Edition 2.1 · Updated October 2026 · checked against GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk
Taking someone on? Have the day-one paperwork ready, and know your dates
A 30-page PDF for employers in Great Britain: what the law requires before and on someone's first day, what is good practice on top, and eight print-and-fill forms so nothing gets missed. It also explains the unfair dismissal change on 1 January 2027 and works out each new hire's six-month cut-off date.
- Legal requirements vs good practice
- Day-one written statement
- Your six-month cut-off date
- 8 print-and-fill forms
£4.99one-off · PDF, 30 pages including 8 print-and-fill forms
Instant download · no subscription · reuse for every hire
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- Updated for 2026/27
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Budget-proof
The Autumn Budget is on 28 October. If it changes anything in this pack, we’ll update it and your download link will serve the new edition free. If your link has expired, ask through our contact form and we’ll send the update.
The unfair dismissal change, and what it doesn't do
For dismissals that take effect on or after 1 January 2027, most employees in Great Britain can claim ordinary unfair dismissal after six months' service instead of two years, and the cap on the compensatory award is removed. The detail matters more than the headline.
It turns on the date employment ends
The test is the effective date of termination, not the hire date or the date notice is given. People you already employ are covered too. A dismissal that ends before 1 January 2027 stays under the two-year rule, so the change doesn't reach back to past dismissals.
Notice counts towards service
Statutory notice is added to service even if you pay in lieu instead of letting it run. So with one week's notice, notice has to be given more than a week before the six-month point. The pack works out the exact dates for each hire.
Some claims never needed service
Automatically unfair reasons (such as whistleblowing, pregnancy or family leave, asserting a statutory right) and discrimination claims already apply from day one. That is unchanged.
The compensation cap goes
Today the compensatory award is limited to the lower of 52 weeks' pay or £123,543. For dismissals ending on or after 1 January 2027 there is no cap, though awards are still based on the losses the employee can show.
What stays the same
Dismissal for a fair reason, with a fair process, is still lawful. Notice periods don't change. Probation remains a contractual arrangement that runs alongside the six-month period.
Great Britain only
Employment law is devolved in Northern Ireland, and this change doesn't apply there.
Sources: GOV.UK: eligibility to claim unfair dismissal · business.gov.uk: unfair dismissal rights · SI 2026/559. Checked 15 October 2026.
What the law requires, and what is good practice
Most problems with a first hire are omissions: a step nobody knew about until it mattered. The pack keeps the two lists apart, so you know which items are legal duties and which are there to make a fair process easier to show.
Required by law
- A right to work check before they start: employing someone without the right to work is unlawful, and a correct check is your defence against a civil penalty of up to £60,000 per worker
- A written statement of employment particulars on or before day one
- Registering as an employer with HMRC before the first payday, then reporting pay on or before each payday
- An itemised payslip on or before each payday
- Employers' liability insurance of at least £5 million, for most employers
- Privacy information for the employee under UK GDPR
- Workplace pension duties, including the declaration of compliance
- Minimum wage, paid holiday and Statutory Sick Pay from the first day of sickness
Good practice (not a statutory duty)
- A probation period, with reviews written down at set points
- A key dates planner with this hire's six-month cut-off date
- A new starter issue log, so concerns are recorded when they happen
- Clear probation outcome letters: confirm, extend or end
- Following the Acas Code of Practice when something goes wrong
The pack is information, not legal advice. Using it doesn't guarantee compliance or any outcome at an employment tribunal; what counts is what you actually do and record.
A guide to hiring properly, then the forms to do it
Part one explains what to do and when. Part two is eight forms that, together, produce the written record that makes a fair process possible if you ever need one.
Your six-month cut-off date
Employment has to end before the employee completes six months, so notice has to be given earlier still. The three-step rule, worked dates for five start dates, how pay in lieu of notice affects the date, and a planner for your own hire.
Written statement of particulars
The document section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 requires on or before day one. Every statutory particular, as a print-and-fill form you complete and hand over.
Employee privacy notice
A UK GDPR notice to print and complete, covering lawful basis, sharing, retention, rights and how to make a complaint.
Right to work check record
Helps you record and keep your evidence, under the rules in force from October 2026. The statutory excuse depends on doing the prescribed check correctly, before the start date.
Probation that holds up
A six-month management timeline, review sheets built around a fair process, and three outcome letters: confirm, extend, or end employment properly.
The 2026/27 numbers
Minimum wage, employer NI, Employment Allowance, auto-enrolment thresholds, SSP, family pay and holiday, with the cost of a typical hire, in one place.
See the full contents page
- What's changed, and what's coming
- Six months, and no ceiling
- Your six-month cut-off date
- Notice, pay in lieu and your date
- Day one: what they receive
- Inside the written statement
- The employee privacy notice
- Before they start: the order
- Right to work checks
- The first six months
- Probation that holds up
- Conversations that create a record
- Your 2026/27 numbers and cost
- Sick pay, family pay, pensions, holiday
- Common, costly mistakes
- When to get help
- How to use the forms
- Form 1: Key dates planner
- Form 2: New starter issue log
- Form 3: New starter details form
- Form 4: Right to work check record
- Form 5: Written statement of particulars
- Form 6: Employee privacy notice
- Form 7: Probation review record
- Form 8: Probation outcome letters
- Sources
Three real pages from the pack
Tap a page to see it full size.
Written for small employers in Great Britain
A good fit if you…
- are taking on your first employee, or your first in a while
- are hiring now, with the 1 January 2027 change coming
- don't have an HR team and want the forms in one place
- want a probation process you can actually follow
Probably not for you if…
- you employ people in Northern Ireland, where the law differs
- you already have an HR adviser and contract templates
- you are dealing with a dispute: take advice from an employment solicitor
Frequently asked questions
What exactly do I get?
A 30-page PDF (Edition 2.1, updated October 2026): a plain-English guide to taking someone on, followed by eight print-and-fill forms you can reuse for every hire. The forms are designed to be printed and filled in by hand (they are not fillable PDF fields). You download it straight after payment. The link works for 30 days.
Does the six-month rule apply to people I already employ?
Yes. It depends on when employment ends, not when the person was hired. For dismissals with an effective date of termination on or after 1 January 2027, most employees can claim ordinary unfair dismissal after six months' service, including people taken on before that date. Dismissals that end before 1 January 2027 stay under the two-year rule.
Which claims don't need any qualifying service?
Dismissal for an automatically unfair reason (for example whistleblowing, pregnancy or family leave, asserting a statutory right, health and safety or trade union reasons) and discrimination claims have never needed two years' or six months' service. The 1 January 2027 change doesn't alter that.
Does using the pack guarantee compliance or protect me at a tribunal?
No. It sets out what the law requires, separates that from good practice, and gives you forms to record what you did. Whether you comply depends on what you actually do, and a tribunal looks at the facts of each case.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is a template product prepared from published government guidance, and no solicitor-client relationship is created. Where a situation is unusual, contested or high value, take advice from a qualified employment solicitor.
Does it cover Northern Ireland?
It covers Great Britain. Employment law differs in Northern Ireland, and the 1 January 2027 unfair dismissal change does not apply there.
Can I use it for more than one employee?
Yes. Buy once and use the forms for every person you take on.
What if it isn't what I needed?
Use our contact page within 14 days and we'll refund you in full.
What's required and what's good practice, the written statement, privacy notice, right to work record and probation forms, plus each hire's six-month cut-off date.
One-off £4.99 · instant PDF download · refunds via our contact page