There’s a huge wave of employment law reform heading our way.
If you’ve missed the headlines, the Employment Rights Bill is being rolled out in stages from April 2026, with changes continuing through to 2027.
Some of the most immediate ones? Statutory Sick Pay from day one. No lower earnings limit. New rights for parents. More protection for whistleblowers. Tougher union access rules. Extended tribunal time limits. A clampdown on fire-and-rehire practices.
And that’s just the first 12 months.
This might sound like an HR issue, and much of it is. However, if you run a business, the real pressure lands in payroll.
Payroll is where this all gets real
These changes are going to cause a lot of headaches if you are not ready.
Let’s take just one example – sick pay.
From April 2026, if someone calls in sick, you will need to pay them SSP from day one.
No more three-day wait. No more exemptions for low earners.
It all needs to be tracked, calculated, and processed without errors, every single time.
Now add new parental leave entitlements, flexible working rules, and protections for agency workers into the mix. You start to see the scale of what is coming.
If you’re already stretched keeping your payroll running smoothly, this will make it harder.
What outsourcing does and why I recommend it
I’m not going to give you a fluffy sales pitch about saving time or avoiding stress. You already know that. What I will say is this:
Outsourcing your payroll now gives you the headroom to stay compliant without the chaos.
It means the calculations are right. The rules are followed. And someone who understands how the law interacts with payroll is making sure nothing slips through the cracks.
When the new SSP rules land, for example, we’ll update our systems and processes immediately, not after the penalties arrive.
When gender pay gap or menopause action plans start to require data reporting, we’ll already know how to structure it. We stay close to the legislation so you don’t have to.
That’s the benefit of working with someone who does this every day, across a wide range of sectors and business types.
Planning ahead now is better than panicking later
April 2026 might feel like a while away, but if you want time to test your systems, review your contracts, or rethink how payroll works for your team, you’ll need that time.
Outsourcing payroll isn’t a magic fix, but it’s a practical, sensible move when the rules are changing fast and mistakes are expensive.
If you’d like a no-nonsense look at what outsourcing might look like for your business, speak with our team today.