Up until around March this year, if you were getting something wrong with how you paid your staff, the most likely outcome was nothing. Unless an employee raised it themselves, nobody was coming to check. This year, that all changed. Since April 2026, there's now a single government body responsible for enforcing employment rights across the UK. It has the power to inspect your business, review your records and issue financial penalties. And it doesn't wait for a comp

From 1 January 2027, ending someone's contract and re-hiring them on different terms that they didn't agree to will be classed as automatically unfair dismissal, in most cases. And that carries some of the most serious consequences in employment law. It's an approach many smaller business owners take. They finish someone's contract so that they can re-employ them but with different terms (often less favourable for the employee). Often, employers don't know that they're "f

What the new uncapped unfair dismissal compensation means for your business From January, dismissing someone and putting them back on worse terms will be automatically unfair. No qualifying service needed or cap on the compensation a tribunal can award. Most small business owners aren't aware when they're "firing and rehiring". But that's what it's called when you end someone's contract and offer them a new one with worse terms. January's new rules cover changes to pay, worki

UK employment law has changed more in the last twelve months than in the previous decade. If you're keeping on top of it yourself, as a business owner, you're almost certainly getting something wrong. And, right now, getting it wrong means tribunal claims with uncapped compensation and regulatory investigations you weren't prepared for. Even when you are getting it right, the cost is real. Every hour you spend reading up on new rules, second-guessing a disciplinary decisi

One in ten women have left a job because of menopause symptoms. If your business doesn't have a clear approach, you're losing experienced people and leaving yourself open to discrimination claims with uncapped awards. Menopause-related tribunal claims have more than tripled in recent years, from 64 in 2022 to over 200 in 2024. The Equality and Human Rights Commission published specific guidance for employers in 2024 and tribunals are paying close attention to how you ha

New rules would allow trade unions to formally request access to your workplace once they come into force. If you repeatedly breach an access agreement, you could be looking at fines of up to £500,000. That's not a typo. And this isn't something you can quietly sit out. The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces two separate trade union obligations, with workplace access planned for 30 October 2026, subject to parliamentary approval, and the written statement duty planne