UK employment law – a roadmap for significant change

As the Employment Rights Bill makes its way through parliament, charities should be thinking about how the planned reforms will affect their workforce and whether steps can be taken now to anticipate some of the biggest changes to UK employment laws in a generation.

What will change?

The Bill is hefty and introduces employment law reforms in 28 different areas ranging from statutory sick pay to redundancy, unfair dismissal to whistleblowing, and zero hours contracts to trade union law.

Many of the proposals are significant and we’ve listed some of the key things for charities to be aware of below. However, the Bill is still going through the parliamentary process and there have been changes made as it has passed through the House of Commons and the House of Lords. This means we do not yet know exactly which proposals will become law.

The government has published a timetable which sets out the milestones for employment law reform over the coming years, check it out here. Charities should be aware of these dates and should be factoring this in as part of their HR planning and strategy.

Key proposals

Unfair dismissal: right now, employees need to have worked for their employer for two years continuously before they get protection from unfair dismissal. The plan is to do away with the qualifying period, meaning all employees will be protected from day one, albeit there will be a ‘light-touch’ dismissal process that can be followed during the initial period of employment (most likely the first 6 months).

Ending ‘exploitative’ zero-hours contracts: multiple planned changes including a requirement for employers to offer guaranteed hours; rights for zero-hours workers to be given reasonable notice of a shift (and of cancellation or change); and a right to payment for shifts that are cancelled, moved or curtailed at short notice.

Flexible Working: flexible working will be the default unless the employer can prove it’s unreasonable to do so (the Bill contains a list of reasons for refusal).

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): SSP to be payable from the first day of sickness absence and the current three-day waiting period will be removed; the lower earnings limit for SSP eligibility will be removed.

Equality action plans: employers with 250 or more employees will have to publish action plans relating to matters including gender pay equality and supporting employees who are going through the menopause.

Redundancy: doubling the maximum penalty award for failing to comply with the rules on collective redundancy consultation.

Trade unions: employers must tell their workers that they have a right to join a union; trade union officials will have wider rights to access the workplace for recruitment, organising and collective bargaining purposes; new protections for trade union representatives and members; making it easier for unions to get workplace recognition.

Restricted use of NDAs: any provision in an employment contract or settlement agreement will be void if it tries to prevent a worker from making an allegation of harassment or discrimination (subject to limited exceptions).

Time limit for bringing employment claims: extending the time limit to bring claims in the Employment Tribunal from three to six months.

What can charities be doing to prepare?

While some of these changes won’t take effect until 2027, the impact could be significant and opportunities may be missed. Charities should take this opportunity to:

Audit key areas – for example, is your charity reliant on zero-hours workers? How would reforms to SSP impact your organisation’s budget? Being aware of the particular areas of vulnerability and taking steps to mitigate these risks prior to the implementation of the new legislation will be crucial.

Review policies and procedures to ensure they are flexible enough to allow for amendments to be made when the new laws take effect.

Training and awareness – make sure managers and trustees are aware of what’s going to change and be clear about when the new laws come into effect, as there will be a staged implementation period starting in less than a year (April 2026).

Want to know more?

Carala will be at the Charity HR and Legal Conference on Thursday 7 August, delivering a keynote session on the current landscape of HR. Learn more and register here.