The Employment Rights Act has driven huge change in employment law this year already, but is your organisation clear on what should have been done by now?
We’ve collated this handy check list to help you on your way.
Employment Rights Act – updates to Employment Contracts
Probation
Review probationary periods and processes in preparation for the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal reducing from two years to six months from 1 January 2027.
Employers should ensure that probationary periods allow sufficient time to assess performance and suitability, that expectations are clear from the outset and that managers address concerns promptly rather than waiting until the end of the probationary period.
Consider whether existing probationary periods and any provisions allowing them to be extended remain appropriate in light of the new six-month qualifying period.
Sick pay
Update sick pay clauses to reflect the new rules on Statutory Sick Pay, including that SSP is now payable from the first qualifying day of sickness absence and that the Lower Earnings Limit has been removed.
Paid leave
Review and update paid leave provisions where appropriate to reflect any new family-friendly leave rights, particularly where the organisation chooses to enhance a statutory entitlement by offering paid leave.
Employment Rights Act – updates to Handbooks and Policies
Probation
Probationary periods should include a review process so that managers pick up any issues as soon as possible.
Holidays
Ensure appropriate records are maintained to demonstrate compliance with statutory holiday entitlement and holiday pay requirements. These records must be retained for six years.
Harassment
Review and update anti-harassment policies in preparation for the changes taking effect on 30 October 2026, including the strengthened duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and the new protections against third-party harassment.
Family leave
Introduce or update policies on new or updated rights relating to family friendly leave and pay (if applicable) in relation to the following legislation changes:
– Paternity leave became a ‘day one right’, allowing someone to give notice of leave from the first day of employment.
– Ordinary parental leave, or unpaid parental leave, became a day one right.
– Restriction on taking paternity leave after shared parental leave was removed.
– Eligible fathers and partners can take up to 52 weeks of unpaid bereaved partner’s paternity leave if the mother or primary adopter dies.
Flexible working
Review flexible working policies to ensure they comply with the existing Acas Code of Practice and prepare for the further changes due in 2027, including the new requirement that it must be reasonable for an employer to refuse a request on one or more of the statutory grounds.
Whistleblowing
Update whistleblowing policies and procedures to reflect the extension of whistleblowing protection to disclosures concerning sexual harassment in the workplace.
Tipping in hospitality
Hospitality organisations should prepare for the forthcoming changes to tipping legislation, including new requirements to consult workers when developing or reviewing their tipping policies, and to review those policies at least once every three years.
Employment Rights Act – Trade Union updates from 30 Oct 2026
Subject to imminent parliamentary approval, the below trade union reforms are due to take effect from 30 October 2026.
New trade union right of access
Independent trade unions will have a new statutory right to request access to workplaces to engage with workers physically or digitally or both.
Employers should review their existing trade union and employee relations arrangements, brief HR teams and managers and establish a clear process for dealing with statutory access requests.
Further changes to statutory trade union recognition
Unions will be allowed access to workers earlier in the statutory recognition process, once an application has been accepted by the CAC, and applying the rules relating to unfair practices from that earlier stage.
New provisions which will effectively freeze the proposed bargaining unit once a recognition application has been received.
Enhanced rights for trade union representatives
Union representatives will be entitled to reasonable paid time off and reasonable access to accommodation and other facilities to enable them to perform specified trade union duties and activities.
In disputes about time off, there will also be an important change to the burden of proof. In an Employment Tribunal, the employer will be required to demonstrate that the amount of time off proposed by the representative was not reasonable.
Employers with recognised unions should now review their existing arrangements for representatives’ time off and facilities and familiarise themselves with the revised Acas Code of Practice.
Increased protection from detriment for taking industrial action
Employers will be prohibited from subjecting a worker to a detriment where the sole or main purpose is to penalise the worker for taking protected industrial action, or to prevent or deter them from doing so.
This does not prevent employers from responding appropriately to industrial action. Employers will remain able to withhold pay proportionately for time during which a worker takes industrial action.
Employment Rights Act – Trade Union updates from 1 Jan 2027
The new duty requiring employers to provide workers with a written statement informing them of their right to join a trade union will NOT now take effect in October as originally planned, this will now be implemented from 1 January 2027.
New duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union
This is what we know so far from the governments published response to its consultation on the new duty.
A prescribed statement will be provided
Employers will be required to use a standardised statement prescribed by regulations. No amendments will be allowed other than where specific workplace information is permitted.
The written statement will include a brief explanation of union functions, information on recognised trade unions and statutory access agreements where applicable, and a summary of statutory rights of membership.
Employers will need to include a link to the Certification Officer’s list of trade unions within the statement or provide a copy of the list alongside it.
Communication of the statement to workers
New workers will need to receive the statement at the same time as their written statement of employment particulars.
Existing workers will need to be issued with the statement by 5 April 2027. It can be delivered directly or indirectly but must be reasonably accessible.
Where existing workers are informed directly, this must be repeated annually by 5 April.
Where indirect methods are used (e.g. intranet) employers must ensure the statement remains continuously and reasonably accessible and issue an annual reminder of where to find it. If the location changes workers must be informed directly.
Changes to recognised unions or access arrangements
If there is a change to the identity of a recognised trade union or existing trade union statutory access agreement, the statement will need to be reissued within one month.
Ahead of January 2027, employers should review their onboarding processes to consider how they will incorporate the new statement and decide how the statement and annual reminders will be communicated to their existing workforce.
Need help with ERA 2025 legislation?
If your organisation is struggling to keep up with all the changes or you don’t have the HR resource in-house to implement it, our team of experts can step in and help.
They can carry out a detailed HR Audit to pinpoint exactly what needs to be done in your organisation to reduce risk and ensure compliance, and they can even help you implement it too.
Get in touch today to book a no-obligation consultation call.