UK employment law: Your complete guide to 2026 changes

Several pieces of legislation form the backbone of British employment law. Understanding what each one covers, and which employees it applies to, is the starting point for any HR compliance programme.

These laws often cover a wide breadth of rights, including those around: 

• Employment Rights Act 1996: The Employment Rights Act 1996 is the cornerstone of UK employment law. It governs unfair dismissal, written employment particulars, redundancy payments, notice periods, and statutory parental leave entitlements.

The Act applies to employees (not all workers) and has been amended many times since its enactment, most recently by the Employment Rights Act 2025. For SMEs, the most practical implication is that failure to provide written terms within two months of a start date — or to follow fair dismissal procedures — creates direct Employment Tribunal exposure

• Equality Act 2010: The Equality Act 2010 prohibits discrimination, harassment, and victimisation across nine protected characteristics. It applies to all employers, regardless of size, and covers recruitment, pay, promotion, and dismissal. Employers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees.

For an SME HR team, this means that every people process — from how you write a job advert to how you handle a grievance — must be checked against the Act's requirements.

• National Minimum Wage Act 1998: The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 sets legally binding minimum pay rates for workers across the UK, with separate rates by age group. Enforcement is carried out by HMRC, and penalties for non-compliance include fines of up to 200% of the underpayment, public naming, and — in serious cases — criminal prosecution.

The Act applies to workers, not just employees, so it covers zero-hours staff, agency workers, and casual labourers.

• Data Protection Act 2018 (UK GDPR): The Data Protection Act 2018 incorporates the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) into domestic law and governs how organisations collect, store, and use personal data, including employee data. HR teams are responsible for managing lawful bases for processing, maintaining records of processing activities, and honouring employee subject access requests.

In practice, this means your HR system, recruitment platform, and any third-party tools holding employee data must all be compliant. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) provides employer-specific guidance.

• Health and Safety at Work Act 1974: The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 places a general duty on every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of their employees. This includes maintaining safe premises, providing adequate equipment and training, and conducting risk assessments.

With hybrid and remote working now established across many UK workplaces, employer duties now extend to home working environments, including Display Screen Equipment (DSE) assessments for homeworkers.

• Working Time Regulations 1998: The Working Time Regulations 1998 limit the average working week to 48 hours (unless an employee opts out in writing), entitle workers to daily and weekly rest breaks, and guarantee 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave per year.

The Regulations also contain specific provisions for night workers and young workers. Holiday pay calculation rules were amended in 2024 to address irregular-hours and part-year workers.

Beyond the foundational legislation, HR teams deal with six substantive areas of employment law on a day-to-day basis. Here's what each covers and what your team needs to stay on top of.

UK law prohibits unfavourable treatment connected to any of the following nine protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

Discrimination can be direct (treating someone less favourably because of a protected characteristic – for example, asking a candidate in an interview when she plans to have children) or indirect (applying a practice or policy that disadvantages a group sharing a protected characteristic, unless it can be objectively justified). Harassment and victimisation are also unlawful under the Equality Act 2010.

• What HR needs to do: Audit your recruitment, pay, and promotion processes against each characteristic. Train managers on what constitutes unlawful conduct. Document decisions (especially around pay and selection) so that reasoning is transparent and defensible.

Employees are entitled to a written statement of employment particulars from day one of employment, covering pay, hours, holiday entitlement, notice periods, and other key terms. This is a legal minimum, not a choice.

Zero-hours contracts are lawful but must be used appropriately, workers on these arrangements cannot be contractually required to accept work when it is offered. From October 2026, the Employment Rights Bill introduces new obligations around zero-hours arrangements, including a right for qualifying workers to request a contract reflecting their average hours.

Fixed-term and permanent contracts carry different statutory rights. Employees on successive fixed-term contracts for four or more years automatically acquire permanent employee status unless the employer can justify the use of a fixed term.

• What HR needs to do: Use a standardised contract template reviewed against current legislation. Ensure any variation to terms is agreed and documented. Track fixed-term renewals to identify employees who may have acquired permanent status. Good record-keeping starts here, for a practical overview of tools that support this, see our guide to human resource management systems.

All workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid annual leave per year. For a full-time employee working five days per week, this amounts to 28 days. Bank holidays can be included within the 5.6 weeks or offered in addition and your contract should make this clear.

Holiday pay must be calculated at the worker's 'normal' rate of pay, including regular overtime and commission where applicable. For irregular-hours and part-year workers, new holiday pay rules came into effect for holiday years beginning on or after 1 April 2024.

• What HR needs to do: Review how your payroll calculates holiday pay, particularly for any employees on variable hours or commission arrangements. Ensure your HR system can track leave accurately across different contract types.

Dismissal is only lawful if there is a fair reason (capability, conduct, redundancy, statutory restriction, or some other substantial reason) and a fair process has been followed. Employees with two or more years' continuous service can bring an unfair dismissal claim at an Employment Tribunal.

Note: From 1 January 2027, under the Employment Rights Act 2025, this qualifying period reduces to six months. The Act also removes the statutory cap on unfair dismissal compensation at the same time, making both changes significant for employers to prepare for during 2026.

Statutory notice periods start at one week after one month's service, rising to one week per year of service up to a maximum of 12 weeks.

Collective redundancy (where 20 or more redundancies are proposed at one establishment within 90 days) triggers a legal duty to consult employee representatives for a minimum of 30 days (or 45 days where 100 or more are proposed). Individual consultation is required regardless of scale.

• What HR needs to do: Maintain a dismissal procedure that satisfies the ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures. Document all stages of any disciplinary or redundancy process. Do not substitute documentation for a genuine fair process.

Minimum Wage (NMW) applies to younger workers and apprentices. Rates are reviewed annually and take effect from April each year.

Current rates (2026/27, effective April 2026):

The NLW and NMW are legally distinct from equal pay obligations under the Equality Act 2010. Equal pay requires that men and women receive the same pay for equal work, a separate legal requirement that goes beyond minimum wage compliance.

• What HR needs to do: Audit payroll at least annually, and whenever rates change. Ensure any bonus, commission, or deduction structures do not inadvertently bring pay below the minimum wage threshold.

Every employer must carry out risk assessments covering their work activities and environments. For employees working from home (whether fully remote or hybrid) this includes a DSE assessment of their home working setup.

Mental health and wellbeing are increasingly recognised as part of the employer's duty of care. While there is currently no specific standalone legislation on workplace mental health, the general duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, alongside the Equality Act 2010's provisions on disability, creates obligations that HR teams must manage practically.

Employers with five or more employees must record their risk assessment findings in writing. Accidents and certain work-related illnesses must be reported to the HSE under RIDDOR.

• What HR needs to do: Keep DSE assessments up to date as working arrangements change. Consider HR compliance software to track policy reviews and outstanding assessments systematically.

This is the most consequential period of UK employment law reform in a generation. The Employment Rights Act 2025 (introduced as a Bill in October 2024 and receiving Royal Assent on 18 December 2025) is the largest single piece of employment legislation since the Employment Rights Act 1996 itself. It covers everything from zero-hours contracts and fire and rehire to collective redundancy consultation and trade union rights.

Not every provision is yet in force. Where commencement dates are confirmed, they are stated below. Where they are still subject to secondary legislation or commencement orders, this is clearly indicated.

• For SME HR teams, the most immediately relevant changes are those that have already taken effect, and it is those changes that carry the greatest compliance risk right now. Explore Personio's HR software for SMEs to see how teams are managing policy updates across this period of reform.

• What changed: Employees can request flexible working arrangements from their first day of employment. Previously, a 26-week qualifying period applied.

• In force from: 6 April 2024.

• Who it affects: All employees, including those in their first week of employment.

What employers must do:

• Update your flexible working policy to remove any reference to a qualifying period

• Reduce your response deadline to two months (down from three)

• Document the specific business reason if refusing a request — one of eight statutory reasons must apply

• Train line managers on the new timeline and refusal grounds

Practical example: Emma joins a marketing agency on a Monday. On Wednesday, she asks to work from home two days per week to manage childcare. The employer must consider this request seriously and respond within two months — even though Emma has only been employed for two days. Refusing without stating one of the eight statutory reasons would be unlawful.

