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Hema Mistry, Director at Quest, outlines the biggest employment law changes coming down the line, what they mean for pest management businesses, and the practical steps employers should start taking now.

Jump to the changes

These are some of the most significant changes to employment rights that we will see in our lifetime. They affect every organisation in different ways, irrespective of size.

One of the biggest mistakes smaller employers make is assuming employment law applies differently to them, or in some cases, that it doesn’t apply to them at all. This is simply not the case.  These changes affect small businesses just as much as larger businesses, and unless you take proactive action to implement the legislative changes many SMEs will get caught out without even realising.

This fact sheet is designed to help you focus on what matters most.

What is happening and why

The Labour government described employment reforms as a “new deal for working people”. The aim is to make work pay, strengthen worker rights, improve work-life balance and encourage people back into work.

The government launched the Employment Rights Bill soon after they were elected; this outlined the areas of employment law reform they planned to make. On 18 December 2025, the Employment Rights Bill received Royal Assent from the King and therefore it became the Employment Rights Act 2025.

Employment Rights Act 2025  does not replace the Employment Rights Act 1996. Both will sit alongside each other, which may cause some confusion.  

The changes  will come in gradually over the next 12 to 18 months.  The first phase of the employment law changes came in February and April 2026, more expected later this year in August and October.  Consultation continues in some of the areas of change. 

Until enactment of the changes is confirmed the employment law change will not occur, however it is important for all employers to be aware of the expected changes and be proactive in readiness of these coming in.  

The changes referred to below relate to Great Britain only, England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland is introducing its own employment law changes which are expected to be confirmed in 2026.

What changes matter most for pest businesses

Day one family rights

From 6 April this year, paternity leave and unpaid parental leave is a day-one right. 

That means a new starter is entitled to paternity leave immediately and could ask for unpaid parental leave also. For many employers, these changes will not have significant operational issues, especially if the employer offers enhanced entitlements  above the legal minimum. However

your policies must be updated,  and managers need to understand the distinction between leave entitlement and pay entitlement.

Sexual harassment rules are tightening

Prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace became a legal duty for employers in October 2024. Employers must already take reasonable steps to prevent it, including third party sexual harassment.

From April 2026, sexual harassment is a  qualifying disclosure under whistleblowing rules. That strengthens protection for workers who raise concerns.

From October 2026, the duty will become  stricter. Employers must show they took all reasonable steps, not just reasonable steps.

That is a much higher bar. For pest management businesses, this matters not only inside your own workplace, but also when technicians are working with clients, contractors and members of the public. The law protects employees from third-party harassment too.

Statutory sick pay (SSP) changes 

The SSP changes are some of the most practical and immediate.

SSP is payable from day one of sickness absence from 6 April 2026, with waiting days and the lower earnings limit removed.

For lower-paid employees, SSP is paid at 80% of normal weekly earnings if that is lower than the flat SSP rate.

For employers who only pay SSP and do not offer contractual sick pay, this will have a direct cost impact. 

It will increase short-term absence costs, especially for one-day absences and potentially impact on business operations if the absence levels increase

The big issue is absence management. Employers must be much more robust and consistent in how they record, monitor and manage sickness absence.

The changes that could catch employers out later

Six-month unfair dismissal protection

This is the one that will make many employers sit up. Currently, employees usually need two years’ service to claim ordinary unfair dismissal. From 1 January 2027, it is expected to reduce to six months. That is a huge shift.

It means recruitment, induction and probation management become even more important. If your probation process is loose, or if you leave issues drifting, you are much more likely to run into problems.

If you have a six-month probation period, you may need to rethink how it works. Ideally, employers should know much earlier whether someone is right for the job.

Compensation caps for unfair dismissal to go

The government is also looking to remove the compensation cap for unfair dismissal. At the moment there is a limit. In future, unfair dismissal compensation may become uncapped in a similar way to discrimination claims.

If that happens, the risk attached to poor procedures and dismissal decisions rises significantly.

