UK employment rights, in plain English
Clear guides to pay, leave, contracts, dismissal and discrimination. Each one is dated, written for people rather than lawyers, and linked to the law it rests on.
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Your employer cannot punish you for protected union work. Find out what leave and protection you have, then take these first steps to protect your pay and your claim.
Sick after a shift? Report your absence first, then check fit-note deadlines and what you should be paid. Your right to leave is not a promise of full pay.
Your employer must control the danger, then warn you about any significant risk left. A sign cannot do the job of a barrier, a repair or proper training.
A dismissal can be unfair because of its reason, its procedure or both. Check whether you qualify, which deadline applies and how to bring a claim.
You have the right to report an injury. Get treated, tell your employer in writing and keep your own record. RIDDOR deadlines may already be running.
Calculators
2026–27 reform tracker
Many three-month limits became six months where the relevant date is on or after today. Earlier events do not acquire extra time.
Stronger harassment prevention and third-party protections, union access and representative rights are due to start.
The qualifying period falls to six months and the ordinary compensatory-award cap disappears for dismissals with an effective termination date from this day. Fire-and-rehire protections and…
The government plans a day-one right for employees in Great Britain to take up to two weeks of unpaid leave for specified family bereavements and pregnancy…
Drawn from the reform tracker, which gives each change its date, who it affects and the source.
How we work
Every guide shows when it was last reviewed, and figures carry the date they took effect.
Claims link to legislation.gov.uk, GOV.UK, Acas or nidirect, with a sources list at the foot.
Worked examples for money and time, and a clear line between what is in force and what is coming.