What this means for employers: Your flexible working process (not just your policy) needs to be updated. A request form, a clear approval workflow, and calendar reminders for the two-month deadline are practical minimum requirements.

After updating your policy documents, updating your HR compliance software workflows is a natural next step.

• What changed: Employees who care for a dependant with a long-term care need are entitled to one week of unpaid leave per year, taken in half-day or full-day blocks. This is a day-one right, no qualifying period applies.

• In force from: 6 April 2024.

• Who it affects: Employees who provide or arrange care for a spouse, civil partner, child, parent, or any person who relies on them due to disability, illness, or old age.

What employers must do:

• Create a standalone carer's leave policy

• Define 'dependant' clearly in policy documentation

• Note that you may postpone a request by up to one month for business reasons, but you cannot refuse it outright

• Update your HR system to track carer's leave separately from other absence types

Practical example: James's father has dementia. James can take up to five days of unpaid leave per year to attend medical appointments, arrange care, or provide direct support, even if he only started his job last week.

What this means for employers: Carer's leave is distinct from compassionate leave and annual leave. Your system and your managers need to treat it as its own category.

• What changed: Protection now applies from the point an employee notifies their employer of pregnancy, and continues for 18 months after the birth of the child (or equivalent for adoption and shared parental leave). Previously, protection applied only during the leave period itself.

• In force from: 6 April 2024.

• Who it affects: Employees who are pregnant, or who have recently returned from maternity, adoption, or shared parental leave.

What employers must do:

• Identify and track the protected periods for all employees affected

• Ensure any redundancy process considers priority redeployment for those within the protected period

• Update your redundancy procedure and train managers who lead restructures

Practical example: An employee returns from maternity leave in January 2025. A restructure is announced in October 2025, 10 months after her return. She falls within the 18-month protected period and must be offered any suitable alternative vacancy before other at-risk employees.

What this means for employers: A redundancy process that was fair two years ago may now be unlawful. Any restructure involving employees who have recently taken family leave requires a specific legal review.

• What changed: New rules clarify how holiday pay is calculated for irregular-hours workers and part-year workers. These employees now accrue holiday at the rate of 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period, and holiday pay must reflect their average pay over the previous 52-week reference period.

• In force from: 1 January 2024, applicable to holiday years beginning on or after 1 April 2024.

• Who it affects: Workers with no normal working hours, including zero-hours staff, term-time workers, and casual or seasonal workers.

What employers must do:

• Audit which workers in your workforce fall under the irregular-hours definition

• Confirm your payroll system is using the 52-week average reference period for holiday pay

• Stop using the rolled-up holiday pay method unless you are doing so via a separate, transparent line item

Practical example: A school support worker works term-time only. Previously, her employer calculated her holiday pay based on a flat weekly amount. Under the new rules, her holiday pay must reflect her average earnings over the prior 52 weeks, including weeks in which she did not work.

What this means for employers: If your payroll has not been updated since April 2024, you may already have an underpayment exposure for irregular-hours workers.

• What changed: Employees whose baby requires neonatal care (defined as care in a hospital or other approved setting for at least seven continuous days within the first 28 days of life) are entitled to up to 12 weeks of additional paid leave on top of existing maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave entitlements.

• In force from: 6 April 2025.

• Who it affects: All employees (both parents) whose newborn baby requires neonatal care meeting the qualifying criteria. The right applies from day one of employment.

What employers must do:

• Add neonatal care leave to your family leave policy

• Ensure managers understand the qualifying criteria and do not treat a request as a discretionary absence

• Update your HR system to record neonatal care leave separately

What this means for employers: This is a relatively new right. Many HR teams will not yet have a neonatal care leave policy in place. If yours is one of them, creating one is an immediate priority.

What changed: The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025, making it the most significant overhaul of British employment law since the 1990s. It is being implemented in phases. Three waves of commencement occurred.

• 18 December 2025: Minimum service level requirements for strikes, introduced under the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, were repealed immediately on Royal Assent.

• 6 January 2026: Wider restrictions on exclusivity terms for zero-hours workers came into force. The Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 was repealed.

