplace to recruit and organise staff.

As for refusing access requests, if your business has less than 21 employees, you may be able to refuse a trade union access request, but only if it would cause unreasonable operational disruption, pose a genuine safety hazard or if you already formally recognise another union for those workers. But you’ll still need to come to a reasonable compromise within 25 working days. If you don’t, the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) can force access to your business and issue fines of up to £500,000.

Jemma says:

After 1 October 2026, all businesses will be responsible for informing their staff of their right to join a union, including any unions your business already recognises and stating clearly if there are none. But legally, you only have to formally recognise a trade union when a union requests it and successfully clears the statutory recognition process.

That said, unions will have the right to request access to your business (digitally or physically) from the same date, which means you might experience an increase in access requests.

Joining a union is typically an individual employee’s choice, and they’re not usually legally required to tell you they’re a member, although they often will if they want representation.

If you want to identify relevant unions and share these with your employees before you receive any union access requests, you can look at your industry and main job types and search for unions that cover those sectors. You can also ask employees which unions they know or already belong to and look on the GOV.UK trade union list. Sharing this list with employees will likely be required under the new legislation.

Jemma says:

Yes. We’d suggest revising your employment contracts and onboarding materials to ensure new hires are aware of their right to join a trade union. But, it’s unlikely this will be enough on its own. The government indicated during the consultation phase that they’ll provide a statement template for you to distribute to your employees.

This required statement is expected to contain several key elements: an explicit declaration of the right to unionise, a summary of trade union functions, and a section to list any unions your company currently recognises (or a note stating that none are currently recognised). It will also likely need to include a reference or direct link to the official GOV.UK trade union list, allowing workers to research available unions independently.

Another important thing to remember is that this won’t be a one-time requirement. The law will require you to re-issue or update this information on a regular basis and share it with all your employees every year (not just new starters).

Finally, it’s worth informing leaders and managers of the trade union law changes and educating them on how to handle trade union access requests and employee questions. Assigning one person in your business to be the go-to person for everything trade-unions would be a smart move.

Orchard Employment Law can assist with reviewing and updating onboarding materials, contracts and statements ahead of the October 2026 trade union law changes. Contact us here.

Jemma says:

You can only refuse an access request if your business has less than 21 employees and if the access request will cause unreasonable operational disruption, pose a genuine safety hazard or if you already formally recognise another union for those workers. But even then, you’re still legally required to agree on a reasonable compromise within 25 working days.

It is also worth noting that an access request should be reasonable, it is not a case of turning up unannounced and will need to be agreed in advance.

Jemma says:

You won’t be legally required to update existing employee contracts to include a statement about trade union rights but you will have a legal obligation to provide existing workers with a statement that informs them of their trade union rights. This statement will need to be updated regularly and sent to workers annually.

If you are not updating existing contracts, you will still need to be able to show that you informed staff that they have a right to join a union. A practical tip is to either request that staff sign a document to confirm receipt of the statement or that you have digital proof that a statement was sent to staff. This could be an email, or update on a HR Information System like Breathe.

Jemma says:

Not always, but it does mean performance needs to be managed much earlier and more consistently than many employers are used to. Clear expectations, regular reviews, documented feedback and early intervention will matter much more, and in some cases that may mean moving into a formal improvement process sooner rather than later.

For some businesses a 3-month probation period with option to extend the probation if you have concerns will be more practical.

Jemma says:

A probation period doesn’t remove all legal risk. The key point is that employers should not treat “failing probation” as a shortcut around fair process, especially now that unfair dismissal protection is being reduced to six months’ service from 1 January 2027.

There has always been an option for staff to claim unfair dismissal even if they do not meet the necessary qualifying period. Examples of this include instances where a dismissal is related to or as a result of discrimination, whistleblowing or requesting a statutory right. The same will apply even when the qualifying period is reduced to 6 months so it is a good idea to have a just reason to fail someone's probation.

Jemma says:

The qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal protection will reduce will to six months for all workers in January 2027, meaning anyone with at least six months’ service on or after that date – including those with under two years’ service – will be able to bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim. Employers should use the lead‑in period to tighten performance management and probation processes, with clear standards, regular reviews, and solid documentation in place before more employees gain earlier access to these rights.

It is important to document any concerns as you may need to rely on them in the future. This does not always have to be formal but may be a note in an appraisal or an email highlighting areas of concern.

Jemma says:

From 2027, workers on casual and zero‑hours contracts who regularly work predictable hours will gain the right to request more stable or “guaranteed” hours. There will also be more scrutiny of how rotas are set, and expectations around minimum notice for shifts, compensation for last‑minute cancellations, and better record‑keeping to support holiday, pay and working‑time compliance.

