Employment law changes 2026 and 2027: small business action list

Employment-law updates often arrive as a long list of changes. A small business then has to work out which items mean a document, a process or a conversation has to change, and which can wait.

A useful approach is a short action list sorted by status rather than by headline. Each item names the change, its status and date, the document or process it touches, the person responsible, and the decision still needed. This guide gives you the list as checked on 13 September 2026. The dates themselves are kept on our Employment Rights Act key dates page, which is checked monthly.

Sort the list by status, not by headline

Four labels do the work: in force, scheduled with a date, enacted without a date, and proposed. The government's implementation timetable is the source for the first three. It was last updated on 25 August 2026 and states that all future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes and may change. Government implementation timetable. Acas keeps a dated list of the same measures, grouped slightly differently. Acas on the Employment Rights Act 2025.

Keep the source link and the date you last checked it next to each item. When guidance changes, you will know which entries to revisit.

Already in force: check these happened

Since 6 April 2026, statutory sick pay is paid from the first day of sickness and the lower earnings limit has gone, under regulations made in March 2026. SI 2026/373. The current rate is £123.25 a week or 80 per cent of normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower, paid for the full days off sick that the person would normally have worked. GOV.UK on statutory sick pay. Check that payroll settings and the absence policy no longer mention waiting days.

From the same date, paternity leave and unpaid parental leave are day-one rights. Acas on the Employment Rights Act 2025. Employers must also keep records of holiday taken, holiday carried over, holiday pay and any payment in lieu for at least six years. Acas on keeping holiday records. Decide where that record lives and who keeps it.

Since 6 April 2026, a report of sexual harassment has been a qualifying disclosure under whistleblowing law, so the person who raises it is protected from detriment and dismissal for doing so. That belongs in the grievance and whistleblowing wording. Acas on the Employment Rights Act 2025. And the Fair Work Agency launched on 7 April 2026. It currently enforces workplace rights including the minimum wage, regulates employment agencies and licenses gangmasters; the government page says it will take on holiday pay and statutory sick pay enforcement over time, and that holiday pay enforcement will not start before April 2027. Government guidance on the Fair Work Agency.

Book the October and November changes

All the items in this section are scheduled and carry the timetable's caveat that dates may change. From 1 October 2026, the time limit for most tribunal claims rises from three months to six. For breach-of-contract claims in Scotland the date is due to be 9 November 2026, under a Scottish order still in draft. Government guidance on tribunal time limits. The task is administrative: keep leaver and dismissal records for longer than you may have done.

From 30 October 2026, the sexual-harassment duty becomes a duty to take all reasonable steps, and employers become liable for harassment by third parties unless they took those steps. Acas on the harassment law changes. Our guide to reviewing practical prevention arrangements covers the risk review and reporting route.

Also from 30 October 2026, employers are due to give workers a written statement of the right to join a trade union with their statement of particulars, and at other times still to be set in regulations; guidance is expected in September 2026. Union access rights are scheduled for the same date, subject to parliamentary approval, and the Central Arbitration Committee, the body that decides union recognition and access disputes, cannot impose an access agreement on an employer with fewer than 21 workers. Where a request does arrive, the employer must respond within 15 working days, and employer and union have 25 working days to negotiate an access agreement. Government guidance on trade union reform.

Get probation ready for January 2027

Regulations made on 26 May 2026 bring the six-month unfair-dismissal qualifying period into force on 1 January 2027. They apply where the effective date of termination falls on or after that date, even if notice was given before it. SI 2026/559. The right to request written reasons moves to six months at the same time, and the cap on compensatory awards will be removed. The changes apply in England, Scotland and Wales. Government guidance on unfair dismissal rights.

Acas notes that someone who already has six months' service on 1 January 2027 will be protected from that date. Acas on probation periods. In practice that means anyone who started on or before 1 July 2026 is inside the new rule from its first day.

An internal probation period does not remove statutory rights. Acas says that ending probation before six months does not avoid legal risk. Acas on probation periods.

A dismissal still needs a fair reason and a fair procedure, and Acas states that any separate capability procedure must be in line with the Acas Code. Acas disciplinary procedure step by step. What helps is a review rhythm with records, which our probation checklist for the six-month unfair dismissal qualifying period sets out. Protections against dismissing staff who refuse a contract change are on the timetable for January 2027 too. Government implementation timetable.

Give each item an owner and a review date

For most businesses of this size the list fits in one table. The status column is the one to keep honest.

Scroll across the table if needed.

The 2027 list without dates is real but not yet actionable: guaranteed hours and shift notice, bereavement leave including pregnancy loss, changes to flexible working, stronger pregnancy and maternity protection. For guaranteed hours and shift notice the timetable says timings will be updated after consultation; the rest carry no date yet. Government implementation timetable. Put them on the list as enacted, undated, with nobody's time spent yet.

Pick a recurring time to look at the list. Ask what changed, what was completed and what needs a decision. Put those questions in front of the people who do the work; one short conversation with a manager and the payroll contact often reveals a handover that needs attention as well as a policy paragraph.

An action list that shows one policy ready for approval, a manager briefing booked and a payroll question awaiting an answer is more useful than declaring the business ready without the evidence behind it. For anything that touches an individual, check the current Acas guidance and seek appropriate advice before acting.

Common questions

Is the six-month unfair dismissal qualifying period already law?

The regulations were made on 26 May 2026 and it is scheduled to come into force on 1 January 2027 for dismissals whose effective date of termination falls on or after that date. The government timetable still notes that future dates may change. SI 2026/559.

When do employment tribunal time limits change to six months?

Scheduled for 1 October 2026 for most claims, up from three months. For breach-of-contract claims in Scotland the date is 9 November 2026. Government guidance on tribunal time limits.

Do trade union access rights apply to a business with 15 staff?

Union access rights are scheduled for 30 October 2026, subject to parliamentary approval. Under them the Central Arbitration Committee will not be able to impose an access agreement on an employer with fewer than 21 workers across all its workplaces. The written statement of the right to join a trade union, scheduled from the same date, carries no size threshold on the government page. Government guidance on trade union reform.

What do small employers need to do before 30 October 2026?

Assess sexual harassment risks, put a reporting route in place and brief managers, because on that date, as scheduled, the duty becomes all reasonable steps and extends to third parties; add a placeholder for the trade-union rights statement to the onboarding pack; and keep leaver records for the six-month tribunal window scheduled to start on 1 October 2026. Acas on the harassment law changes.