The Employment Rights Act 2025: the 2026 reforms are now in force. Has your business completed its preparations – and are you ready for what comes next?

With the final tranche of this year’s Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms having taken effect on 30 October, now is a good time to check that your business has made the necessary changes to policies, processes and training, while preparing for the significant reforms coming in early 2027.

In the final episode of our 2026 Employment Espresso podcast mini-series on the 2025 Act, Jenny Andrews, Siân McKinley and Anna Henderson take stock of key changes already in force, highlight outstanding action points and explain the latest changes to the implementation timetable.

The episode covers:

• Your 2026 checklist: from sick pay, family leave and holiday records to preparing for union access requests and strengthening harassment prevention, including in relation to third parties.
• What has moved, and what has not: the duty to inform workers of their right to join a union is now expected on 1 January 2027, while the fire and rehire restrictions have moved to March 2027. The unfair dismissal reforms remain scheduled for 1 January 2027, with important year-end implications for employers considering dismissals.
• The rest of 2027: the newly announced timetable for further reforms, including equality action plans, bereavement leave, collective redundancy consultation changes, NDA restrictions, strengthened flexible working rights and enhanced dismissal protections for those taking family leave. We will explore these changes and how to prepare for them in next year’s podcasts.