Guidance from an HR consultant in Belfast on the Employment Rights Act changes already in force, what’s arriving next, and what you need to do before it catches up with you.
If you run a small business, you’ve had a lot on your plate lately.
The Employment Rights Act has already started changing the rules you operate under. Some of those changes landed in April 2026.
More are coming in July, October, and well into 2027.
The problem is that most business owners I speak to don’t know which changes apply to them or when they kick in.
Here’s a breakdown of what’s happened, what’s ahead, and what you need to act on.
What’s already changed since April 2026
Several new rules are already live. If you haven’t updated your paperwork or briefed your managers, you’re operating with a gap.
The biggest shifts include Statutory Sick Pay now being payable from day one of absence, with no lower earnings limit. That alone changes how you handle short-term sickness across your team.
Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave are also now day-one entitlements. New starters don’t need to wait to qualify. There’s also a new category of leave for bereaved partners, which your policies need to reflect.
On top of that, whistleblowing protections have been strengthened, particularly around disclosures connected to sexual harassment. The Fair Work Agency has been established. Trade union recognition processes have been simplified. And there’s updated guidance around menopause and gender equality.
Collective redundancy protective awards have been extended to up to six months’ pay, which significantly raises the stakes if a consultation process isn’t handled properly.
What you should be checking
If your contracts, policies, or sickness procedures haven’t been reviewed recently, now is the time. A lot of employers are still relying on documentation that was written years ago. That creates inconsistencies, and inconsistencies create risk.
Your managers also need to understand these new entitlements. It’s not enough to update a handbook if the people making day-to-day decisions aren’t aware of what’s changed.
The July 2026 deadline you need to prepare for now
From 1 July 2026, anyone you hire will gain unfair dismissal protection after just six months of service. The full effect of this lands in January 2027.
That’s a massive shift from the previous two-year qualifying period.
Why this should concern you
If your probation process is loose or informal, you’re exposed. Shorter qualifying periods mean you have far less runway to identify problems with a new hire before they gain legal protection.
The commercial risk goes up when:
- Probation periods aren’t structured with clear milestones
- Underperformance isn’t documented from the start
- Dismissal decisions are made without supporting evidence
- Conversations about poor performance happen too late
Recruitment decisions now carry more weight. So does what happens in those first few months. If you don’t have a proper onboarding process with documented reviews, you’re leaving yourself open.
October 2026 brings a new focus on prevention
The next wave of changes arrives in October 2026, and the theme here is about employers taking proactive steps rather than reacting after something goes wrong.
A new legal duty will require you to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in your workplace, including some forms of harassment by third parties such as customers or suppliers. You’ll also be required to tell employees about their right to join a trade union, and union access rights will be strengthened.
Alongside those, expect tighter rules around tipping practices, a Fair Pay Agreement body for adult social care, and further reforms to union recognition processes.
What you’ll need in place
Harassment prevention measures need to be visible and documented. Your onboarding materials should cover these topics clearly. Internal reporting routes need to be straightforward, and your managers need training on how to handle concerns properly.
The key word here is “demonstrate.” If an issue arises, you’ll need to show that you took reasonable steps to prevent it. Having HR consultancy services in Belfast supporting you through this kind of preparation can make a real difference to how ready you are.
The 2027 reforms will hit hardest
The changes scheduled for 2027 carry the most significant operational and financial weight for smaller businesses.
The six-month unfair dismissal qualifying period will be formally confirmed. Compensatory awards could become uncapped, which changes the financial risk profile of every dismissal you make.
Protections for pregnant employees and new mothers will be enhanced. Flexible working rights are being updated. A new statutory bereavement leave will be introduced, covering pregnancy loss.
Zero-hours contract practices are being overhauled. Employers will face obligations around guaranteed hours and shift compensation. Umbrella companies will be regulated. And fire and rehire will become automatically unfair in most situations.
The practical impact on your business
By this point, the way you plan your workforce will need to be more deliberate. How you manage conduct issues, how you schedule hours, and how you approach any kind of restructure or contractual change will all be affected.
If you’ve been managing people informally or reactively up to now, the risk attached to that approach jumps considerably in 2027.
Questions worth asking yourself right now
Before the next set of deadlines arrives, it’s worth taking stock of where you stand.
- When was the last time your employment contracts were properly reviewed?
- Do your managers know what employees are entitled to from day one?
- Could you demonstrate that you’ve taken reasonable steps to prevent harassment if challenged?
- Is your probation process documented well enough to support a dismissal decision within six months?
- Have you considered how guaranteed hours obligations might affect your scheduling?
If you’re unsure on any of those, that’s a sign you need to act sooner rather than later.
A sensible place to start
I offer a free, short impact assessment to help you work out which of these changes affect your business, what needs updating, where your financial or operational risk might be increasing, and what to prioritise first.
As an outsourced HR consultant in Belfast, I work with business owners who want straightforward answers and practical support. If you’d like to have a confidential chat about what’s coming and what you need to do next, get in touch and we’ll take it from there.