Our latest round-up of UK employment and HR law updates covers a range of developments affecting employers, including updates on union reform, bereavement leave entitlement and the flexible working regime, as well as a recap of the changes taking effect this month.
You can view the latest changes below. To sign up for our regular HRLaw newsletter, click here.
Re-cap of October Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms
1 October: The time limit for bringing most claims to the Employment Tribunal in England and Wales increased from three to six months, in respect of relevant acts that take place on or after 1 October. A small number of claims such as Equal Pay or a claim for a statutory redundancy payment already had a limitation period of six months
30 October:
- Changes to workplace harassment law. For more information, see our latest insight.
- Employers to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.
- Obligation on employers not to permit the harassment of their employees by third parties.
- Industrial relations framework changes, include:
The duty to inform workers of their right to join a union
On Friday 25 September, the government responded to its consultation on the new employer duty to inform workers of their right to join a union. This duty was due to take effect on 30 October but the implementation date has been pushed back to 1 January 2027.
What must be provided to workers?
- The exact form of the statement to be given to workers has not yet been published. However, we have been told it will be standardised. Employers may not amend it except to add specific workplace information.
Are there any differences for new and current worker notifications?
- New workers: from 1 January 2027, the written statement will be delivered directly to the individual at the same time as the employment contract.
- Existing workers: delivered through either “direct” (eg by email) or “indirect” (eg via a staff intranet page) methods by 5 April 2027. To be re-affirmed annually by 5 April of the relevant year.
- All: If there is a change to the identity of unions that have recognition or statutory access agreements, the employer must reissue the statement within one month of the change.
Is there a publication date for the standardised form?
- In short, not yet. Once the standardised form is published we will provide a further update. We are told that additional non-statutory guidance will be published in due course.
Apparent postponement of the re-introduction of a “two-tier code”
The Gov.UK employment law reform implementation timeline appears to have been amended as of Friday 25 September, to no longer refer to the re-introduction of a two-tier code.
You may recall that the reinstatement of the two-tier code (that sought to ensure outsourced private sector employees were offered no less favourable terms and conditions to employees transferred from the public sector) had been anticipated to take effect in October. However, the code seems to have been removed from the proposed implementation timeline for now. We will continue to update you once we know more.
New bereavement leave entitlement
On 22 September the government responded to its consultation on leave for bereavement including pregnancy loss.
What is the proposed entitlement?
In summary:
- Set to take effect in April 2027;
- “Day one” right (i.e. no service requirement);
- Up to two weeks’ unpaid leave based on the average working pattern as applicable;
- Leave can be taken within 56 weeks of bereavement and can be taken in discontinuous, single days;
- Leave will be available to employees who experience:
- all types of pregnancy loss before 24 weeks (including terminations and IVF embryo transfer loss);
- a bereavement of their spouse, partner (cohabiting and non-cohabiting), parents, adult children, siblings (biological, adopted, step and half), and equivalent parental relationships for those raised in kinship arrangements or by foster carers;
- Leave will be available to not only the person who experienced the pregnancy loss but also to the other biological parent, partners, and intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement;
- No evidential requirements;
- Notice can be given on the same day if within the first eight weeks of bereavement. Following that, one week’s notice thereafter. There is no prescribed method of notification;
- The government will publish guidance to support employers to implement bereavement leave, support their staff, and to help individuals understand and access their rights;
- Implementation regulations will be provided in due course to bring the entitlement into force.
Changes to the flexible working regime
The amendments to the current regime are anticipated to take effect in Autumn 2027. We await:
- Further legislation that will set out a process that employers must follow before rejecting a statutory flexible working request;
- Implementation of the reasonableness test set out in section 9 of the Employment Rights Act 2025; and
- Acas’s update to its Code of Practice on requests for flexible working following a public consultation. The consultation can be found here: Acas consultation: draft Code of Practice on requests for flexible working | Acas (closing 17 December 2026).
We will continue to keep you updated on these developments.
This is not legal advice, if you would like to discuss any of the issues outlined in this newsletter, please contact one of our team.
Source: www.foxwilliams.com
