What should your employment law reform priorities be?

Acas's Julie Dennis has set out how HR teams should approach the Employment Rights Act 2025, one of the most significant changes to UK employment law in recent years, which became law on 18 December 2025 and is being phased in through 2026–2027.

Several changes are already in force, including: 

• Statutory sick pay from day one (with the lower earnings limit removed).
• Day-one paternity and unpaid parental leave rights.
• A new bereaved partner's paternity leave.
• Stronger whistleblowing protection for those reporting sexual harassment. 

For these changes, employers should have already reviewed related policies, payroll, and manager guidance, and communicated with staff. It is important to be clear that day-one leave rights don't always mean day-one pay rights.

Further reforms are still to come, covering unfair dismissal, harassment, flexible working, and zero-hours contracts, meaning businesses need a staged plan rather than treating this as a single change with one start date. This should not be a single compliance project; regular policy reviews will be essential, and businesses should not wait for the remaining reforms to take effect.

The compliance environment is also tightening. The new Fair Work Agency will consolidate enforcement powers, and employers must keep compliance records for six years, including holiday pay and annual leave records.

Acas recommends businesses:

• Know the timeline: separate what has already changed from what is expected later.
• Prioritise policy and contract review, especially sickness, family leave, flexible working, harassment, dismissal and records.
• Train line managers. They need to understand the processes they are expected to follow and feel confident having early, fair and consistent conversations.
• Strengthen compliance systems. Review how decisions are recorded, how evidence is kept and how employees are told about their rights. 

Acas points readers to its dedicated Employment Rights Act 2025 hub and a free recorded webinar for further detail.

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