2026 is set to bring significant changes to employment law in England and Wales, creating new challenges and opportunities for employers.

For hospitality businesses—where staffing, flexibility and compliance are critical—understanding what’s coming and when will be essential.

While it is our intention to provide you with accurate information at the time of publishing, for full up-to-date information, please refer to the government factsheet.

Changes already in force (from December 2025):

The first tranche of reforms took effect on Royal Assent on 18 December 2025, with additional provisions commencing over the following two months.

These early changes focus on industrial relations and include:

• Repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, removing previous minimum service requirements during strike action.
• Stronger protections for employees taking part in industrial action, reducing the scope for employer sanctions.

While these changes may not affect day-to-day operations immediately, they signal a more employee-protective approach to industrial relations that hospitality employers should be aware of—particularly larger operators with unionised workforces.

Below is a practical summary of the key changes and their likely impact on operators:

Major reforms taking effect from April 2026

From April 2026, more substantive and operationally significant changes come into force.

• Ending Zero-Hours Contracts: It introduces rights for workers on zero-hours contracts, including guaranteed hours and reasonable notice of shifts, along with compensation for last-minute cancellations
• Protection Against Unfair Dismissal: The bill reduces the qualifying period for claiming unfair dismissal from two years to six months, making it easier for employees to seek redress
• Strengthening Statutory Sick Pay: The legislation removes the lower earnings limit and the waiting period for statutory sick pay, ensuring more workers can access this support
• Collective Redundancy Rights: It enhances collective redundancy rights, requiring employers to consult with employees when proposing significant layoffs
• Family and Bereavement Leave: The bill establishes day-one rights for paternity and parental leave, as well as bereavement leave for the loss of a loved one, including pregnancy loss. 

Further changes from October 2026

The final phase of reforms takes effect in October 2026 and introduces several high-impact obligations, including:

• Fire-and-rehire restrictions
• Sexual harassment and sexual harassment duties
• Third-party harassment (e.g. by customers or guests)

Government guidance is expected in 2027, but looking further ahead, hospitality operators should expect higher expectations around training, reporting procedures and risk assessments—particularly in customer-facing environments. We will continue to review changes and provide regular updates and guidance to support Regency members.