The scale of what’s changing and why UK Employment Law matters to both sides
UK Employment Law changes affect how statutory sick pay, family leave, unfair dismissal, and trade union rights operate. They also strengthen protections against sexual harassment and change the time limits for bringing employment tribunal claims.
These aren’t abstract rights on paper. They translate directly into payroll obligations, HR process requirements, and legal risk profiles. For employees, some of these changes are genuinely transformative, particularly the day-one rights that eliminate the waiting periods that used to exist for basic protections.
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Employer impact |
Employee gains |
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What’s already in force from April 2026
A lot of this isn’t future tense. It’s present tense. From April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay rules changed significantly: more employees now qualify, with no lower earnings threshold and no three-day waiting period. Employees are entitled to SSP from the day of illness. That last part is the one that catches employers out most often.
Also, from 6 April 2026, Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave became day-one employment rights, removing the previous service requirements for taking the leave. A new right to time off following the death of a child’s mother or primary adopter also came into force.
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The SSP change in plain numbers Before April 2026, SSP had a three-day waiting period and required a minimum weekly earnings threshold. From 6 April 2026, both restrictions were removed. Eligible employees can now receive SSP from the first full day of sickness absence. SSP is paid at 80% of normal weekly earnings or the statutory weekly rate of £123.25, whichever is lower, for up to 28 weeks |
From 6 April 2026, both restrictions were removed. Eligible employees can now receive SSP from the first full day of sickness absence. SSP is paid at 80% of normal weekly earnings or the statutory weekly rate of £123.25, whichever is lower, for up to 28 weeks. That’s not just an HR note; it’s a data management and record retention obligation with a specific window. Employers should ensure they have systems capable of demonstrating compliance with holiday pay and annual leave requirements and retaining the required records for six years
Have you actually updated your employment contracts and HR policies to reflect the April 2026 changes? Or are those updates still sitting in a “to-do” pile somewhere?
What’s coming next: October 2026 and January 2027
The changes don’t stop at April. The next wave arrives in autumn, and employers have a tight window to prepare.
Apr 2026
Already in force
SSP from day one, family leave from day one, holiday records
All three changes now apply. Check your payroll, your contracts, and your record-keeping systems.
Aug 2026
By 31 August 2026
Electronic and workplace balloting for trade union votes
Electronic and workplace balloting for statutory trade union ballots came into force on 25 August 2026.
Oct 2026
1 October 2026
Employment Tribunal time limit doubles from 3 to 6 months
The time limit for bringing a claim to the Employment Tribunal increases from 3 months to 6 months from 1 October 2026. This significantly extends the window for employees to bring historic claims and increases the tail risk for employers from past decisions.
Oct 2026
30 October 2026
Trade union workplace access rights + harassment protections
From 30 October 2026, independent trade unions gain a new legal right to access workplaces in person or virtually. Employers will be required to inform workers of their right to join a trade union. Employers will also be required to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their employees and must not permit harassment by third parties such as customers.
Jan 2027
1 January 2027
Unfair dismissal protections: shorter qualifying period
From 1 January 2027, changes to unfair dismissal protections come into force, including a shorter qualifying period and removal of the compensatory award cap. The qualifying period is expected to drop significantly, meaning newly hired employees can bring unfair dismissal claims far sooner than the current two-year threshold.
The employer pictures what this actually costs and risks
Here’s what most people miss about UK employment law changes. The legal obligation is usually the straightforward part: it gets announced, it has a date, and you read about it. The harder part is the downstream cost: additional payroll obligation, HR policy rewriting, management training, potential tribunal exposure, and the time it takes to actually implement all of that properly.
The third-party harassment provision in October 2026 is a good example. Employers must not permit the harassment of their employees by third parties. In a hospitality business, a retail setting, or anywhere customers regularly interact with staff, this requires an active policy, manager training, and a clear reporting process. It isn’t enough to have a generic harassment policy written five years ago.
Example
A client runs three hair salons in East London around 35 staff in total, a mix of employed stylists and chair renters. When the SSP changes came into effect in April 2026, she assumed it wouldn’t affect her much because most of her stylists had never claimed SSP before. But within six weeks, she had three stylists off sick in the same fortnight, and where previously the three-day waiting period would have applied, now SSP ran from day one on all three.
