Here at Slice, we don’t want you to wait until the changes come in to update your HR Policies and Procedures, we know that getting ahead is best and being prepared for the changes will allow time for you and your staff to ensure you are compliant. That is why if you sign up to a retainer today you will get all your HR support inclusive of the planned changes!
Employment Legislation Update 2026 and Beyond.
The Employment Rights Bill is expected to become law before the end of 2025. This means important changes to employment law. A few changes are expected to happen when the Bill becomes law or soon after. Most changes will happen in 2026 and 2027. The Bill is currently going through parliament. It may have further changes added before becoming law. When it becomes law, the Bill will introduce additions and amendments to existing legislation, including the Employment Rights Act 1996.
It is important to get familiar with these changes and ensure that your business is compliant. We will go through each one in the Slice tone you have come to know and love (i.e. no BS) and don’t forget we are at the end of the phone/email if you have any queries. This third blog focuses on the changes planned for 2027.
The government has not announced when in 2027 most of these changes are expected.
Important: Many of these proposed changes are subject to government consultations. The details might change.
Unfair dismissal
Protection from unfair dismissal is expected to become a right after 6 months of being in a job. Currently, someone must have worked for their employer for 2 years before claiming unfair dismissal.
Unfair dismissal was previously expected to become a right from the first day of employment. The government changed this in December 2025.
Increased pregnancy and maternity rights
The Bill intends to strengthen protections against dismissal for pregnant workers and those returning from maternity leave.
Bereavement leave
A new right to statutory bereavement leave is expected. It’s not known yet whether this will be paid or unpaid leave.
Zero-hours contracts
Workers on zero-hours contracts are likely to get the right to guaranteed working hours, if they want them.
Compensation for cancelled shifts
It’s expected that workers will have the right to be paid if a shift is cancelled, moved to another date, or cut short by an employer.
Flexible working
An amendment to flexible working law is expected in 2027. If an employer rejects a flexible working request because of a genuine business reason, they will have to:
- state the reasons
- explain why they believe their refusal is reasonable
Doing this is already good practice. But it’s expected to become a legal requirement.
Further harassment change
It’s expected that the law will specify what ‘reasonable steps’ means when preventing sexual harassment, following earlier changes in October 2026.
Mandatory gender pay gap and menopause action plans
It’s expected that action plans around menopause and gender pay gaps will become mandatory, following their voluntary introduction in April 2026.
Collective redundancy
These collective redundancy changes are expected in 2027:
- employers will need to consider the total number of redundancies across their whole organisation, not just individual workplaces – currently, collective redundancy rules only apply to individual workplaces
- increased collective redundancy protection for workers on ships that regularly operate from British ports but are registered outside Great Britain
2027 trade union changes
- extending laws that protect trade union members from discrimination and being ‘blacklisted’
- a new industrial relations framework, to modernise the legal framework that underpins trade unions
Regulation of umbrella companies
It’s expected the definition of agencies will be expanded to include ‘umbrella companies’. This will allow enforcement by the relevant bodies.
Next week we will sum why it important to know about these changes and how Slice can help