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The Employment Rights Act 2025 is bringing changes that directly affect how cleaning companies manage staff, schedules, and day-to-day operations. With new rules around unfair dismissal, sick pay, and zero hour contracts, getting things wrong can quickly lead to added costs, compliance issues, or problems with staff.
For businesses that rely on shift work and last-minute cover, these changes will have a real impact on planning and workload. This guide explains what the new rules mean in practice, when they take effect, and what cleaning companies should do to stay in control and avoid unnecessary risk.
Summary
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is already changing how cleaning companies manage staff and schedules. Some rules are already live, with more coming throughout 2026 and in 2027
Key changes include:
- Day-one sick pay
- Earlier unfair dismissal protection (from Jan 2027)
- Changes to zero hour contracts (expected 2027)
These updates increase the need for:
- clear contracts
- accurate time tracking
- consistent processes
The biggest risk is not the rules themselves, but poor documentation and informal ways of working. Taking action now helps reduce risk, stress, and unexpected costs
What Is the Employment Rights Act 2025?
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is a major update to UK employment law, strengthening worker protections and building on existing legislation like the Employment Rights Act 1996. It became law in December 2025 and introduces changes to key areas including unfair dismissal, statutory sick pay, zero hour contracts, and redundancy.
The aim is to improve job security and reduce insecure work across the UK. While some changes have already come into effect during 2026, others will be introduced gradually through 2026 and 2027.
For cleaning companies, this makes it important to understand both what applies now and what is coming next. Getting the right processes in place early helps avoid unnecessary risk and makes it easier to adapt as further changes take effect. Here’s a timeline of the relevant measures:
When the Employment Rights Act Changes Take Effect
This image was generated with the AI tool ChatGPT
Key Changes Explained: Unfair Dismissal, Sick Pay and Zero Hour Contracts
Although many of the changes coming into effect during 2026 and 2027 may affect your cleaning company, a few stand out as the most important. Here’s what to focus on.
Unfair dismissal
Employees will gain protection against unfair dismissal much earlier, as the qualifying period is reduced to six months from January 2027. This means employers need to follow clearer and more consistent procedures when managing dismissals from an earlier stage. If processes are not properly documented or handled correctly, the risk of employment tribunal claims increases.
Statutory sick pay
Statutory sick pay is to apply from day one of absence, rather than after a waiting period, with more employees becoming eligible. These changes came into effect the 6 April 2026. For cleaning companies, this means higher costs and a greater need to track absence and pay accurately, even for short-term or part-time staff.
Zero hour contracts
Changes to zero hour contracts are expected to be introduced in 2027. Rather than banning these contracts, workers may gain the right to request guaranteed hours based on their regular working patterns. Employers may also need to compensate staff for cancelled or short-notice shifts, reducing flexibility in last-minute scheduling and requiring more structured planning.
Understanding these changes is one thing. Putting the right processes in place is what makes the difference.
What Cleaning Companies Should Do, and Avoid
What to do
- Review and update contracts, especially for part-time and zero hour staff
- Track actual working hours to prepare for guaranteed hours rules
- Document all dismissal and disciplinary processes clearly
- Prepare for changes in sick pay eligibility and tracking
- Train managers and supervisors on the new requirements
What to avoid
- Relying on verbal agreements or outdated contracts
- Cancelling shifts without a clear process or documentation
- Handling dismissals informally or inconsistently
- Ignoring early signs of compliance gaps
- Waiting too long to prepare before changes take effect
Why the Employment Rights Act Matters for Cleaning Companies
Cleaning businesses rely heavily on flexible staffing, part-time roles, and shift-based work. Because of this, even small changes in employment law can have a direct impact on daily operations.
These changes affect how you:
- plan schedules and arrange cover
- manage payroll and control costs
- handle hiring, performance, and dismissal
They also increase the risk in areas where processes are often less structured, such as:
- informal agreements
- missing or unclear documentation
- inconsistent ways of working across sites
At the same time, there is more pressure to:
- stay compliant with changing rules
- build stable and reliable teams
- reduce admin errors and manual work
Beyond the new legal changes coming into effect in 2026 and 2027, these updates also reflect broader shifts in the cleaning industry. For a wider perspective, you can read our guide on 2026 UK Cleaning Industry Trends: What You Need to Know.
How CleanManager Supports Compliance and Daily Operations
As requirements become more detailed, staying compliant is less about knowing the rules and more about having clear, consistent processes in place.
For many cleaning companies, challenges often come from a lack of overview. Schedules are spread across different tools, working hours are tracked manually, and documentation is not always easy to find when needed. This makes it harder to stay in control, especially when dealing with sick leave, shift changes, or staff issues.
CleanManager brings these elements together in one place:
- A clear overview of staff schedules, working hours, and completed tasks, making it easier to plan ahead and avoid last-minute changes
- Time tracking that supports accurate payroll and helps reduce disagreements about hours worked
- Built-in documentation that creates a clear record of what has been done and when
If you’re curious how this could work in your own setup, you can book a quick 15-minute call with Simon.
Turning Legal Changes into Practical Action
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is not just a legal update. It is already starting to change how cleaning companies manage staff, schedules, and daily operations.
With some changes now in effect and others being introduced over the coming months, the impact is no longer something to prepare for later. For an industry built on flexible staffing and shift-based work, these updates are already influencing how businesses plan, document, and manage their teams.
Taking action early still makes a clear difference. It helps reduce risk, avoid unnecessary stress, and keep costs under control as further changes are rolled out.
Businesses that continue to build structure now will be in a much stronger position as the remaining updates take effect.
FAQ: The Employment Rights Act 2025
