Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 12th February 2026 Issue no. 1197
Your industry news - first
The original and best - for over 20 years!
We strongly recommend viewing Cleanzine full size in your web browser. Click our masthead above to visit our website version.
75% of UK businesses unprepared for new employee rights rules, lawyer warns
An employment solicitor has warned that most UK businesses are not prepared for the most significant overhaul of workers' rights in decades, as the Employment Rights Bill is set to become law.
The Bill has now passed through the House of Lords after receiving Royal Assent at the end of 2025, and will deliver benefits to over 15 million people. With reforms confirmed to come into effect on 1st January 2027, the Bill now includes six months' unfair dismissal rights following the controversial U-turn by ministers, as well as stronger protections for zero-hours and flexible workers.
Roy Magara, an Oxfordshire-based solicitor who advises businesses and workers nationwide, estimates that around 70% - 75% of employers would struggle to comply if the reforms were introduced today.
"Many organisations are still operating with outdated assumptions about flexibility and probation,” warns Roy, who is a Solicitor Advocate and founder of Magara Law. "The two-year safety net for unfair dismissal will be replaced, and employers will need to justify their actions from day one.
"If it came into force today, around three-quarters of employers simply wouldn't be ready.
"It represents a fundamental shift in employment risk."
The concern is backed by a study from FGS Global of over 500 UK businesses, which found 58% had little or no awareness of the changes.
The Employment Rights Bill will deliver day-one rights to sick pay and paternity leave, starting from April 2026.
"Too many employers don't have the systems or documentation in place to manage these changes," says Roy. "In flexible-work sectors, the failure to track hours or formalise regular shift patterns could lead to costly claims.
"Meanwhile, poorly drafted contracts or probation clauses could fall short of new legal standards, which need to stand up to legal scrutiny from day one."
Beyond these headline changes, the Bill is expected to broaden the right to request flexible working from day one, strengthen redundancy protections for employees returning from parental or family leave, and curb 'fire-and-rehire' practices.
Each reform brings new compliance hurdles for businesses, adding operational complexity, requiring employers to update policies, and ensuring contract changes are lawful.
"Too many businesses still rely on HR templates written for a different legal era, says Roy. "Unless those are updated now, the reality is they could find themselves non-compliant on day one of the new law."
To help employers prepare, Magara Law has developed a practical compliance framework that guides organisations through five key steps.
The firm advises companies to begin by reviewing contracts and HR policies for fairness and flexibility, followed by manager training, updated probation frameworks and redundancy or redeployment reviews.
"Policies alone won't fix the culture in a company,” advises Roy. “Businesses need to ensure their managers are trained, their processes are consistent, and their decisions are properly recorded."
22nd January 2026