FAQs - June 2026

Last reviewed: 16.06.2026

  1. Will Make UK submit a response to the Government consultation on reforms of zero hours and low hours contracts?

  2. What is the new right to complain? 

  3. Is the Government intending to provide guidance for employers on the unfair dismissal reforms?

  4. Do we have to schedule an employee’s disciplinary hearing within their normal working hours?

  5. One of our employees has been called up for jury service, but the proposed timing will seriously disrupt our business. Can we say no?

Q&As


1. Will Make UK submit a response to the Government consultation on reforms of zero hours and low hours contracts?

Yes, our Policy Team will respond to the consultation on ending one-sided flexibility: reforms of zero hours and low hours contracts and is keen to hear your views on the Government’s proposals. If you would like to contribute, please email our Policy Team. This new Government consultation seeks views on the following key measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025 (as outlined in our Zero Hours Contracts and Shift Notices: Spotlight):

  • Guaranteed hours, where the number of hours offered reflects the hours worked by a qualifying worker during a reference period. 
  • Reasonable notice of shifts and changes to these.
  • Payment for shifts cancelled, curtailed or moved at short notice (‘short notice payments’).

In particular, the consultation seeks views on the following issues:

  • The definition of a low hours worker. Options range from eight hours to 48 hours a week, with the Government preference being for a threshold between eight and 20 hours a week.
     
  • The length of the reference period for guaranteed hours. Options include 12 weeks, 26 weeks, 52 weeks or another period, with the Government preference being for a 12-week reference period.
     
  • The amount of notice to schedule or cancel a shift that should be presumed reasonable. For directly engaged workers, options are: one week; two weeks; three weeks; four weeks; or ‘other’. The Government is also seeking views on when it might be acceptable to offer shifts with less notice, and when employers should provide more notice. 
     
  • The calculation for short notice payments. The Government’s intention is that the amount should relate to how much the individual would have earned had they worked the shift as expected. It is consulting on whether the payment should be a percentage of the worker’s actual expected earnings for those hours or a percentage of the applicable National Minimum Wage for those hours, and on what that percentage should be (between 10% and 80%).
     
  • The consultation also invites responses to similar questions in relation to agency workers, who have similar protections as directly engaged workers.

Our Policy Team would also welcome any comments you may have on the following:

2. What is the new right to complain?

On 19 June 2026, a new statutory right for data subjects to complain directly to data controllers about how their personal data is handled will come into force under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. In practice, this is likely to increase the compliance and administrative burden on employers. It will place greater scrutiny on how complaints are handled internally (i.e. how an employer identifies, investigates and then responds to a complaint), and may require you to allocate additional resource to investigations of complaints.

The ICO has published guidance (“How to deal with data protection complaints”) which explains that all organisations acting as data controllers under the UK General Data Protection Regulation will need do the following:

  • Give individuals a way of making data protection complaints to them.
  • Acknowledge receipt of complaints within 30 days.
  • Take appropriate steps to respond to any complaints without undue delay, including making enquiries and keeping the complainant informed.
  • Inform the complainant of the outcome of their complaint without undue delay. 

Failure to handle complaints correctly could result in escalation to the Information Commissioner’s Office and/or reputational damage, so now is a good time to review your internal data protection documents and processes, and ensure that your workforce understands the steps they need to take when complaints are received. 

Make UK has produced a set of template UK GDPR documentation which is available to purchase. These templates include the new right to complain where appropriate, as well as drafting guidance to help you to customise the documents to suit your business. These UK GDPR template documents are available to members for £795 (+VAT). You can purchase them here.

If you are a Make UK subscriber, you can speak to your regular adviser for further guidance about data protection issues, including the new right to complain. You can also access information in the HR & Legal Resources section of our website.

If you are not a Make UK subscriber, see here for more information on our subscription, consultancy and training services.

3. Is the Government intending to provide guidance for employers on the unfair dismissal reforms?

Yes, the Government indicated in its recent policy paper that it will provide guidance on the planned changes to unfair dismissal (which are expected to take effect from 1 January 2027) to help employers and employees understand the likely practical implications of the reforms. We will update our members when such guidance is made available.

To read more about this topic, see our recently published article: The new world of unfair dismissal: how can employers prepare? and Unfair Dismissal: Employment Rights Act Spotlight.

4. Do we have to schedule an employee’s disciplinary hearing within their normal working hours?

There is no rule that says that a disciplinary hearing can only be scheduled during an employee’s normal working hours, but it is advisable do this where possible. The Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures says that meetings should be held “without unreasonable delay whilst allowing the employee reasonable time to prepare their case” and that the parties (including the employee’s chosen companion) “should make every effort to attend”.

If, for example, you need to hold a disciplinary hearing for an employee who normally works evening or night shifts, and the relevant manager and/or HR cannot attend at those times, it may be necessary for the hearing to be scheduled outside the employee’s normal working hours. But it is important to act in a reasonable manner, and what is reasonable will depend on the circumstances. For example, if you know that the employee usually does the morning school run, you should avoid rescheduling the hearing to coincide with that, but it might be reasonable to schedule the hearing in the afternoon.

If the employee who is subsequently dismissed does not object to the hearing being held outside of their working hours, it will usually be harder for them to argue successfully that their dismissal was unfair on the basis of the timing of the hearing - provided the other aspects of the dismissal were substantially and procedurally fair. As well as giving reasonable notice of any hearing, you should consider carefully any requests to rearrange it.

If you are a Make UK subscriber, you can speak to your regular adviser for further guidance about discipline related matters, and access information in the HR & Legal Resources section of our website.

If you are not a Make UK subscriber, see here for more information on our subscription, consultancy and training services.

5. One of our employees has been called up for jury service, but the proposed timing will seriously disrupt our business. Can we say no?

You cannot refuse jury service outright but, if an employee’s absence would cause serious harm to your business, you can ask the employee to request a deferral from the court. It is relatively common for employers that want an employee to defer their jury service (or, if certain circumstances apply, to be excused from jury service entirely) to provide a letter for the employee to submit to the court explaining the business reasons for the request. Often the letter will suggest alternative dates the employee could undertake jury service. Note though that an employee can only make such a request once in a twelve-month period and deferrals are not commonly granted. If the court does not agree to the deferral request, you cannot refuse to allow an employee to attend. 

Keep in mind too that it is unlawful for an employer to penalise, dismiss or select an employee for redundancy on the ground that they have been summoned for or undertaken jury service. (If the employee’s absence on jury service would cause substantial damage to your business and the employee unreasonably refuses or fails to apply to be excused from jury service or have it deferred, it is possible the employee may lose their automatic protection from unfair dismissal – but this is complex area, so we recommend taking legal advice on the specific circumstances.)

If you are a Make UK subscriber, you can speak to your regular adviser for further guidance about jury service and other employee entitlements to time off.  You can also access information in the HR & Legal Resources section of our website.

If you are not a Make UK subscriber, see here for more information on our subscription, consultancy and training services.