How long do you have to keep holiday records?

At least 6 years. Since 6 April 2026 employers must keep records of annual leave and holiday pay for that long, and Acas says failing to keep them could be a criminal offence. With sick pay starting on day one, a single day off sick is also worth recording as a sick-pay day.

What changes on 30 October 2026?

Employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers, up from reasonable steps. On the same day they become liable for harassment of their staff by third parties, such as customers, unless they took all reasonable steps to prevent it. Several trade union measures also start that day.

New employment laws: what they mean for restaurants, cafés and pubs

Toby Nieman, Founder

Last checked: 13 October 2026 · 6 min read

Restaurant manager holding the week's rota on a tablet beside a new starter and a server: Employment Rights Act 2025 — Sick pay, holiday records, rotas and the harassment duty: the Employment Rights Act 2025 arrives in stages in 2026 and 2027.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 is arriving in stages. Here's what has already changed for hospitality, what comes next, and the dates.

Two laws from 2023 already matter to hospitality. The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 requires all tips to be passed on to workers without deductions, and its statutory code of practice came into force on 1 October 2024. The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 gave employers a duty, in section 40A of the Equality Act 2010, to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees from 26 October 2024. On 10 October 2024 the government introduced the Employment Rights Bill as the first phase of its Plan to Make Work Pay, publishing Next Steps to Make Work Pay the same day. The Bill received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 and became the Employment Rights Act 2025.

The Act doesn't arrive all at once. Its measures are being brought in during 2026 and 2027, and GOV.UK's timeline says future dates "remain subject to parliamentary processes and may change". Dates below are from that timeline as of October 2026.

What it means for a café, restaurant or pub

A lot of the Act is about how people are hired, scheduled and paid, and hospitality is where much of that happens. Shifts are short and move at short notice. Front-of-house work is late, face to face and often around alcohol.

Zero-hours work is concentrated here too. The ONS estimates that about 337,000 people on zero-hours contracts in their main job work in accommodation and food services. That's 27% of everyone on a zero-hours contract in the UK, more than any other industry group (April to June 2026).

For a small site, some rights now start sooner or reach more people, and more of what you already do needs writing down in case you have to show it later.

What it requires, and when

6 April 2026: sick pay from day one (in force)

Statutory sick pay is paid from the first day of sickness absence, not the fourth. The lower earnings limit has gone, so staff no longer need to earn a minimum amount to qualify. Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day-one rights on the same date.

6 April 2026: whistleblowing on sexual harassment (in force)

Sexual harassment became a "qualifying disclosure" under whistleblowing law. Acas says that means someone who blows the whistle about sexual harassment is protected from detriment and unfair dismissal.

6 April 2026: holiday records kept for 6 years (in force)

Employers must keep records of annual leave and holiday pay for at least 6 years. Acas says failing to keep them could be a criminal offence.

7 April 2026: the Fair Work Agency (in force)

The Fair Work Agency was set up. It brings existing enforcement bodies together and takes on enforcement of rights such as holiday pay and statutory sick pay.

1 October 2026: 6 months to bring a claim (in force)

The time limit for most employment tribunal claims rose from 3 months to 6. If a problem started before 1 October 2026, the 3-month limit might still apply.

30 October 2026: all reasonable steps, and customers count

This date is now set in law by the Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 6) Regulations 2026, made on 1 October 2026. Employers must take "all reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment of their workers, up from "reasonable steps". Acas describes this as taking all the steps that are reasonable for your business, not just some, and focusing on prevention rather than reacting to incidents. On the same date, employers become liable for harassment of their staff by third parties, such as customers, unless they took all reasonable steps to prevent it. A power for the government to set out specific steps in regulations also starts that day; the steps themselves will come later. The harassment law changes on 30 October 2026 has the detail for pubs, cafés and restaurants.

For third-party harassment, Acas lists steps such as assessing the risk regularly, recording incidents and what was done, having a policy, training staff in safety and de-escalation, and telling customers the consequences of harassing staff, for example on posters.

