Black Mountain UK HR Newsletter: Employment Rights Bill
What to expect from the Employment Rights Bill in 2026 & 2027
Nearly the end of the first quarter of 2026 and the Employment Rights Bill changes are starting to
trickle through, so we anticipate a busy time keeping up with the changes to policies, contracts and
making sure managers are up to date and able to deal with the changing landscape of employment
and employees.
In addition, the following new measures have also gone through quietly and will be implemented
from April:
Employers have a new duty from 6 April 2026 to keep records relating to annual leave and holiday
pay.
From this date, effectively just one working week away, employers must maintain adequate records
tracking their staff’s annual leave and any associated payments.
This can be done in any format the employer reasonably considers appropriate, but the information
must be kept for six years. The information that must be recorded includes:
- Ordinary and additional annual leave
- Annual leave carried forward from previous years
- Details of holiday pay, including which pay elements have been included or excluded
- Any payments in lieu of annual leave, including for carried-over leave.
There has been no explicit announcement from the government, and the new duty is omitted from
the Department for Business and Trade’s timeline for changes being introduced in 2026.
Employment lawyers have spotted the measure in legislation published this week. Reg 3(8) of the
Commencement Regulations brings into force Section 35 of the Employment Rights Act 2025,
namely a requirement to keep records relating to annual leave. This introduces a duty to keep
holiday records under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) from 6 April 2026.
Another measure is the Bereaved parent paternity leave with regulations having been published
which confirm that new entitlements to statutory Bereaved Partner Paternity Leave will take effect
from 6 April 2026. Eligible employees will be entitled to take a single period of leave, which must
begin within eight weeks of the bereavement, and must end no more than 52 weeks after the child
is born or placed for adoption.
Under this new ‘day one’ right, eligible employees will be entitled to take statutory bereaved partner
paternity leave where the child’s primary carer dies during the 52 weeks after the child is born or
placed for adoption. To be eligible, the employee will need to have the main responsibility for the
upbringing of the child and to meet one or more of a list of relationship conditions outlined in the
regulations. Those with qualifying relationships include the child’s father, the spouse, civil partner
or partner of the child’s mother and the spouse, civil partner or partner of the child’s adopter.
There is no new statutory entitlement to pay for bereaved partner paternity leave, but the
employee’s entitlement to statutory paternity pay, if eligible, is unaffected. Employers can of course
choose to put in place enhanced pay arrangements, and what enhanced pay arrangements to put
in place is something that you may wish to consider when you look to update your paternity and
other family-leave policies in light of this reform.
In the last week the redundancy weekly figure has been updated and is confirmed below.
Weekly wage figure for the purposes of calculating statutory redundancy:
- Previous: £719.00 per week
- New: £751.00 per week
The maximum statutory redundancy amount is now £22,530.
Updated Employment Rights Act 2025 timeline
Measures that took effect on 18 February 2026
- Repeal of majority of the Trade Union Act 2016, simplifying requirements on trade unions,
- including in relation to industrial action and political funds
- Removal of the 10-year ballot requirement for trade union political funds
- Simplification of notices of industrial action and industrial action ballots
- Protections against dismissal for taking industrial action
1 April 2026
Measure taking effect on 1 April 2026
Repeal of the levy that trade unions and employer associations pay to the Certification Officer.
6 April 2026
Measures taking effect on 6 April 2026
- Duty to keep holiday records – This measure has not been communicated by government,
- but an ERA commencement order changing the Working Time Regulations 1998 was
- published w/c 23 March 2026.
- Collective redundancy protective award – doubling the maximum period of the protective
- award
- ‘Day-one’ paternity leave and unpaid parental leave
- Whistleblowing – strengthening protections for workers who ‘blow the whistle’ on sexual
- harassment
- Bereaved partners’ paternity leave – (non-ERA measure) will enable bereaved fathers and
- partners to take up to 52 weeks’ paternity leave if the mother or primary adopter dies
- within the first year of child’s life
- Statutory sick pay (SSP) – removal of the lower earnings limit (LEL) and the three-day
- waiting period
- Action plans on gender equality and supporting employees through the menopause
- (voluntary)
- Menopause guidance
- Simplification of trade union recognition process.
7 April 2026
Measure taking effect on 7 April 2026
- Establishment of the Fair Work Agency.
October 2026
- Measures taking effect in October 2026
- Bringing forward regulations to establish the Fair Pay Agreement Adult Social Care
- Negotiating Body in England
- Procurement – two-tier code
- Tightening tipping law
- Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union
- Strengthening trade unions’ right of access
- Requiring employers to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their
- employees
- Introducing an obligation on employers not to permit the harassment of their employees
- by third parties
- Introducing a power to enable regulations to specify steps that are to be regarded as
- ‘reasonable’, to determine whether an employer has taken all reasonable steps to prevent
- sexual harassment
- Unfair practices in the trade union recognition process
- New rights and protections for trade union representatives
- Extending protections against detriments for taking industrial action.
