The UK government’s Make Work Pay plan – to be launched on Monday 6 April 2026 - introduces major updates to employment rights, including day-one protection from unfair dismissal and improved access to parental and sick leave.
It also brings forward reforms to strengthen workplace protections and tackle inequality, such as new requirements for pay gap reporting and action plans aimed at improving gender and broader workplace equality. For architecture practices, these changes signal a shift towards more robust, fair, and transparent employment standards across the sector.
We’ve outlined some of the reforms below and asked two specialists from the Architecture HR Network to add context and guidance.
Sonal Rathod, Head of HR at London-based PLP, argues that several aspects of the previous employment law framework no longer reflected the realities of modern working life. In particular, they state, the definitions of “employee”, “worker”, and “self-employed” had not kept pace with the growth of platform work, hybrid arrangements, and the gig economy (ie. short-term, flexible, or freelance contracts, often facilitated by digital platforms). This created uncertainty for both organisations and individuals about rights and obligations.
They add: “Family-friendly rights were also tied to lengthy qualifying periods, which did not align with today’s more mobile workforce or the prevalence of short term...
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