As for unfair dismissal protections, generally zero-hours and casual workers won’t have the right to claim ordinary unfair dismissal after 6 months because they are legally classified as "workers," not "employees”. However, if their day-to-day reality involves working regular, predictable hours with no freedom to turn down shifts, an employment tribunal may rule they are actually "employees" in practice, which would grant them full unfair dismissal protection.

Many people think that having staff on zero hour contracts means that you do not have to supply a contract at all. This is not correct, zero hour contract workers are still entitled to an agreement between the business and the worker.

For expert help navigating the changes to casual and zero-hour contracts, you can contact Orchard Employment Law here.

Jemma says:

This is one to treat carefully, because jurisdiction, place of work and contract wording can all matter. This probably needs contract-specific advice, and it would be sensible to review and tidy up any contracts where the governing law doesn't match where the employee is actually based.

Orchard Employment Law can support with contractual changes and complex employment law related concerns. You can contact us here.

Jemma says:

Agreeing an end date helps, but it does not automatically remove the risk of dismissal. The fact that the contract and employment are ending does not make it an unfair dismissal by default, but it is still a dismissal, so employers should still be able to show a fair reason and a sensible process.

It is also important to remember that employees who have worked for the business for two years or more might still be eligible for redundancy pay and a fair redundancy process even if the agreement has a fixed end date.

Jemma says:

Six month probation periods can still be useful, but with ordinary unfair dismissal protection moving to six months’ service, it’s important to review your performance processes to protect both employees and the business. You’ll want to be evaluating and acting on performance well before the six month probation comes to an end. This includes things like having more regular structured reviews, setting out clear expectations in writing from the start of employment and documenting all your feedback.

Jemma says:

Yes. While new 2027 legislation means that large employers face new requirements for gender pay gap reporting and menopause support, small employers with less than 250 employees are still encouraged to take a proactive, structured approach.

For gender pay gap reporting, this might include tracking basic workforce and pay data (e.g. gender representation by level and pay band, average and median pay and bonuses and part-time versus full-time status), reviewing any gaps and trends at least annually and agreeing a small number of simple, realistic actions to address the biggest issues you identify.

For menopause action plans, best practice would be to create a simple written menopause policy or guidance note, signpost internal and external support, and train line managers on how to have sensitive, confidential conversations and agree adjustments. You may also want to update other policies like absence and flexible working to reflect menopause related needs.

Orchard Employment Law can help with all of this. And if you’d like free, bite-sized training for your line managers on how to handle difficult conversations and manage people issues with confidence, check out Breathe’s line manager essentials training on the Breathe Growth Academy.

Jemma says:

Primarily, compliance with UK employment law and Fair Work Agency standards or requests, sits with the organisation as a whole. But individual business owners, directors and managers are still personally liable if they are neglectful or fail to follow legislation.

The penalties for non-compliance for the organisation include things like civil underpayment fines, enforcement cost recovery, and public naming of the business.

Individuals can also be imprisoned for obstructing an investigation, providing false data, or failing to comply with labour market enforcement orders. Serious convictions like this would stay on the individual’s personal record and directors could be banned from managing any UK company for up to 15 years under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.

That’s why working together to keep the business compliant and lawful is so important.

Jemma says:

Not all of the Employment Rights Act 2025 changes will automatically apply in the same way across Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Employment law is largely reserved to Westminster for Great Britain, so most core employment rights introduced by the Act (for example around unfair dismissal, redundancy or contractual protections) are likely to apply to Scottish and Welsh employees too. But some areas that interact with devolved matters – such as aspects of tribunals, public-sector provision, or how certain rights are enforced in practice – may differ, and Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish courts and tribunals may take slightly different approaches over time.

Employers with staff in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland should therefore not assume “one-size-fits-all”. Always check Scotland-, Wales- or Northern Ireland-specific advice (and, where needed, take legal advice from a service like Orchard Employment Law) before updating your policies and contracts.

For online advice for England, Scotland and Wales, we’d suggest looking at Acas or Citizens Advice.

For Northern Ireland, you’ll want to look at the Labour Relations Agency, NI Direct Government Services and Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

Jemma says:

As of 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay is payable from the first qualifying day of sickness. Payment is triggered by the start of the sickness (and the employee reporting it in line with your policy), not by the date a fit note or medical certificate is issued. Certification requirements (for example, a fit note after 7 days) don’t change the day SSP starts, they just evidence the continuing absence.

