Employment law has undergone substantial change over the past year, with further major reforms due to take effect throughout 2026 and 2027. Recent changes include the new preventative duty to prevent workplace sexual harassment, the introduction of neonatal leave and pay, the move to day one rights for flexible working requests and increases to statutory rates, including the national minimum wage. Looking ahead, the Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces significant reforms aimed at modernising employment law, improving job security and supporting fairness and ethical business.
These developments will impact recruitment, probation, performance management, sickness absence, family leave, redundancy processes and wider workplace culture. Employers will need to review employment documents, strengthen probationary procedures, update flexible working and family leave policies, prepare for reduced qualifying periods for unfair dismissal, and ensure they are taking all reasonable steps to prevent harassment. Proactive preparation will help organisations comply with new duties and create a fair and supportive working environment.
This year, we hosted HR Forums with our employment partners, Annie Gray and John Robinson, setting out the key reforms already in place, the upcoming implementation timeline and the practical steps employers should take now to prepare for the Employment Rights Act 2025 and other forthcoming changes.
Client feedback from the seminars
“A very helpful session with clear explanations. I left feeling much more prepared for the changes coming in over the next couple of years.”
“Really informative and well-delivered session. It made the key updates much easier to understand.”
“I found the session extremely useful and came away with a clearer sense of what our organisation needs to do next.”
If you are interested in hearing about future events or have any queries about preparing for the Employment Rights Act 2025 or other employment law changes, get in touch with Annie Gray at AnnieGray@schofieldsweeney.co.uk or John Robinson at JohnRobinson@schofieldsweeney.co.uk.