• 18 February 2026: Trade union reforms took effect, including repeal of the majority of the Trade Union Act 2016, simplification of industrial action balloting, and extended protection against dismissal for taking protected industrial action. Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day-one rights, removing the previous qualifying period requirements.

Who it affects: All UK employers. The trade union changes have most immediate relevance to unionised workplaces; the paternity and parental leave day-one rights affect all employers from the first day of any new hire's employment.

What employers must do:

• Update family leave policies to reflect day-one paternity leave and unpaid parental leave rights (in force from 18 February 2026)

• Monitor GOV.UK and ACAS for further commencement dates as provisions on zero-hours guaranteed hours, fire and rehire, and collective redundancy come into force later in 2026 and 2027

• Identify any workers on zero-hours contracts whose average hours may give rise to new contractual rights when the guaranteed hours provisions commence

What this means for employers: The Act's implementation will continue across 2026 and 2027. Several major provisions — including guaranteed hours contracts, fire and rehire restrictions, and the reduction in the unfair dismissal qualifying period — are not yet in force.

Tracking each commencement wave separately, rather than waiting for a single implementation date, is the only practical compliance approach.

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The Employment Rights Bill continues to move through its implementation phase. As of March 2026, several provisions are expected to follow, but their exact commencement dates remain subject to secondary legislation.

Six-month unfair dismissal qualifying period: The Employment Rights Act 2025 reduces the qualifying period for unfair dismissal from two years to six months. The original proposal for day-one protection was dropped by the government before Royal Assent. This is expected to come into force on 1 January 2027.

Zero-hours contract reforms: Workers on zero-hours contracts who work regular hours over a 12-week reference period will gain the right to request a contract reflecting those hours. The Bill also proposes restrictions on exclusivity clauses. Expected to come into force in October 2026, subject to commencement orders.

Collective redundancy reforms: Changes to the rules around collective redundancy consultation are included in the Bill and expected to strengthen requirements around notification and employee representative involvement. Some of the reforms like increased penalties are live as of April 2026 with the others expected in 2027.

How you manage this matters as much as what you know. Modern HR systems can flag when policies are due for review and maintain version-controlled records. See our overview of AI capabilities in HR management systems and cloud HR software for how teams are handling a moving legislative landscape.

Use this checklist to identify what needs attention in your own policies and practices. Each item corresponds to a legal obligation or a 2025–2026 change.

Policies to update

• [ ] Flexible working policy: Confirm day-one eligibility, two-month response deadline, and documented refusal grounds

• [ ] Carer's leave policy: Create a standalone policy if one doesn't yet exist; define 'dependant' and set out notice requirements

• [ ] Redundancy procedure: Update to reflect the extended 18-month protected period for pregnant employees and recent family leave returners

• [ ] Family leave policy: Add neonatal care leave entitlement (verify commencement date)

• [ ] Zero-hours contract terms: Review all existing zero-hours contracts against incoming Employment Rights Bill obligations

Manager training required

• [ ] Flexible working requests: Train all line managers on the two-month deadline and the eight statutory grounds for refusal

• [ ] Discriminatory conduct: Refresh training on all nine protected characteristics, particularly around pregnancy and disability

• [ ] Redundancy processes: Ensure managers running restructures understand the extended redundancy protection for family leave returners

Records to maintain

• [ ] Holiday pay calculations: Audit payroll for any irregular-hours or part-year workers; confirm the 52-week reference period is in use

• [ ] NMW/NLW compliance: Verify current pay rates against the applicable minimum wage tier for each worker type; update immediately when April 2026 rates take effect

• [ ] Carer's leave records: Track separately from other absence types in your HR system

• [ ] Written employment particulars: Confirm all employees have received a written statement of terms from day one

Coming soon: prepare now

• [ ] Six-month unfair dismissal qualifying period: Draft or review your probationary period framework in anticipation of the qualifying period reducing from two years to six months from 1 January 2027. The statutory compensation cap will also be removed at that date, model what this means for your litigation exposure, particularly for higher earners.

• [ ] Zero-hours rights: Identify all workers on zero-hours or low-hours arrangements whose regularly worked hours exceed their contractual minimum

Employment law in the UK changes continuously. For an HR generalist without in-house legal support, keeping up requires a reliable system, not a one-off reading exercise.

