UK Employment Rights Bill passed: a critical governance and compliance challenge for employers
The UK Employment Rights Bill has now passed through Parliament, signalling one of the most significant shifts in employment regulation in decades. For organisations operating in the UK, this is not a future consideration. It is an immediate governance, risk, and compliance priority.
The Bill is examined in Axiom GRC’s white paper, The Future of Governance, Risk and Compliance: 2026 Trends, which identifies new labour laws as one of four key forces reshaping the GRC landscape.
UK employers face a readiness gap
Axiom GRC research highlights how unprepared many organisations are for the reforms. In a survey of UK organisations:
- 2% said they were “very prepared”
- 52% were neutral
- 22% said they were unprepared
This lack of readiness creates increased exposure to compliance failures, tribunal claims, and inconsistent decision-making as new worker protections come into force.
Why the Employment Rights Bill matters for GRC leaders
Keeping up with regulatory change is now the single biggest compliance challenge facing organisations. Axiom GRC research found that 44.3% of organisations cited this as their top concern, ahead of embedding compliance culture (24.8%), staff engagement and training (19%), and resource and budget constraints (11.9%).
The Employment Rights Bill lands within this context of constant regulatory change, increasing the need for structured, auditable, and scalable governance frameworks.
Day One rights and increased scrutiny
Angela Carter, Director of Legal Services at WorkNest, Axiom GRC’s employment law division, highlights one of the most immediate and material impacts of the Bill:
One of the most significant impacts of the Bill is the proposed changes to Day One rights. Organisations will no longer have a two-year buffer, so recruitment and probation will come under greater scrutiny. Businesses are likely to make hiring and restructuring decisions more cautiously, and many are already speeding up workforce changes in anticipation of the Bill.
For employers, this places greater emphasis on clear policies, consistent application by managers, and robust evidence gathering from the start of the employment relationship.
How organisations should respond now
To manage the impact of the Employment Rights Bill, organisations should focus on:
- Reviewing employment contracts, handbooks, and HR policies
- Upskilling managers to understand and apply new requirements consistently
- Strengthening governance, reporting, and record-keeping frameworks
- Scenario planning for changes to zero-hours contracts, NDAs, and trade union powers
- Partnering with specialist employment law and HR advisors
The bigger picture for 2026
The Employment Rights Bill is not an isolated change. It forms part of a broader shift in the GRC landscape, alongside AI governance, cyber risk, and the growing need for a single risk vantage point across organisations.
These themes are explored in Axiom GRC’s white paper, The Future of Governance, Risk and Compliance: 2026 Trends, which provides insight into four key trends set to shape governance, risk, and compliance in the year ahead
For organisations looking to build resilience, consistency, and confidence in the face of regulatory change, understanding these trends is essential.