26 for 2026

26 Things Employers Need to Have on the Radar for 2026

1

Almost boring now, I know, but despite saying these are in no particular order you can’t write a piece about employment law in 2026 without mentioning the Employment Rights Bill right off the bat. Although we now have some clarity following the Bill being passed by MPs on the 15 December, there is still some uncertainty about when and how each of the much talked about provisions in the Bill will come into force.  Implementation is going to be phased (in some cases following consultation) during 2026 and 2027 but one thing is certain and that is that 2026 is going to be a year of change – employers should gear up early to get ahead.

2

Paternity Leave (expected April 2026) is likely to become a “day one right”, rather than the current requirement that employee must have at least 26 weeks service to qualify. Updates to current policy documents will be required to reflect that change.

3

Sexual Harassment Whistleblowing – (expected April 2026). Disclosures of sexual harassment are expected to become qualifying disclosures under the Public Interest Disclosure Act (aka whistleblowing legislation).  Those making such disclosures will therefore be protected from unfair dismissal and detriment.  Employers will need to be mindful of their management of formal grievances, as well as any sexual harassment allegations that may be raised over email, messages or in conversation.   It is going to be even more important to ensure that any concerns raised are appropriately addressed and the risk of allegations of victimisation minimised.  Sign up for our Managing Sexual Harassment Allegations webinar here.

4

Unfair Dismissal Becoming a Day One Right – this needs no introduction, having been a staple topic in the media since Labour’s manifesto, although it has been kicked around in policy circles for well over a decade. We now have clarity that the service required to qualify for protection from unfair dismissal will reduce from 2 years to 6 months and that the cap on unfair dismissal compensation will be removed with effect from 1 January 2027.  In the interim employers are likely to continue to see unfair dismissal claims being coupled with claims for discrimination or whistleblowing for those with less than 2 year’s service.

5

Menopause Action Plans are likely to be voluntary from April 2026 and mandatory from 2027.  Employers of choice will already be ahead of the game.  If you don’t have a Menopause Action Plan and would like a template, or to discuss tailoring one for your organisation click here.

6

Statutory Rate Changes – usual annual upgrades on amounts payable to employees on statutory leave and changes to National Minimum Wage. For 2026/7 are as follows:

7

Subject Access Requests – For many employers, 2025 was the year of the SAR, and there can be little doubt that we are going to see more of them in 2026 (thanks ChatGPT). Employers need to be prepared and to react quickly.  Most employers would probably agree that the law in this area clearly needs changing to reduce the current trend of employees weaponizing the management time and cost of dealing with SARs to demand unjustified settlement offers.  However, in the meantime employers need to consider ways to minimise disclosure requirements and keep them proportionate, including by narrowing search terms, time periods and requiring employees to explain the data being sought where requests are unusual.  Sign up for our Dealing with Employee Subject Access Requests webinar here.

8

Collective Redundancy Protective Awards (expected April 2026) – currently set at 90 days pay per affected employee, is going to double to 180 days! With businesses shedding headcount to meet the impact of spiralling costs and to take advantage of automation and AI it is going to be critical to ensure appropriate collective consultation.  Most employers get it right when large scale redundancies are involved but for those that exit employees here and there across a business it is going to be important to ensure that a proper count is kept of the number of exits within the 90-day period and that appropriate attention is paid to the wider definition of redundancy in TULCRA when doing those calculations.

9

Stress Management – my buzzword for 2025 has to be “unsafe” in reference to workplace scenarios where employees felt they were subject to stressful situations or psychosocial hazards in the workplace. There was a marked trend towards the use of the word in employee grievances relating to workplace stressors which traditionally may have been seen as unpleasant or difficult but not “unsafe”.  Employers should be preparing for a world in which we see an increasing number of workplace stress claims – and should be taking appropriate steps to mitigate risk.  Consider widening risk assessment parameters and implementing reasonable adjustments for mental health conditions which may not quite meet the disability threshold but are seen by employees as being disabling.

