HR compliance checklist UK: employment essentials for 2026

Complete the appropriate right-to-work check before employment starts, verify any restrictions and retain dated evidence. A British or Irish applicant needs the appropriate document or eligible identity-service route; not everyone can supply a share code.

Provide the principal written statement on day one, including the required role, pay, hours and holiday details. Make sick pay procedures, other paid leave and notice information available on day one too. The wider statement is due within two months.

From April 2026, the minimum hourly rates are £12.71 for ages 21 and over, £10.85 for ages 18 to 20, and £8 for under-18s and qualifying apprentices. Apprentice eligibility matters: do not use the apprentice rate solely because the role has that label.

SSP now starts from the first full working day of eligible sickness and has no lower earnings threshold. The 2026/27 weekly amount is £123.25 or 80% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower. Check payroll settings and handbook wording against the same current rule.

Check the entitlement method for each working pattern and the pay method for holiday taken. Irregular-hours and part-year workers have specific accrual rules; a single day-based formula will not fit every contract.

From 6 April 2026, detailed holiday and holiday pay records must be retained for at least six years. Record time taken and amounts paid, and keep the calculation traceable. Review average working hours and rest separately from holiday entitlement.

Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day-one rights for eligible employees from 6 April 2026. Statutory pay can still have separate service and earnings conditions.

Neonatal Care Leave is available for eligible employees of babies born from 6 April 2025, with up to 12 weeks depending on the qualifying care period. Leave and pay eligibility differ. Check carers' leave, dependants emergencies and reasonable adjustments when deciding how to handle a request.

The government's implementation timetable was updated on 25 August 2026. As at this review, SSP and day-one family-leave changes are already in force, while further measures are scheduled for later dates.

The timetable includes tribunal time-limit changes in October 2026, further harassment and trade-union measures, and unfair-dismissal and fire-and-rehire changes scheduled for January 2027. Future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes. Use the official timetable to plan reviews, rather than presenting every announced reform as current law.

For each gap, write down the owner, evidence needed and target date. Keep current policies accessible, restrict sensitive employee records and check the separate payroll, pension, safety and information-handling duties relevant to the business.

Revisit the checklist when hiring, changing a working pattern or preparing final pay. Completing this overview does not replace the detailed checks for an individual employment decision.