Employment Rights Act: What You Need to Know
The Employment Rights Act 2025 represents the biggest overhaul of UK employment law in a generation, and it's landing in stages throughout 2026 and 2027. For stud farm employers, many of whom are managing small teams, seasonal staff, on-site housing and a constant flow of visitors, vets and farriers, the changes are not just an HR box-ticking exercise. They touch the day-to-day realities of running a stud.
In a recent Breeders’ Briefing webinar, TBA CEO Naomi Mellor sat down with Rachel Flynn, partner at Keystone Law and long-standing employment law adviser to the TBA, to unpack what's already in force, what's coming in October 2026, and what's due in 2027.
Here are five key elements every stud farm employer needs to know.
1. The unfair dismissal goalposts have moved - and are moving again
The headline change everyone was braced for was "day one" unfair dismissal rights, which would have allowed any employee to bring a claim regardless of length of service. Following a standoff with the House of Lords, a compromise was reached: from 2027, employees will need six months' service to bring an unfair dismissal claim, rather than day one and rather than the current two years.
That's a significant drop from two years to six months, and it comes bundled with a second change: the cap on unfair dismissal compensation, currently £118,000 or a year's pay (whichever is lower), is set to be lifted entirely, putting these claims on the same uncapped footing as discrimination and whistleblowing claims.
Relevance to studs: with qualifying service dropping to six months, the "give notice and move on" approach that many small employers have relied upon for staff under two years' service will no longer offer the same protection. Probationary periods, robust new-starter management and clear documentation of performance concerns become essential - not optional extras - well before an employee reaches the six-month mark.
2. Third-party harassment duties are a big one for the sales and visiting professionals
Employers already carry a positive duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. From October 2026, this extends to a duty to prevent harassment by third parties - vets, farriers, owners, contractors, and anyone else your staff meet.
This lands squarely on stud farms. Staff regularly deal with visiting professionals on-site, and are sent out to sales, where they may interact with all sorts of people over several days. The days of treating sales events as a separate, unregulated environment - "what happens at the sales stays at the sales" - are effectively over.
Relevance to studs: casual staff taken on for the sales need to be made aware of your zero-tolerance harassment policy as part of induction, not as an afterthought. Existing TBA induction materials and key information sheets are a good starting point but are worth revisiting considering this higher bar. Risk assessments, live policies, refresher training and crucially, evidence that action has been taken when something goes wrong will all matter if a claim ever reaches a tribunal.
3. Employers may be waiting far longer to find out if a claim is coming
Currently, an employee has three months to bring most tribunal claims. From October 2026, that window doubles to six months. Combined with ACAS early conciliation already having been extended from six to twelve weeks, the practical effect could see employers waiting up to nine months to know whether a dismissal or workplace dispute will result in a claim - a significant change from the relative certainty employers have had until now.
Relevance to studs: for a sector where teams are close-knit and turnover of key roles is felt keenly, this extended uncertainty makes good record-keeping more important than ever. Contemporaneous notes of conversations, warnings and concerns will matter far more, when memories and message threads, have had nine months to fade.
4. Contracts, handbooks and service occupancies deserve a fresh look
A recurring theme of the discussion was the need to revisit the paperwork underpinning employment relationships. Probationary periods, previously optional for many employers, are now something Rachel describes as a "big mistake" to leave out. Contracts, staff handbooks and offer letters should clearly set out probationary arrangements, and disciplinary policies should be updated to reflect harassment as gross misconduct.
For studs specifically, on-site housing is a valuable but often overlooked part of the employment relationship. Service occupancy agreements should be checked to confirm they give the employer the right to move staff between properties where needed - a "hot topic" that comes up often in practice.
Relevance to studs: with many stud staff living on-site, and a workforce that includes seasonal, temporary and self-employed contractors around the breeding season and sales, now is the time to audit contracts, handbooks and licences to occupy, rather than waiting for a dispute to expose gaps.
5. Statutory sick pay, parental leave and bereavement leave have already changed
Several changes are already in force. Waiting days for statutory sick pay have been scrapped, meaning SSP is now payable from day one of sickness absence, and low earners qualify for 80% of average weekly wages if that is lower than the flat rate. Parental, maternity and paternity leave (though not pay) now apply from day one of employment. Holiday pay records must be kept for six years. Separately, statutory unpaid bereavement leave is being extended to cover pregnancy loss, with further extension to bereavement of a loved one still under consultation.
Relevance to studs: these are largely administrative changes, but they do require updated payroll processes and policy wording. Maternity returners were flagged as needing careful handling - they are among the most protected categories of employee, with rights to be prioritised for redeployment and to return to their own role (or an equivalent one) after leave. This is a live issue in smaller businesses like studs and racing yards, where staffing structures can genuinely change during someone's leave, so decisions in this area need to be approached with particular care.
6. AI is quietly reshaping the tribunal landscape
A less obvious but genuinely striking point from the briefing: employment tribunal claims rose by 49% in the last quarter of 2025 compared with the same period the year before, a rise attributed in part to unrepresented claimants using AI tools to draft complex claims and grievances. While the stud and bloodstock sector may use workplace AI less than some industries, the broader effect is a more overloaded tribunal system - trials are already being listed around two years out - and, indirectly, employees who may feel more confident bringing a claim with AI assistance behind them.
Relevance to studs: this reinforces the same message running through all of the above - good documentation, clear communication with staff, and addressing concerns early are the best protection against a claim ever reaching a tribunal in the first place, regardless of how it might be drafted.
Where to get help
As Naomi and Rachel both emphasised throughout the session, none of this needs to be tackled alone. TBA Full members have access to Rachel's expertise, along with employment law advice, fact sheets and induction materials when logged in here. If you have questions arising from this briefing, or want support reviewing your contracts, handbooks or policies ahead of the October 2026 and 2027 changes, contact the TBA at [email protected].
This article summarises key discussion points from the Breed It Briefing webinar "Employment Rights Act - What You Need to Know." It is intended as a general overview and does not constitute legal advice. TBA members should contact the TBA for guidance specific to their circumstances. To view the webinar, click HERE.