10

Remote, Hybrid and Cross-Border Working – the trend continues despite some employer push back and increasing border controls, as employees chase the work / life balance dream portrayed on social medial. Employers need to be mindful of the tax, social security, local legislation and management challenges that we have all become familiar with – but also ready to accept that in many instances recruitment without significant flexibility may be complicated. That said, with the job market reportedly being dire and becoming increasingly so, perhaps employees also need to consider that the roles they seek may require them to accept less flexibility than they would otherwise like!

11

Recruitment Challenges – Employers are increasingly caught in a recruitment paradox: they need to fill roles that are on borrowed time. As automation and AI accelerate, candidates are starting to show reluctance to step into jobs that appear vulnerable to replacement, offer limited progression, or risk rapid obsolescence of skills. The challenge is no longer just about pay or perks but about convincing candidates that time spent in the role will build transferable skills rather than leaving them stranded as soon as the technology moves on. Equally in a world where there are so many novel opportunities to make a living from non-traditional side-hustles using freely available AI tools employers are likely to see some challenges in recruitment. Role packages (including flexibility) are going to need to be attractive to a working population who currently see increasing opportunities for entrepreneurship.

12

Dismissal and Rehire – the landscape around “fire and rehire” has been shifting since 2024 when the statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement was introduced. Failure to comply with the Code currently carries the risk of a 25% uplift in ET compensation awards. From October 2026 “fire and rehire” is likely to become an automatically unfair dismissal, save in prescribed circumstances.

13

Harassment Changes – More changes are expected in October 2026 – imposing greater obligations on employers. The current (Since October 2024) duty to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment will increase, requiring employers to “ALL reasonable steps to prevent ALL harassment” and will make employers liable for harassment from third parties unless they have taken “all reasonable steps” to prevent this from happening. “All reasonable steps” will require a pretty serious level of commitment from employers, who will essentially need to be able to answer the question “What more could you have done?”. Likely to be a challenge for every industry but perhaps especially for those operating in very much customer facing sectors such as hospitality.  To join our webinar on Implementing an Employer’s Duty to Prevent Harassment, register here.

14

Tipping – updates to tipping laws are expected in October 2026, requiring employers to consult with the workforce or their representatives before creating a tipping policy and updating that policy every 3 years. Employers should be reviewing tipping policies and ensuring that if those policies do need updating they are ready to align with the changes both on paper and culturally.

15

Bereavement Leave – no real news on this yet. A new statutory right is expected in 2027 although it is not yet known whether it will be a paid or unpaid right. Most employers already offer some form of compassionate leave but with the strains of modern life, an aging population and “family” no longer meaning just immediate kin all employers should be considering a policy review. It’s one of those things that is often put on the back burner and ignored (like preparing wills and other death planning we don’t like to think about) but an unclear policy risks varying treatment – which carries the risk of claims of unfair or discriminatory treatment. Better review, decide and commit to paper.

If you’d like a steer on market practice or deciding what is right for your organisation click here.

16

Flexible Working – Changes to flexible working included in the Employment Rights Bill are not expected to take effect until 2027 but employees will have them on the radar and expect employers to start to behave accordingly. The changes include an employer having to state the reasons for their refusal and explain why they believe their refusal is reasonable. Arguably this is already good practice but with employee grievances on the rise employers should expect employee to challenge decisions, and no doubt raise grievances requesting that refusals are justified with rationale.

17

Vexatious Allegations Aided by ChatGPT – I am not suggesting that every employee complaint or claim is motivated by monetary gain. Most are brought because an individual has been subject to behaviour that they want to stop. Most are brought to redress wrongs in circumstances where employees have unfairly lost employment or been subject to discrimination or other unlawful treatment. However, employers are reporting a greater number of challenges and grievances which appear to have been written with the assistance of ChatGPT or other systems – often inaccurately reflecting the circumstances applicable to the employee and suggesting claims that the employee simply does not have. This is going to translate into an increasing number of employment tribunal claims because employees are relying on advice from systems that respond only to the information in the (often poor) prompt they are given. Sadly, the commercial advice “of pay the claimant or pay the lawyer” is likely to hold true – it is just more cost effective in terms of time and money (despite the fact that a “pay off” culture absolutely drive claims). Given the upward trend in grievances etc, it is more important than ever that employees are not only treated fairly but that they also perceive their treatment as fair in order to mitigate risk.

