Free handbook compliance check
Paste your handbook and get every gap ranked by risk, with the law cited.
Free handbook risk check
How much law has changed since your handbook was last reviewed?
Pick the date below. We compare it against the tracked timeline of UK employment-law changes. No sign-up, no email, and no pretending to know what your handbook says.
A UK employee handbook reviewed before April 2026 predates the first wave of the Employment Rights Act 2025, including day-one statutory sick pay and day-one paternity and parental leave, which are already in force. Handbooks last reviewed before October 2024 also predate the sexual harassment prevention duty, and before April 2024, the day-one right to request flexible working. Further changes arrive in October 2026 (the ‘all reasonable steps’ harassment duty) and on 1 January 2027 (unfair dismissal protection after six months’ service).
The timeline
The tracked changes behind this check
Every result comes from this timeline of real, dated legal changes, the same UK employment-law sources Regulyn's weekly legislation sync monitors. Nothing is invented, and every entry links to the legislation itself.
- 6 April 2024Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023
Flexible working becomes a day-one right
Employees can request flexible working from their first day of employment. They may make two requests in any 12-month period, and employers must respond within two months and consult before refusing on one of the eight statutory grounds.
How to handle a flexible working request - 6 April 2024Carer's Leave Act 2023
Carer's leave introduced as a day-one right
Employees with caring responsibilities for a dependant with a long-term care need are entitled to one week of unpaid carer's leave per year, from day one of employment.
- 26 October 2024Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023
Positive duty to prevent sexual harassment
Employers are under a proactive duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their staff. Tribunals can uplift compensation by up to 25% where the duty was breached.
Harassment prevention policy guide - 6 April 2025Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023
Neonatal care leave and pay
Parents of babies admitted to neonatal care within 28 days of birth are entitled to up to 12 weeks of neonatal care leave, with pay subject to earnings and service conditions.
- 6 April 2026Employment Rights Act 2025 (first wave)
Statutory sick pay from day one of sickness
Statutory sick pay is payable from the first day of sickness absence - the three waiting days have been abolished - and the lower earnings limit has been removed, extending SSP to part-time and low-paid workers.
Sickness absence policy guide - 6 April 2026Employment Rights Act 2025 (first wave)
Day-one paternity and unpaid parental leave
Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day-one rights, and a bereaved partner's paternity leave was introduced. Previous qualifying-service requirements no longer apply.
April 2026 employer checklist - 6 April 2026Employment Rights Act 2025 (first wave)
Whistleblowing protection for harassment disclosures
Disclosures about sexual harassment now qualify as protected disclosures under whistleblowing law, protecting the discloser from detriment and dismissal.
- 1 October 2026Employment Rights Act 2025 (October wave)
Tribunal time limits extend to six months
The time limit for bringing most employment tribunal claims extends from three months to six months.
Acas Code of Practice guide - 30 October 2026Employment Rights Act 2025 (October wave)
Harassment duty rises to 'all reasonable steps' + third-party liability
The duty to prevent sexual harassment rises from 'reasonable steps' to 'all reasonable steps', and employers become liable for harassment of staff by third parties such as customers and clients, related to any protected characteristic. Written particulars must also state the right to join a trade union from the same date.
The October 2026 harassment duty explained - 1 January 2027Employment Rights Act 2025 (January wave)
Unfair dismissal protection after six months
The qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims drops from two years to six months, the compensation cap is removed, and fire-and-rehire is restricted. Staff hired from around July 2026 will be protected on day one of the new regime.
The six-month rule from January 2027 - 2027 or later (date not yet fixed)Employment Rights Act 2025 (uncommenced provisions)
Later ERA 2025 measures
Still to be commenced: guaranteed hours for zero- and low-hours workers, the rule that flexible working refusals must be reasonable, bereavement leave as a general right, and regulations defining 'reasonable steps' for the harassment duty.
The ERA 2025 timeline, measure by measure
Handbook already up to date? The January 2027 unfair dismissal changes are the next big rewrite. Regulyn’s legal change alerts flag affected policies automatically.
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Questions
Questions UK employers are asking
How does the handbook risk check work?
You tell it one thing: when your employee handbook was last properly reviewed. It compares that date against a tracked timeline of UK employment-law changes (the Employment Rights Act 2025 rollout, the Worker Protection Act harassment duty, day-one flexible working and more) and shows which changes post-date your review, which are already in force, and which are still coming with deadlines.
Does it read or analyse my actual handbook?
No, and it does not pretend to. This check tells you what has changed in the law since your last review. It cannot know what your handbook says. To see exactly which of your policies have gaps, run the real compliance check inside Regulyn: paste your handbook and every section is analysed against 59 UK legislation and guidance sources, free during the trial.
Which legal changes does it track?
The timeline covers the changes most likely to invalidate handbook content: day-one flexible working and carer’s leave (April 2024), the sexual harassment prevention duty (October 2024), neonatal care leave (April 2025), the Employment Rights Act 2025 first wave including day-one statutory sick pay (April 2026), the October 2026 ‘all reasonable steps’ harassment duty and six-month tribunal limits, and the January 2027 six-month unfair dismissal qualifying period. Each entry links to the legislation itself.
Do these changes apply to small businesses?
Yes. None of the tracked changes carries a small-employer exemption: day-one statutory sick pay, the harassment prevention duty and the new unfair dismissal rules apply from one employee upwards. Small businesses are often more exposed, because they are less likely to have HR support monitoring the changes.
Is the risk check free?
Completely. It runs in your browser with no sign-up. The full compliance check behind the CTA is also free to run: the 7-day Regulyn trial needs no credit card and a whole-handbook gap analysis fits comfortably inside it.
Related reading
Go deeper on the changes
ERA 2025 in plain English
The full guide to what changed, when each provision takes effect and how Regulyn helps.
ERA 2025: what you need to change
The handbook changes the Employment Rights Act 2025 calls for.
What replaces the probation period
How to run probation when unfair dismissal rights arrive at six months.
Is a handbook a legal requirement?
What UK law requires in writing, and where a handbook fits.
Employee handbook software for UK law
What the product does, how it compares with templates and HR suites, and what it costs.
See exactly what your handbook is missing
The risk check shows what changed. The compliance check shows what to fix: every gap ranked by risk, with the law cited. Free trial, no card.