Work rights checklist: what to save and what changes when
A printable one-page checklist: the evidence to keep, the changes already in force, what is scheduled, and where to get free help.
A one-page checklist for anyone worried about pay, hours, sickness or a dismissal while the Employment Rights Act 2025 comes into force in stages. Print it, save it as a PDF, or send it to a colleague. It points to the live reform tracker for anything that changes after the date below.
1. Save the evidence now
- Your contract or written statement of terms, and any letters changing them.
- Payslips, ideally for the last 12 months, plus bank statements showing what actually arrived.
- Rotas, shift messages and timesheets, including cancelled shifts and changes made at short notice.
- Messages and emails with managers: screenshots of WhatsApp or app chats, with dates visible.
- Sick notes (fit notes) and a list of each day you were off sick.
- Holiday requests, approvals and refusals. Since 6 April 2026, employers in Great Britain must keep adequate holiday records for six years.
- A dated diary: hours worked, breaks missed, unpaid travel between jobs, deductions for uniforms or equipment, and what was said in meetings.
Keep copies away from work devices and work accounts. You may lose access to those the day a job ends.
2. What is already law
| Since | What changed | Check |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Apr 2026 | Statutory Sick Pay from the first qualifying day, with no lower earnings limit. The weekly amount is the lower of 80% of average weekly earnings or £123.25. This change also applies in Northern Ireland. | Sick pay guide |
| 6 Apr 2026 | Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day-one rights for employees. Statutory Paternity Pay still needs 26 weeks’ service. | Ask what your employer pays |
| 6 Apr 2026 | The maximum protective award for failing to consult on collective redundancies doubled, from 90 to 180 days’ gross pay. | 20+ redundancies at one site |
| 6 Apr 2026 | Reporting sexual harassment gained express whistleblowing protection. | Keep a copy of what you reported |
| 7 Apr 2026 | The Fair Work Agency was set up. It enforces rights including the minimum wage, sick pay and holiday pay. HMRC officers still handle minimum wage cases until April 2027. | Minimum wage checker |
| 1 Oct 2026 | Many tribunal claims, including unfair dismissal, discrimination and unlawful deductions from wages, now have six months less one day. This applies only where the relevant date is on or after 1 October 2026. Earlier events keep three months. In Scotland, employment-contract claims switch on 9 November 2026. Northern Ireland did not get the general extension. | Deadline calculator |
3. What is scheduled, not yet in force
| Date | Planned change | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Oct 2026 | Employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, and become liable for harassment by customers and other third parties. Stronger union access and representative rights also start. | Fixed in law by SI 2026/1065 |
| 1 Jan 2027 | Ordinary unfair dismissal protection after six months’ service instead of two years, and no cap on the ordinary compensatory award. It applies where the effective date of termination is on or after 1 January 2027. | Fixed in law by SI 2026/559 |
| Jan 2027 | Fire-and-rehire protections, and a duty to tell workers about their right to join a union. | Government plan |
| Apr 2027 | Up to two weeks’ unpaid bereavement leave from day one, including pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. | Target; needs regulations |
| Autumn 2027 | A tougher test for refusing flexible working requests, with consultation before refusal. | Intended; current rules apply |
| 2027, no date | Guaranteed hours, reasonable notice of shifts and pay for short-notice cancellations. | No start date yet |
4. Check the clock
- Write down the date that matters. For a dismissal, it is normally the effective date of termination. For a run of wage deductions, it may be the last deduction.
- Contact Acas early conciliation. You normally have to before making a tribunal claim, and it changes the deadline. Call 0300 123 1100 or start online.
- Work to the earliest possible deadline. If the date or the type of claim is unclear, assume the shorter limit until an adviser has checked it. Extensions are not automatic.
- Use the calculator as a starting point. Our tribunal deadline calculator applies the old and new limits and the Acas extension. Confirm the result with an adviser.
5. Free help
- Acas: 0300 123 1100, for advice and early conciliation (acas.org.uk).
- Citizens Advice or a local law centre, for help checking a claim and its deadline.
- Your union: for example UNISON in care and health, Unite in hospitality and logistics, Usdaw in retail and distribution.
- Underpaid the minimum wage: make a complaint to HMRC.
- Exploitation through a labour provider: the Fair Work Agency’s free line, 0800 432 0804. If someone is in danger, call 999.
- Dangerous work: the Health and Safety Executive. Discrimination: the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
- Northern Ireland: the Labour Relations Agency and nidirect, because several of the changes above do not apply there.
Free to print, copy and share. Advice services and unions may reproduce this checklist with a link back to this page.
Sources
- Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act: timeline update, GOV.UK
- Commencement instrument for the six-month tribunal limits (SI 2026/954), legislation.gov.uk
- Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 6) Regulations, SI 2026/1065, legislation.gov.uk
- Unfair dismissal commencement regulations, SI 2026/559, legislation.gov.uk
- Statutory Sick Pay: eligibility, GOV.UK
- Holiday records, Acas
- How to report serious abuse or exploitation at work, GOV.UK