Jemma says:

Yes. It’s still sensible to know what the SSP element is, even if contractual sick pay means the employee receives more overall. That helps keep payroll and record-keeping accurate.

Juliet says:

From 6th April 2026, a new legal duty requires you to keep all leave/holiday and holiday pay records for up to six years. If you’re using Breathe, or another system, to store and track your holiday and holiday pay records, you’re already on the right track.

While you’ll be better protected if you have six years of historic records, there’s no need to panic. The new law only applies to records from 6 April 2026 onwards. But, we’d recommend making sure your current record-keeping process is reliable and gathering as many historic records as you can reasonably access. This is because of the launch of the Fair Work Agency, a new single enforcement body that combines existing enforcement bodies for better compliance surrounding employment rights.

The Fair Work Agency was established on 7 April 2026. It can inspect business premises and issue civil penalties, including retrospectively reviewing and taking action on underpayments.

Juliet says:

Yes, they can sit in a handbook if the wording is clear, easy to find and kept up to date. Or they can be set out in a separate policy that sits alongside the handbook. The important thing is that managers and employees know what the rules are, where to find the information, and that you are clear about what is contractual and what is policy guidance.

Juliet says:

Workers don’t have to use all 28 days of holiday by law, but employers must offer workers their full statutory entitlement and encourage them to take it.In Great Britain, full‑time workers are entitled to at least 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year (28 days for someone working five days a week). Part‑time workers get the same 5.6 weeks on a pro‑rata basis (for example, 3 days a week = 16.8 days). Northern Ireland has similar rules under its own Working Time Regulations. As for carrying over leave, there’s no general automatic right to carry over unused statutory holiday. Whether someone can carry it over depends on why it wasn’t taken (for example, sickness or family leave) and what their contract or holiday policy says.

Juliet says:

Employees in the UK are entitled to at least the statutory minimum annual leave, but employers don’t have to give specific bank holidays off. For example, for those businesses that operate on a bank holiday, this is treated as a normal working day for the employee.

For part‑time employees, total holiday entitlement is pro‑rated to match their contracted days or hours, so they get a fair amount compared with full‑time colleagues. You work this out by first calculating their annual holiday in days or hours, then, if your organisation closes on bank holidays or gives them as leave, deducting any bank holidays that fall on their normal working days from that allowance.

To check you’re paying them correctly for the holiday they take, you should calculate their pay based on their usual part‑time hours and rate of pay. You can use Breathe’s free holiday entitlement calculator to work out how much leave they get, and Breathe’s free pro‑rata salary calculator to check their pay for that part‑time pattern and holiday entitlement.

If a bank holiday falls on a day your part‑time employee doesn’t usually work, they don’t get an extra day off, but you should still make sure their overall pro‑rated holiday entitlement is at least as much as a comparable full‑time employee on a like‑for‑like basis.

The following resources offer more helpful information on this topic:

• Bank holiday entitlement and pay explained: A simple guide

• How to calculate bank holiday entitlement for part-time workers

Juliet says:

If you’re already recording your annual leave, sickness in Breathe, this is great. It means you’ll be ready to provide evidence to the Fair Work Agency if you need to and that your business is well protected. With Breathe, you’ll be able to download reports that show you all of this information so that it can be easily shared with enforcement officers.

We’d recommend that you do add holiday as a separate line on payslips, especially for irregular hours workers. This makes sure there’s no ambiguity and that all your records match up.

Juliet says:

Usually yes, as long as the policy is clear and employees have had a real opportunity to take their leave. The main exceptions are where carry-over rights apply because of the law or because your contract gives extra flexibility.

Juliet says:

Yes, it’s generally fine to pay casual staff holiday pay separately to their hourly rate and to show this as a separate line on payslips (e.g. hours worked = X, holiday pay accumulated/paid = Y), as long as the calculation is transparent, staff can clearly see what they’ve earned and been paid, and the overall entitlement meets UK statutory holiday requirements.

If you’re looking for a simpler approach for your casual staff who work irregular hours or part year, some employers build holiday pay into an enhanced hourly rate using a clearly defined uplift percentage (for example 12.07%, where appropriate) or use payroll settings that automatically calculate and show holiday pay, but it’s always worth checking your specific method with your payroll provider or seeking legal or HR advice from a consultancy like Impact HR to ensure full compliance.

Juliet says:

Yes - absolutely. Having all annual leave records in Breathe will make reporting clearer, and answering queries quicker. It’ll also help you demonstrate good record‑keeping practices for the Fair Work Agency.

