A quick look back – what’s already in force?
Some of the key reforms already in force include:
- “Day one” paternity / unpaid parental leave – previous qualifying service periods have been removed.
- SSP reforms – statutory sick pay is payable from day one of sickness absence, removing both the three-day waiting period and the Lower Earnings Limit.
- Collective redundancy protective award doubled – increased from 90 to 180 days’ pay per employee.
- Whistleblowing – sexual harassment complaints now explicitly qualify as qualifying disclosures.
- Fair Work Agency established – a new government enforcement body for employment rights, covering matters such as holiday pay, national minimum wage, statutory sick pay and agency worker rules.
What’s on the horizon?
From October 2026, employers will face enhanced sexual harassment prevention duties and may be found directly liable for harassment of their employees by third parties, unless they take all reasonable steps to prevent it.
The time limit for bringing most employment tribunal claims will also be extended from three months to six months.
Unfair dismissal protection: preparing for 1 January 2027
From 1 January 2027, employees will acquire unfair dismissal rights after just six months’ continuous service, replacing the current two-year qualifying period. The statutory cap on unfair dismissal compensatory awards will also be abolished.
This means that any employee employed on or before 1 July 2026 will already have accrued the necessary qualifying service to bring an unfair dismissal claim when the changes take effect.
In practical terms, six-month probationary periods will no longer provide employers with a safety net, so many employers are now setting shorter probationary periods to assess an employee’s suitability for the role whilst remaining outside the scope of unfair dismissal protection if a decision is made to terminate.
It will be more important than ever to have robust processes in place for managing disciplinary, grievance and performance issues to best defend against dismissal claims, and where such issues arise during the probationary period, they should be addressed as early as possible.
What should employers be doing now to prepare?
Employers should:
- Revisit probationary period structures and consider setting the default probationary period as either five months or four months, with the option to extend by a maximum of one month where additional time is needed to assess suitability, so that dismissals are done before the new recruit has 6 months’ service.
- Embed formal, documented review checkpoints throughout the probationary period.
- Update employment contracts, HR policies and onboarding materials to reflect the changes.
- Deliver meaningful manager training on the new rules, including how to have difficult conversations early and constructively.
- Establish clear, written performance expectations from the outset of employment and address any shortfalls promptly, rather than allowing issues to go unaddressed.
Louise Thawley from the Mishcon employment team writes in greater detail about the practical implications of the unfair dismissal reforms for employers and what they should be doing now to prepare – read the full article here.
You can also access the ERA Hub created by the Mishcon employment team to learn more about all of the reforms under the Employment Rights Act and download guidance notes to help you prepare.
If you require support on any of the changes, including updates to employment contracts / policies, please get in touch with a member of the MDR ONE team.
