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Insights and Analysis
Employment in the news | March 2026
30 March 2026
The Employment Rights Act (ERA) remained a key issue for employers this month. The government confirmed changes taking effect in April and published a consultation exercise on collective redundancy requirements. We've also got further detail about equality action plans, which are voluntary for 2026 but will be mandatory from 2027. An EAT decision confirmed that individual and group disadvantage are both relevant to justification in indirect discrimination claims.
Chapter 1
ERA updates (1) – collective redundancies
As expected, the maximum protective award in collective redundancy consultation claims increases from 90 to 180 days’ pay per employee for dismissals taking effect on or after 6 April 2026.
From 2027, employers may have to consult collectively about dismissals taking place at more than one workplace. A government consultation suggests that collective consultation duties will apply if a fixed number of dismissals, probably in the 250 to 1,000 range, take place across an organisation as a whole. You can read more about the consultation options here and stay tuned for our upcoming Employment Bite on the topic.
Next steps
- The consultation closes on 21 May 2026.
- When the changes take effect, multi-site employers will need systems in place to identify when consultation obligations apply.
Chapter 2
ERA updates (2) – further measures in force in April
Other ERA measures taking effect in April 2026 include:
- Making disclosures about sexual harassment protected disclosures for the purposes of a whistleblowing claim;
- Requiring employers to keep adequate records to show that they have complied with statutory holiday entitlements; and
- Making it easier for trade unions to apply for and obtain statutory recognition, for example by removing the need to show that most workers in the relevant bargaining unit would be likely to favour union recognition when applying for recognition.
Alongside the ERA changes, annual increases in statutory compensation limits apply to dismissals taking place on or after 6 April. A week’s pay increases to £751, and the unfair dismissal compensation cap goes up to £123,543.
Next steps
- Review and update whistleblowing policies as needed.
- Check that existing holiday records are adequate and keep them for six years.
Chapter 3
ERA updates (3) – Equality action plan guidance
Under the ERA, employers will have to publish equality action plans alongside gender pay gap reports, showing how they are addressing gender pay gaps and the support they offer to employees going through the menopause. The government is encouraging employers to publish equality action plans voluntarily with gender pay gap reports due by April 2027. Equality action plans will be mandatory in subsequent years.
The government has published guidance on what equality action plans should contain. You can read more about the guidance here. Employers should choose at least one action to address their gender pay gap and another to support employees during the menopause, but the government wants employers to go further where possible.
Next steps
- Review the guidance and your existing approach to gender pay gap issues.
- Decide whether to report voluntarily in 2027.
- Keep an eye out for further detailed guidance in April.
Chapter 4
Flexible working and indirect discrimination
In Dobson v North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, the EAT confirmed that requiring an employee to work occasional weekends did not amount to indirect sex discrimination. The extent of disadvantage to the claimant, as well as to the wider employee population, were relevant to objective justification.
Mrs Dobson was a part‑time community nurse working fixed days. This allowed her to care for her children. She said her childcare responsibilities meant she couldn’t comply with a new requirement to work occasional weekends and the employer eventually dismissed her when she wouldn’t agree to the new arrangements.
Her indirect sex discrimination claim failed. Although the requirement to work weekends placed women as a group at a disadvantage, it was objectively justified. It was a legitimate aim to provide safe and efficient 24-hour patient care in a way that distributed work fairly between staff. Asking staff to work occasional weekends was proportionate. Mrs Dobson was the only nurse to work fixed days, and she was unwilling to agree to any change, however minor, in her arrangements. Although working an occasional weekend might have been difficult for her, the requirement was justified when balancing the degree of inconvenience with the employer’s legitimate aim.
The EAT accepted that the individual impact on Mrs Dobson was relevant to the balancing exercise. It was common sense to take both individual and group disadvantage into account when deciding proportionality and the tribunal was not limited to considering disadvantage to the affected group. It was also relevant to proportionality that Mrs Dobson was unwilling to consider any alternatives to her fixed days arrangement and that no other nurses were completely unable to comply with the requirement to work some weekends.
Next steps
- Consultation was key in this case. It was one of the factors that allowed the employer to justify its requirement for staff to work some weekends.
- In future, under the ERA flexible work changes, it will be compulsory for employers to consult an employee and discuss feasible alternative arrangements before refusing a flexible working request.
Authored by Ed Bowyer, Stefan Martin, and Jo Broadbent.
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