Use primary sources directly: GOV.UK is the authoritative source for commencement dates, statutory rates, and official guidance. ACAS provides employer-facing commentary that translates legislation into practical steps. For in-depth analysis, the CIPD publishes research and guidance that is grounded in both legal and people practice. These three sources cover the majority of what an SME HR team needs.

Subscribe, don't search. Most changes are flagged weeks or months before they come into force. Signing up to GOV.UK email updates, ACAS news alerts, and an HR publication like People Management means changes reach you proactively rather than after the fact.

Know when to involve a specialist. For complex redundancies, TUPE transfers, settlement agreements, or Employment Tribunal proceedings, a qualified employment solicitor is the right resource. ACAS also offers conciliation and early resolution support for disputes before they reach Tribunal.

Use your HR system actively. A well-configured HR system tracks policy versions, leave entitlements, and employee data in one place – reducing the risk of an overlooked update creating a compliance gap. HR analytics tools can also surface workforce patterns (such as flexible working request trends) that help you stay ahead of policy pressures.

UK employment law is built on six key pieces of legislation: the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Equality Act 2010, the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, the Data Protection Act 2018, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and the Working Time Regulations 1998.

From their first day, employees are entitled to a written statement of employment particulars, the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage, protection from unlawful discrimination, the right to request flexible working, and carer's leave. Neonatal care leave also applies from day one for eligible parents.

The Employment Rights Bill 2024 was introduced by the Labour government in October 2024. It covers restrictions on fire and rehire, new rights for zero-hours workers, collective redundancy reforms, and a future day-one right not to be unfairly dismissed. Provisions are being implemented in phases through 2025–2027. GOV.UK and ACAS publish updated guidance as each provision comes into force.

The National Living Wage (NLW) for workers aged 21 and over is £12.71 per hour from April 2026.

Yes. Since 6 April 2024, employees have the right to request flexible working from their first day of employment under the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023. Employers must respond within two months and must state a specific statutory reason if refusing the request.

All employees must receive a written statement of employment particulars on or before their first day of work. This must include: the employer's and employee's name, job title and start date, pay and pay frequency, hours of work, holiday entitlement, notice periods, and information about sick pay, pensions, and any collective agreements in force.

The three most reliable sources for UK employment law guidance are GOV.UK for statutory rates, legislation, and official policy; ACAS for practical employer guidance and codes of practice; and the CIPD for professional HR commentary. For an overview of the tools that help HR teams keep policies up to date and accessible across the business, see our best HR tools guide.

Notes and sources:

1. GOV.UK – Equality Act 2010 guidance

2. GOV.UK – Written statement of employment particulars

3. GOV.UK – Fixed-term contracts

4. GOV.UK – Flexible working

5. GOV.UK – Carer's leave

6. GOV.UK – Employee rights when on leave

7. GOV.UK – Holiday entitlement for irregular hours workers

8. GOV.UK – National Minimum Wage rates

9. GOV.UK – Dismissal – your rights

10. GOV.UK – Redundancy: your rights

11. GOV.UK – Statutory Neonatal Care Pay and Leave: employer guide

12. GOV.UK – Employment Rights Bill factsheets

13. GOV.UK – Labour Relations Agency (Northern Ireland)

14. GOV.UK – Browse: employing people

15. legislation.gov.uk – Employment Rights Act 1996

16. legislation.gov.uk – National Minimum Wage Act 1998

17. legislation.gov.uk – Working Time Regulations 1998

18. legislation.gov.uk – Data Protection Act 2018

19. legislation.gov.uk – Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 (Commencement) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/438

20. ACAS – Carer's leave

21. ACAS – Redundancy protection for pregnancy and new parents

22. ACAS – Neonatal care leave and pay

23. ACAS – Supporting mental health in the workplace

24. ACAS – Employment Rights Bill

25. ACAS – Advice and guidance

26. HSE – Display screen equipment (DSE)

27. HSE – RIDDOR

28. HSE – Simple health and safety for employers

29. ICO – Employment practices and data protection guidance

30. CIPD – Employment law

31. House of Commons Library – Potential merits of devolving employment law to Scotland

Last checked on 22-04-2026.