That said, accuracy is very important. So we’d only recommend backfilling historic records if you’re confident the information is correct.

Juliet says:

This is only an option for those working irregular hours or part year. This is generally referred to as ‘rolled‑up’ holiday pay which has previously been found to be unlawful until a change in law in April 2024.

You still have the option to follow the relatively straightforward approach to continue calculating holiday entitlement based on the hours actually worked, and then pay holiday when it is taken (or at agreed points, clearly identified as holiday pay on the payslip) rather than folding it into the basic hourly rate.

While the law expanded the lawful use of rolled up holiday for those working irregular hours or part year, it remains unlawful for regular hours workers.

If you have queries about the use of rolled up holiday pay, it would be wise to take specific legal or HR advice on your arrangements. Impact HR can advise on any contract and pay questions you have. You can contact us here.

Juliet says:

If someone works fixed hours and only occasionally does overtime, you would not usually create a separate extra holiday pot each time. But if overtime becomes regular enough to form part of normal pay, it may need to be reflected in holiday pay calculations.

Juliet says:

If an employee’s contracted hours don’t reflect what they actually work and are paid for, holiday pay should usually be based on their actual pay using an averaging method over the statutory reference period (in the UK this is typically the last 52 paid weeks, excluding unpaid weeks). It would also be sensible to check what their contracts say and if needed, issue a contract variation agreement to explain what happens when they regularly work more or fewer hours than stated, including that holiday pay will be based on average actual earnings. But we’d recommend taking legal or HR advice from a consultancy like Impact HR before changing any terms.

Juliet says:

Yes, you are still required to keep records for both holiday and holiday pay. The new legal obligation focuses on your ability to provide evidence of the entitlement that existed, the actual payments made, and the records maintained.

Juliet says:

You’re not alone – this is tricky, especially when hours change.

For part‑time staff, holiday is usually pro‑rata based on the full‑time entitlement, and should be recalculated whenever their contracted hours change. To keep it simple and consistent, you can:

• Check contracts, your handbook and GOV.UK to confirm how you should calculate and round entitlement. 
  

• Use a reliable calculator like Breathe’s free holiday entitlement calculator or an HR system like Breathe that handles part‑time patterns and mid‑year changes and keeps an audit trail.
  

• Record how you’ve worked out each person’s entitlement, especially when hours change (showing the “old” and “new” calculations). Doing this as and when hours change rather than waiting until the end of the year can make things easier.

Impact HR can also advise in this situation to make sure you’re staying compliant and fair. You can contact us here.

Our webinar panelists are experts in performance management and employment law and would be happy to speak to you about any training challenges or needs you have. Contact them via the links below or reach out to any of our other Breathe Partners.

• Jemma Fairclough Haynes, CEO and Employment Lawyer, Orchard Employment Law

• Juliet Irving, Director of HR Operations, Impact HR

• Oli Moreton, Senior Associate Lawyer, Littler

If it’s free, bite-sized training you’re after, try Breathe’s performance management and employment law courses for line managers on the Breathe Growth Academy. They’re led by HR and employment law experts from Omny Group and D O H R.

If you’re a Breathe customer, our Learn module also includes performance management courses for managers and employees, as well as compliance-related courses on harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination and equal opportunity. See Breathe Learn in action here.

The UK government provides a free contract variation agreement template here, but we always recommend seeking HR or legal advice before making any contract changes or agreements, as these can be complex and specific to your situation. Any of our webinar panelists would be happy to help.

• Jemma Fairclough Haynes, CEO and Employment Lawyer, Orchard Employment Law

• Juliet Irving, Director of HR Operations, Impact HR

• Oli Moreton, Senior Associate Lawyer, Littler

Breathe is an HR software company. We don’t provide HR services ourselves and cannot give legal advice. But we do create plenty of free content with the help of our HR consultant partners, designed to help growing businesses with their HR needs. You can find our free templates and resources here.

For contract reviews or tailored HR and legal advice, the best option is to contact Jemma or Juliet, or to speak with one of our other Breathe Partners.

Yes. Breathe lets you book, approve, track, and store holiday records for as many years as you use the system, including six years and beyond. It keeps a clear, central record of holidays taken and remaining entitlement over time. Plus, it’s self-serve so employees can log their own holiday and managers can approve or reject it, without getting HR or admin users involved.

The first time you use Breathe, just like any other HR software, you’ll need to add any historic holiday data you want to keep. Breathe won’t source or recreate past records for you, but once they’re added, it will reliably store and report on them alongside all new bookings.

Learn more about Breathe here or try it out for yourself - it’s free for 14 days, no credit card required.