Zero-hours and cancelled shifts

The government has stepped back from banning zero-hours contracts outright. But workers on zero-hours or low-hours contracts are expected to gain stronger rights to regular hours if that reflects what they actually work in practice.

There will also be rights linked to cancelled or curtailed shifts, including likely compensation where shifts are cancelled at short notice.

That may be less relevant for some pest businesses than it is for hospitality, but it is still worth watching if you use casual staff, variable-hours workers or agency workers.

Fire and rehire will become much harder

Current rules still allow employers, in some cases, to dismiss and re-engage staff where terms and conditions need to change. That route is going to narrow sharply.

Some proposed changes to terms and conditions, such as reducing pay, changing hours, changing shift patterns or reducing time off, may become “restricted variations”. If an employer dismisses someone for refusing those changes, the dismissal may be automatically unfair.

This is a major issue for any employer used to making contractual changes informally or relying on broad flexibility clauses.

What employers should do now

You do not need to panic, but you do need to prepare. Start with the basics:

• Review contracts, policies and procedures 
• Make sure your managers understand what is changing 
• Tighten up recruitment, induction and probation processes 
• Review sickness absence procedures 
• Refresh sexual harassment policies, training and reporting routes 
• Think about how you handle flexible working requests 
• Check how you use casual staff, agency workers and variable-hours arrangements 
• Stop assuming “we’re too small for that law to apply”. 

One of the biggest themes running through all of this is culture. These reforms are not just about legal compliance. They are about how employers treat people, how decisions are made and whether businesses can show they acted fairly.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 is not just another update to keep on file and forget about. It will change the way many employers recruit, manage, support and, if necessary, dismiss staff.

For pest management businesses, the practical risks are clear. If your paperwork is out of date, your managers are undertrained, or your processes are inconsistent, these reforms will expose that quickly.

The good news is that there is still time to prepare and get it right. Use that time well.

The changes

Date	Change	What it means
18/02/26	Trade union law changes	Much of the previous government’s trade union legislation has been repealed.
06/04/26	Day one right to paternity leave	Employees will qualify for paternity leave from day one, but still need 26 weeks’ service for paternity pay.
06/04/26	Day one right to unpaid parental leave	Employees will no longer need one year’s service  to qualify.
06/04/26	Whistleblowing change	Sexual harassment becomes a qualifying disclosure.
06/04/26	Statutory sick pay reform	SSP from day one, removal of the three waiting days and lower earnings limit.  The introduction of a flat SSP rate or payment of 80% where earnings are below the flat SSP rate.
06/04/26	Holiday pay records	Duty on employers to keep holiday and holiday pay records for six years.  This was an unexpected change in legislation and announced days before implementation.
07/04/26	Fair Work Agency	New enforcement body with powers to investigate and enforce employment rights.
Aug & Oct 26	Further trade union changes	Many changes concerning TU rights of access to the workplace, gaining recognition, workplace electronic ballets and much more.
Oct 26	Employment tribunal claim time limit	Likely increase from three months to six months.
Oct 26	Third party harassment	Employers liable unless employer can show they took all reasonable steps to prevent this.
Oct 26	Stronger sexual harassment duty	Employers must take “all reasonable steps” rather than just “reasonable steps”.
01/01/27	Unfair dismissal reform	Likely unfair dismissal protection after six months, not two years.
2027 onwards	Zero-hours and agency worker changes	More rights around regular hours and cancelled shifts.
2027 onwards	Fire and rehire restrictions	Much tighter limits on changing terms and conditions  - this change will be far reaching and impact all companies significantly.
2027 onwards	Flexible Working	Will become default, assume accepted unless employer can prove refusal is reasonable.
2027 onwards	Bereavement Leave	New right to at least 1 week bereavement leave after the loss of a family member.

Ready for these changes? We can help

BPCA members have access to Quest's professional HR advice line and templates library for free. To learn how this benefit can support your business, head to: bpca.org.uk/quest or contact membership@bpca.org.uk for your login details today.