2027 brings the changes employers most need to prepare for — led by a shorter unfair-dismissal qualifying period. Here is what is coming, and, just as importantly, what is not yet in force.
The change with the widest impact takes effect on 1 January 2027: the ordinary qualifying period for unfair dismissal falls from two years to six months. Be precise about this — it becomes a six-month qualifying period, not a day-one right, which is how it is sometimes wrongly summarised. The effect is that far more employees will be able to bring an ordinary unfair-dismissal claim, so fair process and documentation around dismissals matter for a much larger part of your workforce than before.2
The practical weight of the qualifying-period change is easy to underestimate. Today an employee generally needs two years’ service to claim ordinary unfair dismissal; from 1 January 2027 that drops to six months, so a large share of your workforce — anyone past their first few months — gains the right. Government material also indicates a lighter-touch process may apply during an initial period of employment, with the detail set through regulations and a statutory code; employers should watch for that detail rather than assume either the old or a day-one position. The safe preparation is the same regardless: a fair, consistent, documented approach to performance and conduct from early in employment.
Around the same point, dismissal and re-engagement (“fire and rehire”) to force through changed terms becomes automatically unfair in most cases. Employers relying on that route to change terms will need to rethink their approach and, again, be able to evidence a proper process.
“Fire and rehire” — dismissing someone and re-engaging them on worse terms to force a change through — becoming automatically unfair in most cases closes a route some employers have used to push through contractual changes. In practice it means genuine consultation and agreement becomes the expected path to changing terms, and the documentation of that process becomes the evidence that you did it properly. Employers with change programmes planned should factor this in well ahead of commencement.
New rights for zero-hours and low-hours workers are expected in 2027 (dates to be confirmed): rights to be offered guaranteed hours reflecting hours regularly worked, reasonable notice of shifts, and payment for shifts cancelled or curtailed at short notice. If you rely on flexible or variable-hours arrangements, these are the changes to plan your scheduling and records around.
The zero-hours reforms are potentially the most operationally significant for the sectors that rely on variable hours — hospitality, retail, care, logistics. The expected shape is a right to be offered guaranteed hours that reflect the hours actually worked over a reference period, a right to reasonable notice of shifts, and compensation where shifts are cancelled or cut at short notice. That turns scheduling from an informal art into something that needs to be recorded and defensible, because the reference period and the notice given become the evidence for whether an offer or a payment was due.
Also expected, and enacted but awaiting commencement: the removal of the cap on unfair-dismissal compensation; mandatory action plans (such as gender pay and menopause); statutory bereavement leave; stronger pregnancy and maternity protections; limits on non-disclosure agreements for harassment and discrimination; and expanded regulation of umbrella companies. Treat all of these as changes to prepare for, not current duties, until they are commenced.
Alongside the shorter qualifying period, the reform is expected to remove the cap on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal (currently limited to a statutory maximum or a year’s pay, whichever is lower). Combined with more employees being eligible to claim, uncapped compensation raises the stakes of an unfair dismissal considerably — reinforcing why a fair, well-documented process is the real protection. This is a forthcoming change; confirm its commencement before relying on it.
The reform is expected to make void any confidentiality provision that seeks to prevent a worker from speaking out about harassment or discrimination. Employers that have relied on broad NDAs in settlement agreements will need to revisit their templates so they do not fall foul of the new limits once in force.
Regulation is being extended to umbrella companies, bringing them within the employment-rights enforcement framework. For businesses that engage workers through umbrellas or agencies, this connects to the wider tightening of labour-supply compliance — the same direction as the 1 October 2026 right to work expansion into subcontractors and matching services.
The voluntary gender-pay and menopause action plans introduced in 2026 are expected to become mandatory for larger employers. If you are in scope, the practical work — gathering the data and drafting a credible plan — is easier started early than left until the duty bites.
Before the 2027 changes commence: tighten performance, conduct and dismissal processes and the records behind them; review any reliance on fire-and-rehire and zero-hours models; refresh settlement/NDA templates; check your umbrella and agency arrangements; and, if in scope, start the action-plan groundwork. None of this requires the law to be in force yet — and doing it now converts a cliff-edge into a routine.
The reform is expected to extend statutory bereavement leave, broadening who is entitled to time off following a bereavement (building on the existing parental bereavement leave for the loss of a child). As with the other 2027 measures, the exact scope and commencement come through regulations — but employers can prepare by making sure their compassionate-leave policy is humane, clear and consistently applied, since that is the practice the statutory floor will sit beneath.
Enhanced protection against dismissal for pregnant employees and new mothers — extending the protected period around pregnancy, maternity leave and return to work — is also part of the package. For employers this raises the bar on how redundancies and dismissals involving these employees are handled and documented, again pointing to the importance of a fair, evidenced process rather than any single new form to complete.
Employment law is largely devolved to Northern Ireland, so this timetable is a Great Britain one and does not automatically apply in NI — the ordinary unfair-dismissal qualifying period there differs. Check the NI position separately if you employ people there.
A recurring theme with the 2027 measures is that the headline is set but the mechanics are not. Exactly how guaranteed hours are calculated, what counts as reasonable notice of a shift, the length of any initial employment period for dismissal, the thresholds for mandatory action plans — these are being fixed through commencement regulations and codes of practice. The practical lesson is not to hard-wire policies to a news headline: prepare the direction now, but confirm the operational detail against the final regulations before you finalise contracts, scheduling rules or templates.
Strip away the detail and 2027 comes down to one shift: many more employees gaining stronger protection, enforced more vigorously, with the quality of your process and records as the decisive factor when a decision is challenged. None of it requires the law to be in force to begin preparing — and none of it is satisfied by a policy that only exists on paper. The employers who come through 2027 comfortably will be the ones who used the run-up to make fair process and good records their default, across their whole workforce.
Get dismissal process and records in good shape ahead of 1 January 2027; review reliance on fire-and-rehire and zero-hours models; and keep your policy wording accurate about what applies now versus what is coming. Complys holds the policies, contracts, training and records — with reminders and a readiness view — so the evidence is ready as each measure commences. It does not give legal advice or decide fairness. See the Employment Rights Act guide, the 2026 changes, and employment compliance software.
1 Forthcoming changes; not legal advice; confirm commencement dates against current guidance. Source: Acas — Employment Rights Act 2025. 2 Unfair-dismissal qualifying period reducing to six months from 1 January 2027 per current government guidance / commencement regulations. Reviewed 26 September 2026.
