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.
October 2026
Key updates:
| Employment Rights Act 2025 |
| 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). This is expected to come into force on 30th October 2026. |
| Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union. |
|
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). This was expected to come into force on 30th October 2026 - this has been delayed to 1st January 2027. |
| 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). This is expected to come into force on 30th October 2026. |
| 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). This is expected to come into force on 30th October 2026. |
| Employment Tribunals Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) (Amendment) Order 2026 |
| This Order amends the Employment Tribunal Extension of Jurisdiction (England and Wales) Order 1994 to extend the time limit for bringing a claim in the Employment Tribunal about employees' contract of employment from three months to six months, to reflect the changes under the Employment Rights Act 2025. This extension of time comes into force on 1st October 2026. |
| Changes in contracts for public sector workers. |
|
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). |
| 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. |
| Other Updates |
| Equal Pay and Pay Discrimination Consultation |
| The Office of Equality and Opportunity has published a consultation on reforming the equal pay and pay discrimination framework, including seeking views on how gaps and inconsistencies in the framework currently affecting disabled people, those from ethnic minority groups and outsourced workers can be addressed. One of the key proposals in the consultation is the proposal of requiring employers to publish pay information in job advertisements or provide it in writing to candidates before interview where no advertisement is used with the intention of improving transparency of pay practices. The consultation is due to close on 27th October 2026. |
| Draft Right to Work Checks: An Employer's Guide |
| The draft 'Right to Work Checks: An Employer's Guide' was published on 16th July 2026, which reflects the amendments under the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Act 2025 (“BSAI 2025”), which amends the IANA 2006 by extending the scope of employers required to prevent illegal working under the Scheme, and the sanctions for non-compliance, beyond traditional employment relationships to a wider range of working arrangements. The draft guidance is due to take effect from 1st October 2026, but is not yet in force and the REC will provide further updates when available. |
| Value Match/HEART Framework |
| The Value Match (HEART) Framework, which is a compliant alternative to the GCA RM6376 Framework, is due to open on 30th October 2026 and will close on 27th November 2026.Value Match are an organisation that deliver Procurement Shared Services into the Education Sector. They deliver both retained and ad-hoc project services for MATs covering all aspects of procurement. As an addition to that service, they develop and manage a range of Frameworks including the Supply Agency Framework. |
| Digital Verification Service Right to Work |
| From 1st October 2026, employers using a DVS for a prescribed digital RTW check must use a DVS which is certified against the DVS trust framework and the supplementary code for digital right to work checks, as well as must appear on the statutory DVS register in order for the employer to obtain a statutory excuse. |
| Draft Code of Practice for employers: avoiding unlawful discrimination while preventing illegal working |
| The Home Office published its updated draft code of practice for employers on avoiding unlawful discrimination while preventing illegal working which is due to come into force from 1st October 2026. The purpose of this code of practice is to ensure that employers do not unlawfully discriminate contrary to the Equality Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”) and/or relevant legislation in Northern Ireland, when complying with the duty to prevent illegal working and in particular, when carrying out ‘right to work’ checks when recruiting or employing people. |
Key REC events:
-
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. |
| Value Match/HEART Framework |
| The Value Match (HEART) Framework, which is a compliant alternative to the GCA RM6376 Framework, is due to open on 30th October 2026 and will close on 27th November 2026.Value Match are an organisation that deliver Procurement Shared Services into the Education Sector. They deliver both retained and ad-hoc project services for MATs covering all aspects of procurement. As an addition to that service, they develop and manage a range of Frameworks including the Supply Agency Framework. |
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. |
| Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union. |
|
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). This is due to come into force on 1st January 2027. |
| 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). |
Key Resources:
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REC Unfair Dismissal Series
The REC Legal Team have put together a two-part series on 'Unfair Dismissal: What is changing under the ERA 2025', Part One and Part Two to help REC members prepare for the upcoming changes. -
Bitesize video: whistleblowing protection, unfair dismissal, DBS and data.
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:
| Employment Rights Act |
| Bereavement Leave including pregnancy loss |
|
The new statutory day-one right to unpaid bereavement leave under the Employment Rights Act (ERA) 2025 is due to come into force in April 2027. The new right will sit alongside the existing entitlement to the two weeks of parental bereavement leave, which is limited to parents who lose a child under the age of 18 or experience a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy. The new entitlement is broader in scope, covering a wider range of relationships and pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. Secondary legislation is expected and the REC will provide further updates where necessary. |
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.
July 2027
Key updates:
Currently no activity. We will update this page as soon as this changes.
August 2027
Key updates:
Currently no activity. We will update this page as soon as this changes.
September 2027
Key updates:
Currently no activity. We will update this page as soon as this changes.