Employee Calling in Sick on Declined Holiday in 2026

calling in sick on declined holiday

Employers frequently face situations where an employee’s request for annual leave has been refused for legitimate business reasons, only for that same employee to then call in sick on the day they wanted off. From an operational perspective, this feels suspicious. From a legal perspective, it is one of the easiest scenarios in which employers […]

Holiday Entitlement When Leaving a Job in 2026

how to work out holiday entitlement when leaving a job

Holiday entitlement when an employee leaves a job is one of the most common causes of payroll disputes, unlawful deduction claims and avoidable employment tribunal exposure. For employers, errors in final holiday calculations rarely arise from complex law; they arise from poor interpretation of statutory rules, inconsistent application of contractual terms or a failure to […]

Holiday Entitlement 2026: Leave Rights, Minimums & How It Works

holiday entitlement

Holiday entitlement is one of the most operationally sensitive areas of UK employment law. It affects payroll accuracy, workforce planning, absence management, employee relations and legal risk exposure. Errors are rarely obvious at the point they occur, but they often surface later through grievances, tribunal claims or payroll audits, by which time liabilities may span […]

Holiday & Leave: Entitlement, Rules & How It Works 2026

holiday sickness and leave

Workers take time off work for different reasons. This can include annual holiday, unexpected absence such as sickness or emergencies, and planned longer-term leave such as family-related absence. For employers, managing holiday and leave is not just an administrative task. It requires applying the correct legal rules, ensuring pay is calculated accurately, supporting employees appropriately […]

TUPE Meaning UK: What It Is & When It Applies 2026

tupe meaning

  Section A: What does TUPE mean in practice for an employer?   For employers, TUPE is not simply a rule about preserving jobs. In practical terms, it is a legal mechanism that reallocates employment risk when a business, part of a business or a service changes hands. It determines whether employees move automatically to […]

Cost of an Employment Tribunal to Employers in 2026

average cost of employment tribunal to employer

Employers searching for the average cost of an employment tribunal to an employer are rarely looking for a single figure. In practice, no fixed or reliable “average” exists that can be applied safely across cases. Tribunal costs vary widely depending on the nature of the claim, the conduct of the parties, procedural decisions taken by […]

Gender Pay Gap Reporting 2026: Requirements & How to Comply

gender pay gap reporting

Gender pay gap reporting is no longer a niche HR disclosure exercise. For employers in scope of the UK gender pay gap reporting regime, it is a repeatable annual compliance obligation with real commercial consequences if it is mishandled. The legal duty is to calculate and publish prescribed figures on time and in the correct […]

IR35 Changes 2026: What’s New, Who’s Affected & Next Steps

ir35 changes

The IR35 changes have fundamentally altered how UK employers engage contractors and manage off-payroll working arrangements. While IR35 is a tax regime rather than an employment law framework, the reforms now sit squarely within the remit of HR, finance and senior leadership, carrying material compliance, cost and reputational risk for businesses that get them wrong. […]

Employee Offboarding: Process, Legal & Best Practice 2026

Offboarding

Offboarding is a critical but often underestimated stage of the employment lifecycle. While many employers focus heavily on recruitment, onboarding and retention, the point at which an employee leaves the organisation is where legal risk, financial exposure and operational disruption are most likely to crystallise. Offboarding is not simply an administrative exercise. It is a […]

UK National Minimum Wage 2026: Current Rates & Legal Rules

UK Minimum Wage

The National Minimum Wage is one of the most actively enforced areas of UK employment law. For employers, it is not simply a question of paying the correct headline hourly rate. Compliance depends on correct classification of workers, accurate calculation of working time, lawful treatment of deductions and charges and robust payroll controls that can […]