Businesses should treat 2027 reforms as a 2026 hiring issue, says Sally Gwilliam
The countdown to the government’s employment reforms may be focused on 2027, but many employers are already making decisions that could be judged under the new regime. For HR leaders and hiring managers, the real challenge is preparing for change at the end of the year while recognising that recruitment decisions made today may carry legal and operational consequences much sooner than expected.
Consider a new starter joining a business during summer 2026. By the time the reforms take effect on 1 January 2027, that employee could be close to six months’ service. Under the proposed framework, employers will have significantly less time to assess suitability before unfair dismissal rights become relevant. Organisations can no longer afford to rely on a probation period that merely exists on paper.
That’s not to say businesses should become more cautious about hiring. Growth depends on bringing in the right people at the right time. However, it does mean recruitment processes need to be more disciplined and intentional. When roles are poorly defined, interview criteria are inconsistent or success measures are never properly agreed, later performance concerns can quickly turn into disputes about whether the employee was given a fair opportunity to succeed in the first place.
In practice, the best protection for employers is a clear and consistent hiring process. Before a vacancy is advertised,...
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