Template documents
Tailored to the needs of the UK recruitment industry, these template contracts and policies can be used when engaging clients, jobseekers and your own staff.
12-month legal timeline
Staying ahead of legal change is essential for every recruitment business. Our timeline brings together the key legal updates that will shape the world of recruitment in the year ahead.
Alongside each update, you’ll find links to key REC tools that can support your planning and compliance. Whether you want to get ahead of new rules, brief your teams, or speak confidently with clients, this page is your go‑to place for staying informed and ready.
Explore the previous months page for earlier activity.
July 2026
Key updates:
| Employment Rights Act |
| 6-month qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal protections. |
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Employees will need to have been continuously employed for 6 months to qualify for unfair dismissal protections. This is due to apply to employees who already have six months’ service or more on 1st January 2027. The cap on unfair dismissal compensation is due to be removed from 1st January 2027. Further guidance on this can be found here. Applies to GB. Anyone employed as of the 1st of July 2026 will be entitled to claim unfair dismissal from 1st January 2027 if they have been continuously employed for six months or more. |
| Other Updates |
| HMRC updates its current list of named tax avoidance schemes, promoters, enablers and suppliers |
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The HMRC current list of named tax avoidance schemes, promoters, enablers and suppliers was updated on 2nd July 2026. |
| Department for Education Statutory Guidance on 'Allergy Safety in Schools' |
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The DfE's statutory guidance on "Allergy safety in schools" was published on 6th July 2026 to reflect Section 34 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (“The Act”) (which received Royal Assent on 29th April 2026) which amends section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to introduce mandatory allergy safety policies for all schools in England. The statutory guidance sets out the requirements around how allergies are to be managed in schools. The statutory guidance is due to take effect from 1st September 2026. |
Key REC events:
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REC Health and Social Care Sector Meeting: 7th July 2026
The REC’s Health and Social Care sector meeting provides an opportunity to remain up to date on crucial issues including, the REC's recent data on NHS Bank shifts costing more than agency cover, the Health Bill and NHS Modernisation Bill, and the REC's ongoing campaign on the Employment Rights Act on behalf of recruiters, including the proposals on Guaranteed Hours.
Key Resources:
August 2026
Key updates:
| Employment Rights Act |
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Consultation on new protections for zero and low-hour workers |
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On 2nd June 2026 the government issued their consultation on 'Make Work Pay: ending one-sided flexibility - reforms of zero hours and similar contracts'. The consultation seeks views on reforms relating to zero hours and similar contracts, to implement measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025 to end one-sided flexibility. This includes the right to guaranteed hours, reasonable notice of shifts and changes to these, and payment for shifts cancelled, curtailed or moved at short notice. The consultation closes on 25 August 2026. The REC is preparing its response to the consultation and wants to hear from members about the practical impact of the changes. We encourage you to share your views with both the Government and us at campaigns@rec.uk.com before the consultation closes. |
September 2026
| Employment Rights Act 2025 |
| Make Work Pay: Holiday Pay Compliance and Enforcement Consultation |
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The government has published its "Make Work Pay: Holiday Pay Compliance and Enforcement" on 30th June 2026. The consultation invites responses on the enforcement of holiday pay under the Fair Work Agency, along with other feedback on compliance. The consultation is due to close on 22nd September 2026. |
| Other Updates |
| Crime and Policing Act 2026 |
| The Department for Education (DfE) has updated its statutory guidance on working or volunteering in regulated activity with children, effective from 1st September 2026. The updated guidance reflects the changes made by the Crime and Policing Act 2026 (CPA 2026) which removes the supervision exemption from the definition of regulated activity, meaning unpaid activities such as teaching, training, instructing, or caring for or supervising children will constitute regulated activity if carried out on more than three days in a 30-day period or overnight, irrespective of supervision. From 1st September 2026, all volunteers engaging in regulated activity will be required to obtain an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check with children’s barred list information. |
| Department for Education Statutory Guidance on 'Allergy Safety in Schools' |
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The DfE's statutory guidance on "Allergy safety in schools" was published on 6th July 2026 to reflect Section 34 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (“The Act”) (which received Royal Assent on 29th April 2026) which amends section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to introduce mandatory allergy safety policies for all schools in England. The statutory guidance sets out the requirements around how allergies are to be managed in schools. The statutory guidance is due to take effect from 1st September 2026. |
