Employment Law Handbook

By: Daniel Barnett

The 10th edition of the Employment Law Handbook deals with the biggest change in employment law for a generation: the Employment Rights Act 2025.

The changes since the last edition are huge. Statutory sick pay, parental leave and paternity leave became day one rights on 6 April 2026. From October 2026, tribunal time limits double from three to six months, and the duty to prevent sexual harassment becomes a duty to take all reasonable steps, extended to harassment by third parties. From 1 January 2027, the unfair dismissal qualifying period falls from two years to six months, and the cap on the ordinary compensatory award goes. New protection against fire and rehire follows under s104I of the ERA 1996.

The law is stated as at September 2026. This edition covers the provisions of the 2025 Act already in force together with those expected in October 2026 and early 2027, and says plainly where a provision is not yet in force.

It is written for HR professionals, employment solicitors, in-house lawyers and managers who need the answer rather than an essay. Twenty-eight chapters run from employment status through to settlement, with more than 1,000 cases cited and authorities running into 2026. Separate indexes of statutes, statutory instruments, cases and subjects mean you can find the point you need without reading around it.

General editor Daniel Barnett is an employment barrister with over 30 years' experience, the author or co-author of 32 books, and the presenter of the Employment Law Matters podcast. He has presented the Legal Hour on LBC Radio for 17 years. The contributors to this edition are Nicholas Bidnell-Edwards of 42BR Barristers, and Chevan Ilangaratne and Sophie Hyland of Outer Temple Chambers.

Contents:

Employment statusContracts of employmentProblems during employmentWorking time and time off workFamily and flexible leaveWhistleblowingTrade union recruitment and activitiesHealth and safety at workPay and notice periodsTermination of employmentUnfair dismissal eligibilityAbsence and ill health dismissalsPerformance dismissalsConduct dismissalsRedundancy dismissalsOther potentially fair reasons for dismissalAutomatically unfair dismissalWrongful dismissalTransfer of undertakingsProtection from discrimination: the frameworkTypes of discriminationProtected characteristicsEqual payFixed-term and part-time employeesRemedies and compensationTime limitsTribunal procedureSettlement

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1913925226
• ISBN13: 9781913925222
• Release Date: September 2026
• Publisher: ELS Publishing
• Length: 524 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.2" x 1.2" x 6.1"