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Legislation · 22 January 2026

UK employment reforms move to implementation phase

Secondary legislation begins implementing reforms to unfair dismissal qualifying periods, zero-hours arrangements and statutory sick pay.

What changed

Employers are reviewing probation policies in anticipation of a shorter qualifying period for unfair dismissal protection, alongside new duties around predictable working patterns. Acas is updating its guidance and codes of practice in parallel.

Why this is marked high impact

Changes obligations for most people or businesses in scope, usually with a compliance deadline. Impact is our editorial read of scope, not a legal opinion on how the change affects you.

Check this against the source

We summarise developments so they are scannable, which necessarily loses detail. Before you rely on this, read the instrument itself.

GOV.UK

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