18

Unfair Dismissal Claims Cap – The cap on unfair dismissal claims will be removed from 1 January 2027. Whilst the majority of ET awards involve relatively low levels of compensation, the removal of the cap will mean that awards could reflect actual financial loss for high earners – putting pressure on employers to reform the way they treat these individuals.

19

ET Claim Time Limits – Hot on the heels of the 1 December extension of the ACAS time limit from 6 weeks to up to 12 weeks, ET time limits are expected to increase from 3 to 6 months in October 2026. Whether it will make an enormous difference to ET time hearing frames given the time that claims are currently taking to get to hearing remains to be seen. However, it will certainly mean that employers and employees have a longer period of time to try and resolve matters another way, whether via ACAS or negotiation. Although perhaps one difficulty will be that without the pressure of deadlines negotiations will simply drag meaning that costs (in management time and cost) for the parties.

20

Mediation – given the increasing number of grievances and ET claims that employers are seeing, it is more important than ever before to resolve grievances in the workplace before they escalate. In my view every ET claim stems from a communication failure somehow – whether from feedback delivered badly, inappropriate comments, people feeling undervalued or not being listened to. The list goes on. Workplace mediation can help stop matters escalating and result in better working relationships. Stop problems before they start.

To learn more about our workplace mediation services click here.

21

Gender Pay Gap Action Plans – It is expected that gender pay gap action plans will be voluntary from April 2026 and become mandatory at or about the same time as menopause action plans in 2027. Employers should be getting ahead, paying attention to their data (gender pay gap reporting has been a requirement since 2017) and implementing voluntary action plans.  Mandatory or not it’s good practice and will help identify potential equal pay issues and other inequalities.

22

Consultations – There are a number of consultations due to close in the first few weeks of 2026, including those on bereavement leave and enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers (15 Jan 2026). 18 February 2026 will see the deadline for responding to the government’s working paper on the reform of non compete clauses – which could shake up a lot of industries! The government is also due to publish a consultation on employment status by the end of 2025 but no news yet on when that will close (or open).

23

Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) – Employers should have the prohibition on non-disclosure
agreements NDAs concerning discrimination and harassment for workers firmly on their radars. It is anticipated late 2026/early 2027) and whilst it is currently only intended to cover workers I expect that there will be pressure to extend this to employees as well.

24

Statutory Sick Pay (expected April 2026) will be payable from the first day of illness. The 3 waiting days currently required before SSP kicks in on day 4 will be removed, as will the lower earnings limit – meaning that all employees will qualify, not just those earning above that current. A much needed befit for employees who find themselves unwell and without pay, but potentially a challenge for employers who currently rely on those waiting days to deter employees who may not be genuinely too unwell to work. Employers will need to update their sickness absence procedures and consider reviewing existing sickness absence management protocols. Sign up for our webinar on Managing Sickness Absence (with a particular focus managing sickness absence for hybrid workers and employees asserting stress) here.

25

Collective Redundancy Consultation – Abolishing the One Establishment Rule – The
Employment Rights Bill provides for a reversal of the Woolworths case in which the European
Court Of Justice held that collective consultation obligations did not apply to the workforce as a
whole but applied only in relation to “the entity to which the workers made redundant are
assigned to carry out their duties” – ie to a particular establishment or workplace. The
Employment Rights Bill changes are expected to impact in 2027 and will mean that employers
will need to consider the total number of redundancies across the whole organisation and not
just individual workplaces. Couple this with the increase in protective awards from 90 to 180
days and it will be critical for employers to keep a close eye on numbers and ensure appropriate
consultation.

26

Trade Union Changes – These are expected to land within 2 months of the Employment Rights Bill becoming law (so potentially late February / early March 2027). The changes will make dismissal for taking part in industrial action automatically unfair, protecting workers for the entirety of a lawful strike rather than the current protected period of 12 weeks. At the same time, changes to the time needed to give notice of industrial action will reduce (14 days down to 10), the period of which industrial action mandates last will increase (6 months up to 12 months), industrial action and ballot notices will be simplified and unions will need a simple majority to vote for action.