Several trade union measures start on the same day, including a stronger right for unions to access workplaces and new rights for union representatives.

By the end of 2026 (no date set): tipping policies

Tipping law gets stronger. Before writing or reviewing a tipping policy, employers will need to consult their workers, or their union or worker representatives if they have them. They'll need to share an anonymised summary of the feedback and review the policy at least every 3 years.

1 January 2027: unfair dismissal after 6 months

Employees will be able to claim unfair dismissal after 6 months in a job, instead of 2 years, and the limit on unfair dismissal compensation will be removed. Employers also gain a duty to tell workers about their right to join a trade union.

January 2027: fire and rehire

Dismissing someone and rehiring them on worse terms, known as fire and rehire, becomes automatically unfair dismissal in most cases.

2027 (no date set): guaranteed hours, shift notice and flexible working

Workers on zero-hours and low-hours contracts get the right to guaranteed hours if they want them, reasonable notice of shifts and changes to shifts, and compensation when a shift is cancelled, shortened or moved. GOV.UK says the timings will be updated after consultation. Flexible working changes too: an employer who refuses a request will have to give a business reason from a list of 8 and explain why the refusal is reasonable. Unpaid bereavement leave, including for pregnancy loss, is also due in 2027.

Lasting effects

Most of these changes affect routine work: hiring, rotas, records and how complaints are handled.

Hiring

With unfair dismissal rights starting at 6 months, many employers will move probation reviews to before month 6.

Rotas

The shift rules are still being consulted on, so the detail isn't known yet, but when a rota went out, when it changed and what was cancelled will matter more than it did, especially for staff on zero or low hours.

Records

Holiday records now need to last 6 years. Sick pay now starts on day one, so a single day off sick can be a sick-pay day, and it's worth recording as one. With 6 months to bring a claim, notes about a complaint or a dismissal need to be kept, and findable, for longer than many small sites keep them today.

Complaints and customers

For a pub or late-opening restaurant, the duty includes planning for how customers behave: what staff do when a customer crosses the line, who they tell, and what gets written down afterwards.

None of this means a small kitchen has to run like a large employer. Acas notes that the steps an employer takes will depend on its size, its sector and the work its staff do. Acas also says an employer that already does everything it reasonably can may already meet the new harassment requirements.

What managero can do

managero HR & Safety is built around the duty: a risk assessment for your sites that includes customers, a policy with a reporting route, a record of which staff have read it, and a dated record of the steps you've taken. Deciding which steps are reasonable for your business is still your call.

If you've switched on the rota in managero, each published week is already kept with the time it went out, and later versions show which shifts were added, changed or removed. When the shift-notice rules arrive, that record of what staff were told, and when, will already be there.

General information only, not legal advice. For your own staff, check Acas's guidance on the Act.

Sources

Checked October 2026.

Common questions

When did statutory sick pay start from day one?: On 6 April 2026. Statutory sick pay is now paid from the first day of sickness absence, not the fourth, and the lower earnings limit has gone, so staff no longer need to earn a minimum amount to qualify. Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day-one rights on the same date.
How long do you have to keep holiday records?: At least 6 years. Since 6 April 2026 employers must keep records of annual leave and holiday pay for that long, and Acas says failing to keep them could be a criminal offence. With sick pay starting on day one, a single day off sick is also worth recording as a sick-pay day.
What changes on 30 October 2026?: Employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers, up from reasonable steps. On the same day they become liable for harassment of their staff by third parties, such as customers, unless they took all reasonable steps to prevent it. Several trade union measures also start that day.
When does unfair dismissal change to 6 months?: From 1 January 2027, according to GOV.UK and Acas. Employees will be able to claim unfair dismissal after 6 months in a job instead of 2 years, and the limit on unfair dismissal compensation will be removed. GOV.UK says future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes and may change.

Last checked: 13 October 2026. General information for England and Wales, not legal advice.

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