Morning, Monday, 15th March 2027
Online
This conference will consider next steps for employment rights policy and implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025 in Great Britain. Areas for discussion include employment security and flexible working, employment status, trade union and industrial relations reform, equal pay and wider workforce protections, dispute resolution and tribunal capacity, business and workforce readiness, and approaches to enforcement and compliance.
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to assess early experience of implementation and priorities as the next phase of reform takes effect, following the Government's updated implementation timetable published in October 2026. The conference will follow the introduction in January 2027 of a six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal and uncapped compensatory awards, and comes with fire-and-rehire protections due to take effect in March 2027. Delegates will consider the implications for employment practice and workplace relations, as well as preparedness among employers, workers and representative bodies for forthcoming changes.
The planned agenda will examine priorities around guaranteed hours, flexible working and different forms of employment, including implications for workforce planning, recruitment and employment opportunities. Attendees will also consider approaches to providing greater security and predictability while retaining appropriate flexibility for workers and employers, and the practical implications for different sectors and for SMEs as detailed arrangements and implementation timings for zero and low hours reform continue to be developed.
Priorities for equal pay, pay transparency and wider workforce protections will be a focus, alongside the developing role of the Fair Work Agency and approaches to supporting compliance and effective enforcement. Discussion will also examine implications of expanded employment protections for dispute resolution and Employment Tribunal capacity, and the future direction of the Plan to Make Work Pay, including the Government's October 2026 consultation on employment status reform and protections for the self-employed, as working practices and labour market models continue to develop.
Overall areas for discussion include:
- implementation & business readiness:
- early experience of measures in force so far - sequencing of commencement and secondary legislation - guidance, consultation outcomes and lead-in time
- HR, payroll and systems changes - costs, capacity and preparedness among SMEs and in affected sectors
- unfair dismissal & dispute resolution:
- implications of the six-month qualifying period - probation, performance management and dismissal processes - removal of the cap on compensatory awards
- early resolution and the role of Acas - early experience of extended Employment Tribunal claim time limits and early conciliation - Employment Tribunal workload and capacity
- guaranteed hours & workforce flexibility:
- reference periods and eligibility thresholds - calculation of guaranteed hours - reasonable notice and payments for shifts cancelled, moved or curtailed at short notice
- seasonal and fluctuating demand - worker choice over guaranteed hours offers - youth employment and recruitment - operational flexibility across sectors
- worker status & labour-market models:
- proposals in the October 2026 consultation on employment status reform and protections for the self-employed, including a presumption of worker status - agency and temporary workers - regulation of umbrella companies
- implications for gig work and the self-employed - allocation of responsibility across labour-market models - preventing avoidance of new rights
- industrial relations & workplace protections:
- trade union access, recognition and balloting - collective redundancy and fire-and-rehire protections - duties concerning sexual and third-party harassment - restrictions on NDAs
- responsible use of workplace monitoring technologies - transparency, consultation and worker voice
- enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers - bereavement leave - reasonableness test for refusing flexible working requests
- equal pay, transparency & enforcement:
- reform of equal pay claims and enforcement - pay transparency - mandatory equality action plans - planned ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting
- priorities for the Fair Work Agency and phased extension of its remit - guidance and compliance support - targeted enforcement and developing operational capacity - regulatory coordination