October 2026
Key updates:
| Employment Rights Act |
| Automatic unfair dismissal in ‘fire and rehire’ scenarios. |
| Employees who are dismissed for a rejecting change to their contracts (outside of the permitted circumstances) will be able to claim unfair dismissal (applies to GB). |
| Protection against detriment for industrial action. |
| A worker has the right not to be subjected to detriment by any act, or any deliberate failure to act, by their employer, if the act or failure takes place for the sole or main purpose of preventing or deterring the worker from taking protected industrial action, or penalising the worker for doing so (apples to GB). |
| Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union. |
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A worker’s employer must give the worker a written statement that the worker has the right to join a trade union. The statement must be given—at the same time as the employer gives the worker a section 1 ERA 1996 statement of employment particulars i.e. on or before the first day of employment and at other prescribed times (applies to GB). |
| Duty to take “all” reasonable steps to protect workers from harassment. |
| The new section 40B Equality Act 2010, gives the Secretary of State power to make regulations specifying a non-exhaustive list of obligations will be set out that are to be regarded as reasonable steps an employer must take in order to prevent workplace sexual harassment (applies to GB). |
| Employer duty to protect workers from harassment by third parties. |
| Section 40(1A) -(1C) of the Equality Act introduces protections against sexual harassment by third parties (parties who are not employed by the employer) to employees and job applicants (applies to GB). |
| Draft Revised Code of Practice on Fair and Transparent Distribution of Tips |
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The government has published its response to the consultation on "Making Work Pay: Strengthening the Law on Tipping", as well as the draft Revised Code of Practice on Fair and Transparent Distribution of Tips. The draft Code was published on 30th June 2026 and reflects the additional employer obligations introduced by the Employment Rights Act 2025, which are due to come into force in October 2026. |
| Extension of Employment Tribunal time limits. |
| Extension of Employment Tribunal time limits from three to six months from the date of the alleged act of harassment. |
| Changes in contracts for public sector workers. |
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Introducing power to implement a code of practice through secondary legislation providing for workers carrying out the same work on the same public sector contracts to be treated the same in respect of their employment terms and conditions at the outset. This power can be used, amongst other things, to set out model contract terms and the circumstances in which they should be applied. The regulations will allow Ministers to, for example, set out model contract clauses, which (unless exempt) contracting authorities must take all reasonable steps to include in their outsourcing contracts (applies to GB). |
| Regulations to establish the Fair Pay Agreement and Adult Social Care Negotiating Body (England). |
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Regulations will establish the negotiating process and set the parameters for fair pay agreements in England, which once implemented, will apply to all workers who are covered by the agreement. |
Key REC events:
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REC Legal and Compliance Summit: 19th October 2026
The REC’s Legal and Compliance Summit, in association with JMW, provides members an opportunity to hear from the REC's Legal and Compliance teams for a comprehensive update on the legal and compliance issues facing the recruitment industry.
November 2026
Key updates:
| Other Updates |
| 'Safe Weight Limit Policy' for Offshore Workers |
| The OEUK, HM Coastguard, helicopter operators and member companies have put together the ‘Safe Weight Limit Policy’, which introduces a clothed weight limit of 124kg for all offshore workers to mitigate the safety hazard risk identified by the increasing weight of offshore workers. The mandatory implementation date for the policy is 1st November 2026. |
December 2026
Key updates:
| Employment Rights Act |
| Power to implement a mandatory Seafarers Charter setting out minimum employment standards for operators frequently calling at UK ports. |
| The mandatory Seafarers Charter builds on the earlier Seafarers’ Wages Act 2023 extending protections beyond pay to include as fair pay, working conditions, and employment rights – applies to seafarers working on vessels regularly operating in UK waters (applies to the UK). |
January 2027
Key updates:
| Employment Rights Act |
| 6-month qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal protections. |
|
Employees will need to have been continuously employed for 6 months to qualify for unfair dismissal protections. This is due to apply to employees who already have six months’ service or more on the 1 January 2027. The cap on unfair dismissal compensation is due to be removed from 1st January 2027. Further guidance on this can be found here. Applies to GB. Further guidance on this can be found here. |
Key resources:
Key Resources:
February 2027
Key updates:
Currently no activity. We will update this page as soon as this changes.
March 2027
Key updates:
Currently no activity. We will update this page as soon as this changes.
April 2027
Key updates:
Currently no activity. We will update this page as soon as this changes.
May 2027
Key updates:
Currently no activity. We will update this page as soon as this changes.
June 2027
Key updates:
Currently no activity. We will update this page as soon as this changes.