2026 has brought one of the most significant updates to UK employment law in recent years. The reforms touch nearly every part of the working relationship, from how flexible working requests are handled to how redundancy consultations are run. This briefing pulls the key changes into plain English for employers and HR teams.
Flexible working as a day-one right
The right to request flexible working now applies from the first day of employment. Employees can make two requests in any twelve-month period and employers must consult with the employee before refusing a request. The eight statutory grounds for refusal remain, but the duty to engage properly with the request has been strengthened.
Changes to collective redundancy consultation
The threshold for triggering collective consultation has been clarified so that proposed redundancies across an entire organisation can be aggregated, rather than only those at a single establishment. Employers proposing twenty or more redundancies within a ninety-day period must consult collectively, and the penalties for failing to do so have increased.
- Begin consultation in good time, not as a formality after decisions are made.
- Provide accurate information about selection criteria and pools.
- Document the consultation carefully, as tribunals are scrutinising process more closely.
Stronger employee protections
Protection from unfair dismissal now applies from day one, replacing the previous two-year qualifying period, although a statutory probationary framework allows for a lighter touch process during the first nine months. Protections against harassment have also been widened, and employers are expected to take reasonable steps to prevent third-party harassment of staff.
Employer responsibilities
Employers should review handbooks, contracts and recruitment paperwork to make sure they reflect the new framework. Line managers need practical training so that day-one rights are handled consistently. Settled processes around probation, performance management and grievances should be revisited rather than assumed to still be compliant.
The cost of updating policy is small. The cost of defending a tribunal claim built on outdated documents is not.
Practical guidance for UK businesses
Start with a short audit of your current contracts and handbook, identify the gaps and prioritise the changes that affect the largest number of employees first. Where redundancies or restructures are on the horizon, take advice early. The new rules reward employers who plan and penalise those who improvise.