Guide
Employment law changes 2026 and 2027: the employer timeline
Updated
One list, in date order, of what you have to be ready for. Undated items are shown as undated rather than guessed at.
Already done: 2025 and the first half of 2026
- December 2025, Royal Assent: repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023.
- 6 January 2026: repeal of the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023; wider power on exclusivity in zero hours arrangements; a large tranche of regulation-making powers switched on.
- 18 February 2026: repeal of most of the Trade Union Act 2016; simplified industrial action and ballot notices; protection against dismissal for taking industrial action; newly eligible employees able to give notice for day one paternity and unpaid parental leave.
- 1 April 2026: repeal of the Certification Officer levy.
- 6 April 2026: SSP waiting period and lower earnings limit removed; day one paternity and unpaid parental leave; collective redundancy protective award doubled to 180 days; whistleblowing protection for sexual harassment disclosures; bereaved partners' paternity leave; voluntary gender equality and menopause action plans; annual leave record keeping; trade union recognition simplification.
- 7 April 2026: the Fair Work Agency established.
Coming: the rest of 2026
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 25 August 2026 | Electronic and workplace balloting for statutory trade union ballots |
| 1 October 2026 | Tribunal claim time limit rises from 3 months to 6 months |
| 9 November 2026 | The same change for breach of employment contract claims in Scotland |
| 30 October 2026 | All reasonable steps duty on sexual harassment, and third party harassment |
| 30 October 2026 | Duty to inform workers of the right to join a union; union access; rep rights |
| October 2026 | Fair Pay Agreement adult social care negotiating body; two-tier code reinstated |
| December 2026 | Seafarer Protection Regulations |
| By end of 2026 | Strengthened tipping law |
2027
January 2027 carries the two changes with the biggest management impact: the unfair dismissal qualifying period drops to six months for dismissals from 1 January 2027, compensatory awards are uncapped, and fire and rehire protections take effect. The rest of the 2027 list is undated: mandatory gender equality and menopause action plans, enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers, extended blacklisting protections, the industrial relations framework, umbrella company regulation, the collective redundancy consultation threshold, flexible working, bereavement leave including pregnancy loss, guaranteed hours and shift notice rights, electronic balloting for recognition ballots, and NDA regulations (gov.uk).
How to read a date on this list
The government's own wording is that all future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes and may change, and that longer term timings remain under review. A date on the timeline is a plan. A date in a commencement order is law. Where the two differ, believe the order: you can check any provision's status on the Act's page at legislation.gov.uk, which marks provisions that are not yet in force.
Building a compliance plan? Sequence it by the dated items. The undated 2027 measures reward preparation of data and contracts, not policy rewrites you will have to redo.