Is your business ready for the Employment Rights Act 2025? A practical checklist for employers

The Employment Rights Act 2025 is the most significant overhaul of UK employment law in a generation. Most of its provisions will come into force during 2026. If you haven't started preparing, now is the time.

This post sets out the practical steps small and growing businesses should be taking — not as a legal exercise, but as good business sense.

Review your employment contracts

Your standard employment contract almost certainly needs updating. Key areas to review include your probationary period clause — in light of day one unfair dismissal rights and the expected nine-month statutory initial period — and any clauses relating to flexible working, notice periods, and contractual benefits that may interact with the new provisions.

If you're using off-the-shelf contracts from an online template, this is a good moment to have them properly reviewed. A contract that doesn't reflect current law isn't just a compliance risk — it creates confusion and inconsistency when you need to rely on it.

Audit your policies

The Act touches a broad range of areas — dismissal, flexible working, zero hours arrangements, family leave, trade union rights. Work through your existing policy suite and identify where gaps or outdated provisions exist. Priority policies to review include your disciplinary and grievance procedures, your flexible working policy, and any contracts or arrangements with zero hours or casual workers.

If you don't have written policies at all — which is common in very small businesses — the Act is a clear signal that it's time to put them in place.

Strengthen your onboarding and probation processes

With day one unfair dismissal rights on the horizon, the early stages of employment become more important than ever. A robust onboarding process — one that sets clear expectations, documents performance conversations, and takes probationary reviews seriously — is your first line of defence.

This doesn't need to be complex. A structured 30-60-90 day framework, with regular documented check-ins and honest conversations about how things are going, is sufficient for most small businesses. The key is that it's done consistently and recorded.

Train your managers

Legislation changes. Management behaviour changes with it — but only if managers understand what's expected of them. The single most effective thing most small businesses can do to prepare for the Employment Rights Act is invest in their managers' capability: how to have difficult conversations early, how to document concerns properly, and how to manage a fair process from start to finish.

Managers who are confident in these skills are also less likely to escalate situations to the point of a tribunal claim in the first place.

Review your use of zero hours and casual contracts

If you use zero hours contracts, now is the time to look honestly at your workforce and assess whether current arrangements reflect actual working patterns. Where workers have settled into regular hours, consider whether moving them onto fixed contracts proactively — before legislation requires it — might actually be the more straightforward and relationship-preserving approach.

Don't wait for commencement

The temptation with incoming legislation is to wait until it's in force before acting. That approach has a cost: rushed changes, reactive compliance, and an increased risk of getting something wrong under pressure. The businesses that navigate these changes most smoothly will be the ones that start now — not the ones that start when they have to.

Where to start

If you're not sure where your biggest gaps are, an HR Health Check is a practical first step. It gives you a clear picture of where your policies, contracts, and processes stand today — and a prioritised plan for what needs to change.

Need support?

At King HR Advisory, we help founders, MDs, and business owners across Sheffield and South Yorkshire prepare for exactly this kind of legislative change — practically, proportionately, and without unnecessary complexity. Whether you need contracts reviewed, policies written, or managers trained, we can help.

Get in touch or book a call to find out more.