If you’ve used one of the free Breathe calculators on our website, you can take a screenshot of the results. Instructions on how to do this on a Windows computer are here, and instructions on how to do this on a Macbook are here. For record-keeping purposes, it’d be best to keep this file digitally, so it’s secure and you can easily evidence it if needed.

But if you’d like to print it out also, you can. Once you’ve taken a screenshot, it’ll be saved to your device and you can print it out the same as you would print out any other image or file on your computer. For best quality, we’d recommend printing the screenshot as a PDF. The easiest way to do this is to use Adobe’s free online convertor tool to convert the screenshot image file into a PDF and then print the PDF from your computer as normal.

Yes, absolutely. Our employment law hub page is the best place to start. Here you’ll find all the latest employment law changes and plenty of free tools, templates and resources you can use. These include:

• Compliance checklist for SMEs

• eGuide: 2026-2027 employment law changes: the complete guide for HR and line managers

• Line manager training: Employment law essentials for line managers

• Blog: April 2026: changes in employment law & what SMEs need to do

• Blog: The Fair Work Agency: what UK employers need to know

• Blog: Four 2026/27 employment law changes SMEs should act on now

• Quiz: Are your employment law basics in good shape for 2026?

• Quiz: Are your employment law basics FWA ready?

We’ve also got several calculators to help make calculating everyday employment basics easier, such as:

• Holiday entitlement calculator

• Statutory Sick Pay calculator

• Pro-rata salary calculator

• Maternity leave calculator

• Paternity leave calculator

• Employer national insurance contributions calculator

• Redundancy pay calculator

These are all up-to-date with the latest figures and legislation.

Jemma says:

There’s no automatic legal right in the UK to paid time off specifically for routine doctor or dental appointments, so whether time has to be allowed – and whether it’s paid – will usually depend on your contracts, policies and other UK law (for example, disability‑related reasonable adjustments or pregnancy‑related appointments). You can treat them as unpaid time or ask employees to make up the time later or use annual leave, but again this doesn’t apply to pregnancy‑related or disability‑related medical appointments. Time off for antenatal appointments is a legal right and must be paid.

Other types of medically related absence (such as sickness absence) may instead fall under your normal sick pay or unpaid leave arrangements.

Many employers ask employees to arrange appointments outside working hours where possible, but it’s good practice to be flexible, especially where this isn’t realistic or where regular treatment is linked to a health condition or disability.

If medical appointments are regular, it’s worth meeting with the employee to understand the situation and put in place some reasonable adjustments if needed.

Juliet says:

A practical working time policy for a small business should clearly set out your normal working hours, how breaks and daily/weekly rest work in line with the law, and simple rules for overtime (when it’s agreed, whether it’s paid or taken as time off in lieu, and who can authorise it). It should briefly cover how you record hours (for example, basic timesheets or rota software), how you’ll make sure no one regularly exceeds safe or legal limits, and how flexible, part-time or hybrid patterns are handled so expectations feel fair across the team. Signposting other related policies is also a good idea and make sure to explain who employees can speak to if they have concerns about their hours or workload.

Jemma says:

When we talk about factoring in unpaid time when checking worker pay, we mean you should consider any required work tasks that employees carry out which aren’t properly recorded or paid, and how these affect their wages. This could include things like mandatory preparation time, travel between different work assignments, or other compulsory activities. You need to make sure that, once this unpaid time is taken into account, you’re still paying your workers above the minimum wage and complying with working time regulations.

Juliet says:

In most cases, normal commuting time between home and your usual place of work does not have to be paid, as it generally isn’t counted as working time. But, travel that forms part of an employee’s duties – for example, visiting clients during the day, travelling between sites, or (in many cases) travelling to a temporary workplace – is typically treated as working time and should be paid in line with the employment contract and any applicable law. Remember also that unpaid travel time must not reduce a worker’s average pay below the legal minimum or conflict with working time regulations.

Jemma says:

A good recruitment and selection process is different for every business but it should always be clear, consistent and fair from start to finish. A well-defined role profile and inclusive job advert is a great place to start. You should avoid discriminatory language or criteria, and use structured, skills-based selection methods (like standardised interview questions and scoring) aligned to the job. Make sure candidates understand what to expect, how their data will be used and stored, and have a positive, respectful experience at every stage.

Recruitment decisions should always be based on objective evidence, not protected characteristics or assumptions, and documented carefully to demonstrate fairness and legal compliance.

Offering candidates feedback, providing a thoughtful onboarding experience and regularly reviewing your process for bias and effectiveness are all important too.