The actual cost difference wasn’t enormous. But it genuinely hadn’t been factored into her budget. And when we talked about the January 2027 unfair dismissal changes, she’d recently parted ways with two stylists within their first year, in ways that would have been straightforward before the qualifying period shortened; the conversation got more serious. Getting employment decisions right from day one is now a financial imperative, not just a best practice.
The employee pictures what these rights actually mean day-to-day
Honestly, these changes are significant for employees in a way that deserves to be stated clearly without hedging. The day-one family leaves entitlement alone is a meaningful shift previously, employees had to wait 26 weeks before qualifying for Paternity Leave. That waiting period is gone.
The tribunal time limit extension is quietly one of the most impactful changes for individual workers. Three months sounds like a long time when you’re dealing with a difficult dismissal or a harassment situation, but in practice it often isn’t, especially when the first weeks involve shock, conversations, and attempts at informal resolution. Six months is closer to what’s actually needed to make an informed decision about whether to pursue a claim.
“Day-one rights have practical consequences for the balance of power between employers and employees, particularly during the early stages of employment.”
For employees: what to know right now
You can now claim SSP from day one of illness, not day four. You’re entitled to take Paternity Leave from your first day in a new job. From October 2026, you have six months (not three) to bring a tribunal claim. And from January 2027, the qualifying period for unfair dismissal protection is being shortened, meaning you’ll have legal recourse against unfair dismissal much earlier in a new employment. Know your rights and ask questions if something doesn’t feel right.
The financial impact: a rough guide for employers
These aren’t abstract policy changes. They carry real financial implications for businesses of every size. Here’s a rough sense of where the cost pressure lands most heavily.
Employer cost impact by change area
The indicative actual impact depends heavily on your workforce size and sector
- SSP from day one (direct payroll cost) High — affects all employers
- Tribunal risk from longer claim window: High — any dismissed employee
- Unfair dismissal reform (Jan 2027) Significant — probationary workers
- Harassment prevention (Oct 2026) Moderate — training & policy cost
- NIC impact from employer rate at 15% Already in effect — ongoing
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The January 2027 unfair dismissal change (prepare now) The qualifying period for unfair dismissal protection is expected to be reduced significantly from the current two years. The government has consulted on a nine-month statutory probation period with a simplified dismissal process during that window. Whatever the final figure, businesses that routinely make staffing decisions late in an employee’s first year need to review their approach. The risk profile of letting someone go in month 18 is about to increase substantially. |
When did you last review your employment contracts, your disciplinary process, and your harassment policy? If any of those were written before April 2026, they need updating before October.
The honest verdict
The Make Work Pay agenda genuinely does what it says on the tin it shifts bargaining power toward workers and makes it more expensive to run a workforce in ways that cut corners on rights. That isn’t inherently unfair. But the pace of change, the number of separate dates, and the breadth of areas affected make this a difficult compliance environment for employers who don’t have dedicated HR functions.
Small and medium businesses are the ones most exposed. They often operate with informal HR processes built around personal relationships rather than documented procedures, and the changes coming in October 2026 and January 2027 are precisely the areas where informal doesn’t cut it anymore.
The bottom line
If you haven’t updated your employment contracts, staff handbook, and HR procedures since the April 2026 changes, you’re already running with non-compliant documentation, and the October changes are eight weeks away.
For employers, the response to this isn’t panic; it’s process. Getting employment decisions right, documenting them properly, and acting fairly from day one is exactly what the law has always required, just with a shorter window before it can be tested. The businesses that handle this best are the ones that treat good employment practice as infrastructure rather than box-ticking.
At SKZ Accountants, we work alongside employment solicitors to help clients understand the payroll and financial cost implications of these changes, from the SSP hit on their monthly payroll to modelling the cost of a potential tribunal award under the new compensatory cap rules. The legal side needs a solicitor; the financial side needs an accountant. Both need to be working from the same understanding of what’s changing and when.
Need help modelling the payroll and cost impact on your business? Talk to SKZ Accountants.
We’re employment tax and payroll specialists in London, helping UK employers understand the financial implications of the 2026 UK employment law changes, from SSP cost modelling to NIC planning and payroll compliance.
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