Looking ahead to 2027: what HR teams need to know
With major Employment Rights Act reforms arriving in 2027, employers should start mapping the changes against their policies, processes and manager training now.
Gareth Edwards, Partner in our Employment team, and Jessica Scott-Dye, Legal Director and Knowledge Lawyer, have co-authored an article for People Management setting out how HR teams can prepare for next year’s Employment Rights Act reforms.
The article walks through the key changes due in 2027 and the practical steps employers can take now. The headline change is the reduction of the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal from two years to six months on 1 January 2027, alongside the removal of the cap on compensatory awards. Gareth and Jessica explain: “Employers that have treated the first two years as a low-risk period will need to rethink that approach. Recruitment, onboarding and probation will all become more important, and managers will need to address performance and conduct concerns much earlier.”
They also highlight the impact on employers who rely on changing contractual terms. “January brings significant restrictions on fire and rehire. Dismissing an employee for refusing a ‘restricted variation’, such as a change to pay, pensions or hours, will generally be automatically unfair. Contractual change exercises will need more forward planning, and employers should consider building reasonable, bespoke flexibility clauses into contracts for new starters.”
Gareth and Jessica conclude: “The scale of the reforms means employers should look beyond policy updates to the practical impact across their organisation, including how managers make decisions and how workforce information is recorded. Some detail is still to come, but HR teams need not wait. Mapping the reforms against existing policies and planning manager training during 2026 will put employers in a much stronger position for the year ahead.”
Read the article: People Management
