4th September 2026 3 MIN READ •Resources
The Employee Rights Act is already bringing significant changes for employers, with key milestones arriving in October 2026 and January 2027. For HR teams, these changes place greater emphasis on fair, consistent and well-documented performance management processes. Organisations should be reviewing their onboarding, probation and ongoing performance management procedures now to ensure they can evidence decisions and support employees effectively.
Key takeaways
- Performance management is becoming more important. New legislation increases the need for fair, consistent and well-documented processes.
- Good records matter. Objectives, check-ins and performance conversations should be documented from day one.
- Probation needs structure. Regular reviews, clear objectives and documented outcomes help create a fair process.
- Performance management should be ongoing. One-to-ones, reviews, wellbeing check-ins and career conversations all play a role.
- Consistency reduces risk. Poor documentation, bias and missed process steps are common causes of employment disputes.
- Now is the time to prepare. Reviewing your onboarding, probation and performance processes now can help you stay compliant and reduce future risk.
This article outlines the practical steps HR teams can take to prepare for the Employee Rights Act, helping organisations build a fair, defensible, and compliant performance management framework before the upcoming legislative deadlines.
Table of Contents
The Employee Rights Act is already in force, with more significant milestones arriving in October 2026 and January 2027. Hundreds of HR professionals in our community have spent this summer getting their performance management processes ready.
If you haven’t had the chance yet, there’s still time. As a start, here is a summary of the critical areas that may need a review, and how to get your processes ready.
The legislative changes that affect performance management
Two Employee Rights Act changes in particular affect performance management. From October 2026, tribunal time limits will be extended from three to six months. This means performance records need to be thorough and well-documented from day one.
From January 2027, protection from unfair dismissal becomes a right after six months of service. Together, these changes raise the bar on what a fair, consistent and well-documented performance management process should include.
Download our guide: Employment Law Changes: What’s coming and when
How to check whether your process is ready
A well-evidenced process includes:
- Objectives that are set, written down and agreed from day one;
- Check-ins that happen at a consistent cadence and are documented;
- and an escalation route that HR and line managers understand and follow.
The most common reason that processes fall down is that they’re inconsistently applied. For example, processes where documentation is sparse, or where concerns are left too long before being raised.
Auditing your onboarding, probation and ongoing performance management processes against these criteria is a starting point for assessing where you need to update your processes.
Find out how your process measures up: Book a Free Performance Management Review
What your performance management process should include
A well-evidenced process includes:
The process starts from day one with a structured onboarding and probation cycle. This should include a check-in within the first two weeks, followed by weekly new starter conversations for at least the first month. Formal reviews at 30, 60 and 90 days each have a documented outcome, with objectives revisited at every stage.
The end of probation review draws on the everything recorded throughout, and the outcome (confirmed, extended or unsuccessful) is documented and shared with the employee.
Once probation is complete, the process transitions into regular performance management: consistent one-to-ones, mid-year and annual reviews, career conversations and wellbeing check-ins.
At every touchpoint, there should be a record that can be relied upon if it’s ever needed.
Download the essential probation templates: Probation Cycles Check-In Template
How to build a defensible process
With 52,000 active tribunal cases in the UK (a 33% year-on-year increase) the risk of performance management processes being tested is significant.
Some of the most common reasons issues escalate to tribunal are:
- Documentation failures
- Inconsistent application of processes
- Conflating sickness with performance
- Evidence of bias
- No documented opportunity for the employee to improve
- Skipping informal stages before moving to a formal process
The ACAS Code of Practice sets the standard that tribunals apply – and the audit trail that is built consistently throughout the employment relationship is the employer’s best way to prepare for any future legal action.
See how Talos Perform supports a compliant process at every touchpoint: Book a Talos Perform Demo
There’s still time to prepare
All four lessons of our mini course on preparing for the Employee Rights Act are available now. Each takes around ten minutes, including a video and further reading, and can be completed at your own pace.
Register for the course: Register for our course
For a more in-depth look at how the legislative changes affect performance management, join our webinar.
Register for the webinar: How employment law changes will impact performance management
Discover the Talos360 performance management system
Talos360’s intelligent performance management software is designed to be the backbone of your organisation’s continuous performance management system. It provides a centralised platform for managing performance across your company, and will seamlessly integrate with your existing HR systems. Automate reporting, reduce admin, and improve efficiency with Appraisd by Talos360.
Get in touch to learn more about how our software can support your performance management system.
Catarina Mendes
