The UK’s employment laws are changing – and for People & Culture, that’s genuinely good news.
The Employment Rights Bill has now passed into law. Its aim: more security, predictability, and fairness at work. At HappyHQ, we see this as more than a legal update. It’s a moment to pause, reset, and focus on the fundamentals of good culture – the things that genuinely help people do their best work.
What’s changed
Here’s a plain English snapshot of the main reforms:
Unfair dismissal
Protection now applies after six months, not two years.
Flexible working
A Day 1 right. Employers must give clear reasons if a request is refused.
Statutory Sick Pay
Paid from Day 1 of sickness, with the lower earnings threshold removed.
Zero-hour contracts
Workers with regular hours can request guaranteed hours, reasonable notice of shifts, and compensation for last-minute cancellations.
Parental rights
Paternity and unpaid parental leave are now Day 1 rights.
Bereavement for miscarriage
Two weeks’ unpaid leave for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.
Fire and rehire
Employers cannot threaten dismissal to force worse terms.
Redundancy consultation
Workers must be consulted earlier and more clearly in large-scale redundancies.
These changes will roll out through 2026 and 2027, with a new Fair Work Agency overseeing compliance.
What’s working
Clarity is everything.
Most performance issues aren’t about skills – they’re about clarity. Clear roles, shared expectations, and transparent processes matter more than ever now that unfair dismissal protection starts after six months.
Managers as confident communicators.
‘We’ve always done it this way’ won’t cut it. Managers need the confidence, training, and support to explain decisions clearly, fairly, and consistently. Coaching beats control every time.
Feedback that actually works.
Annual appraisals alone don’t help anyone improve. Feedback works best when it’s regular, specific, and tied to clear expectations. Teams need one-to-ones and check-ins focused on what people can do next – not just what went wrong.
Day 1 experience.
Flexible working, parental leave, and sick pay now apply from day one. But a great Day 1 experience is more than policies. It’s a proper onboarding plan and making sure people understand what success looks like from the start.
Predictability supports wellbeing.
Guaranteed hours, advance notice of shifts, and fair compensation for cancellations aren’t perks – they’re the foundation for engagement, trust, and mental health, especially for frontline and hourly-paid teams.
Policies that actually help people.
Policies exist to create fairness, not just protect the business. If they only appear in a crisis, they’re failing the people they’re meant to serve.
What’s holding teams back
Ambiguity dressed up as flexibility.
Vague roles, unclear feedback, and inconsistent decision-making create stress – and under the new law, they also create risk.
Reactive cultures.
Waiting for things to come up – miscarriage leave, sick pay, redundancy consultation – is no longer good enough. Planning ahead is essential.
Fear-based tactics.
Fire and rehire strategies aren’t leadership. The law has caught up with what employees already knew: fear doesn’t build trust.
Unsupported managers.
Managers are now the frontline of culture and compliance. Leaving them to muddle through alone is one of the fastest ways to erode trust across the business.
Annual-only conversations.
With rights applying from day one, feedback, clarity, and development need to happen continuously – not once a year with a form.
The bigger picture
The Employment Rights Bill isn’t about catching employers out. It’s about raising the baseline for what good work looks like. People-first organisations won’t just comply with the law – they’ll use it as an opportunity to build clearer, fairer, and more human workplaces on purpose.
At HappyHQ, we help agencies and in-house teams build strong cultures and the leaders and teams who sustain them. Find out more about how we work at happyhq.co.uk/what-we-do, or say hello at hello@happyhq.co.uk