October 2026
Measure taking effect no earlier than October 2026
- Employment tribunal time limits.
December 2026
Measure taking effect in December 2026
- Commencement of the Mandatory Seafarers’ Charter.
January 2027
Measures taking effect in January 2027
- Reduction of unfair dismissal qualifying period from two years to six months, for
- dismissals from 1 January 2027, and uncapping compensatory awards.
- Fire and rehire protections.
Probationary Periods
Now is the time to be looking at what your probationary periods should look like when the 2 year
employment before unfair/constructive dismissal can be applied is changed to 6 months.
We are advising clients to look at having a complete probationary approach which sits within the 6
months i.e. 3 month probation with possible extension of 3 months if there are any issues with
performance or conduct.
Below we have summarised an ideal probationary approach that is aligned with the Employment
Rights Act 2025 / Employment Rights Bill reforms, particularly the 6 month unfair dismissal
qualifying period taking effect from 1 January 2027. This change will apply to anyone being
employed from July 2026.
1. Employers must make a fair, evidenced decision on suitability before the employee
reaches 6 months’ service or be prepared to justify dismissal to tribunal standards.
2. Ideal probation length and structure
Recommended structure
- Contractual probation period: 3–4 months
- Formal review points built in well before month 6
- Right to extend probation (e.g. by 1–2 months) where genuinely justified and
- documented
This avoids decisions drifting beyond the six-month protection threshold, which
significantly increases legal exposure.
3. What “good probation” now needs to look like
From day one
- Clear role expectations and standards set at induction
- Measurable objectives and behavioural expectations documented
- Confirmation of probation length, review dates, and possible outcomes
This is consistently identified by CIPD and legal commentators as essential under the new
regime.
During probation (not just at the end)
- Regular, documented check-ins (e.g. 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks)
- Constructive feedback and coaching
- Support, training or adjustments offered where gaps are identified
A “wait and see” approach is explicitly warned against under the new law, because it
undermines fairness and evidence.
4. Managing performance or conduct concerns if concerns arise
An ideal probation approach requires:
- Concerns raised promptly and clearly
- Specific examples provided
- Reasonable opportunity to improve (even during probation)
- Review meetings documented
While the dismissal process can still be simpler than post-probation, employers must show a
reasonable decision-making process, not a summary dismissal.
5. End-of-probation decision making before 6 months’ service
You should make a clear, evidenced decision to:
- Confirm appointment
- Extend probation (with reasons and objectives)
- Terminate employment
Failure to actively decide before the 6month point is repeatedly highlighted as a major risk
area under the new framework within the Employment Rights Bill.
Dismissal during probation
Best-practice (and defensible) approach:
- Invite to a probation review meeting
- Explain concerns and evidence
- Allow the employee to respond
- Confirm decision in writing with reasons
This aligns with the “lighter-touch but still fair” procedural expectations now emerging from
guidance.
6. Manager capability is now critical
The Employment Rights reforms shift risk from policy to manager behaviour:
- Managers must understand that probation is not a risk-free dismissal
- Documentation quality matters
- Consistency across employees matters
7. What an “ideal” probation policy achieves
An ideal probationary approach under the new Employment Rights framework:
- Protects the organisation from unfair dismissal claims
- Treats employees fairly and transparently
- Encourages early performance management
- Produces a clear audit trail
- Supports successful onboarding, not just exits
The HR Team here will be reviewing all HR client policies in relation to probation to ensure that they
are updated and fit for purpose moving forward. We would recommend and advise that all
managers undertake a refresher with us to ensure that they are up to date and aware of the risks
of not following a clear and robust process in relation to probation. Please reach out if you wish to
arrange this.
Additional upcoming changes
Strengthening of flexible working
Expected late 2026 (consultation ongoing)
- Further reforms building on the current day one right to flexible working
- Government consultation is currently considering improved access to flexible working,
- reduced scope to refuse requests and stronger procedural requirements for employers.
- Final details will be set out in regulations following the consultation, but employers should
- expect greater scrutiny of decision making and refusals.
Restrictions on NDAs and confidentiality clauses
Expected late 2026
- Limits to be implemented on the use of confidentiality clauses in cases involving sexual
- harassment and discrimination.
- Alignment with strengthened whistleblowing protections where harassment is disclosed.
Zero-hours and low-hours contract reforms
Expected late 2026/2027 –following consultation and regulations.
- Introduction of a right to guaranteed hours for workers who regularly work more hours than
- their contract provides.
- Employers will be required to offer a contract reflecting actual hours worked over a
- reference period.
- New rights to include:
- Reasonable notice of shifts
- Compensation for cancelled, curtailed or moved shifts.
- Previous “right to request predictable working patterns” will be replaced with a stricter
framework.
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