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Small Business HR
Blog
Fire and rehire: what the January 2027 change means for your business
From 1 January 2027, fire and rehire will be automatically unfair dismissal in most cases. What’s covered, the narrow exception and what to do now.
- By admin
- November 10, 2026
press
Press Release November 2026
Press release: November 2026 Unfair dismissal compensation cap scrapped from January Small business owners who put off dealing with people problems could face significantly higher financial penalties from January 2027, warns local HR consultant Tara Anstee. The statutory cap on unfair dismissal compensation, currently the lower of £123,543 or 52 weeks’ gross pay, will […]
- By tara
- November 6, 2026
Newsletter
November 2026 Newsletter
What the new uncapped unfair dismissal compensation means for your business From January, dismissing someone and putting them back on worse terms will be automatically unfair. No qualifying service needed or cap on the compensation a tribunal can award. Most small business owners aren’t aware when they’re “firing and rehiring”. But that’s what it’s called […]
- By tara
- November 2, 2026
Blog
The real cost of managing employment law on your own
UK employment law has changed more in the last twelve months than in the previous decade. If you’re keeping on top of it yourself, as a business owner, you’re almost certainly getting something wrong. And, right now, getting it wrong means tribunal claims with uncapped compensation and regulatory investigations you weren’t prepared for. Even when […]
- By tara
- October 28, 2026
Blog
How the UK’s salary transparency consultation affects small business owners
The government wants to make you publish salary ranges in every job advert. If this becomes law, you won’t be able to just stick “competitive salary” on a listing and hope for the best. A consultation launched in July 2026 is looking at making this mandatory. It also proposes a new watchdog that can audit […]
- By tara
- October 22, 2026
Blog
Speak Up Month: Why employees who raise concerns early save you thousands
I read some stats today that I can’t ignore: Single tribunal claims are up 39% year on year. 64,000 individual cases are open and waiting to be resolved. And more than half a million claims in total are sitting in the system right now. I’d hazard a guess that many of these cases started the […]
- By tara
- October 20, 2026
Blog
What to do when an employee is affected by menopause
One in ten women have left a job because of menopause symptoms. If your business doesn’t have a clear approach, you’re losing experienced people and leaving yourself open to discrimination claims with uncapped awards. Menopause-related tribunal claims have more than tripled in recent years, from 64 in 2022 to over 200 in 2024. The Equality […]
- By tara
- October 16, 2026
Blog
What the new 6-month tribunal time limit means for your business
New rules would allow trade unions to formally request access to your workplace once they come into force. If you repeatedly breach an access agreement, you could be looking at fines of up to £500,000. That’s not a typo. And this isn’t something you can quietly sit out. The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces two […]
- By tara
- October 12, 2026
Blog
What the new 6-month tribunal time limit means for your business
As of 1 October 2026, the time limit for most employment tribunal claims has doubled from 3 months to 6 months. This means that an employee can now file a complaint against you for something that happened up to 6 months ago. The old 3-month deadline quietly protected employers for years. A significant number of […]
- By tara
- October 6, 2026
Newsletter
October 2026 Newsletter
Are you ready for October’s trade union access rights? If you’ve never had to deal with a trade union, October might change that. From 1 October 2026, every employer in England, Wales and Scotland must give workers a written statement telling them that they have the right to join a trade union. That applies regardless […]
- By tara
- October 5, 2026
press
Press Release October 2026
Press Release: October 2026 HR expert warns: Doubled tribunal time limit means that every decision is now claimable As of 1 October 2026, employees now have six months to bring a tribunal claim instead of three. For small business owners still relying on informal processes and patchy documentation, that extra time could prove very costly. […]
- By tara
- October 2, 2026