The ERA is the biggest shake-up of workers’ rights in a generation, and for many care providers it has triggered real concern about costs and operational complexity. CIPD hiring trends data shows that many UK firms have frozen recruitment plans in response to the ERA, citing concern about cost pressures and operational impact. It is easy to understand why this pattern is also translating to care. For a sector already defined by high staff turnover, persistent vacancies, burnout and supporting people with increasingly complex needs, any additional pressure on resourcing can feel destabilising.
But stepping back from hiring is unlikely to solve the problem and may well even compound it. The ERA is not simply a compliance burden. For a sector with long-standing problems around recruitment and retention, it is also a chance to build the kind of stable, committed workforce that many care providers have struggled to maintain.
How is the ERA being introduced?
The Act introduces 28 reforms which are being implemented in stages. The reforms began in April and will continue in October and throughout 2027. This phased approach matters as it is designed to give employers time to update processes, train managers and build the policies needed to stay compliant and resilient. Employers who use this time well will be considerably better placed than those who do not.
Sick pay and care rotas
Entitlement to statutory sick pay (SSP) from the first day of sickness absence is now in force – the three-day waiting period has gone – and the removal of the earnings requirement has opened up eligibility for SSP to many more workers. For care providers managing complex rotas and thin staffing margins, these changes require more careful absence and leave planning.
SSP from the first day of sickness means staff can take time off when genuinely unwell, rather than coming in and risking the health of colleagues and the people they care for due to fears around lost pay. However, it could increase the frequency of short-term absences and therefore the right documentation, clear reporting procedures and consistent return-to-work conversations are essential to managing this and maintaining visibility across the team.
Tackling issues early, exploring the underlying reasons for absence and offering support can make a big difference to outcomes. Therefore, training managers on how to handle these situations is important to ensure absence concerns are tackled effectively and internal processes do not become tick box exercises, which will only make issues harder to handle later down the line.
No absence will be the same, and certain incidents will need to be escalated. Escalation should move from supportive conversations to documented action plans, and finally to formal stages only when necessary. Some care businesses may be tempted to rely on blanket policies where every case is dealt with in the same way in the belief that this demonstrates a fair approach. However, individual circumstances should always be considered, and although consistency is important, this should not be about treating similar cases alike.
Effective absence management relies on accurate sickness records to highlight trends and anomalies, so it is vital to standardise and monitor compliance with sickness absence recording and return to work interviews.
Harassment and trade unions
Later in 2026, expanded trade union access rights and strengthened harassment prevention duties – including a new obligation to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment by third parties – come into force, marking a further step toward more proactive employer obligations across the board. For care providers, the third-party harassment duty carries particular weight. Staff regularly interact with service users, their families and external contractors – relationships that can be complex and emotionally charged.
Employers will need to think carefully about what reasonable preventative steps look like in those specific contexts. For example, having clear visitor behaviour policies displayed in reception areas, making everyone aware of when and how to escalate concerns, as well as ensuring that managers are equipped to recognise and respond to concerns when they arise.
Zero-hours contracts and staffing models
The most structurally significant reforms will come into force next year. From 1st January 2027, the unfair dismissal qualifying period reduces from two years to six months, and the compensation cap on unfair dismissal awards is being removed. Together, these will make early-stage dismissals considerably higher risk and place much greater emphasis on fair, well-documented management from day one.
Also, significant limitations will be imposed on the use of zero-hour contracts. Where workers on zero-hour contracts have worked a set number of hours over a certain period (expected to be 12 weeks), there will be an obligation to offer a guaranteed hours contract. In addition, there will be new obligations to give reasonable notice of shifts and to give reasonable notice of moving, shortening or cancelling a shift – with the right to be compensated where this has not happened.
For care providers who have relied on flexible staffing models to manage variable demand, these changes will require a fundamental rethink of how rotas and resource planning work. The reduction of the unfair dismissal service threshold to six months will cast even more importance on the quality of hiring and onboarding processes. In essence, bringing someone in because a rota needs filling, rather than because they are right for the role, could potentially become an expensive mistake.
Is cutting recruitment really the answer?
The pressures are real and the timing is difficult. But the care sector’s challenges did not begin with the ERA, and pausing recruitment will not resolve them. The sector has been calling for meaningful change for years; high turnover, poor retention and the human cost of an unsustainable staffing model have been widely acknowledged.
In practice, the legal changes shift care jobs closer to care careers. Staff who know their hours are predictable, their pay is stable, their family commitments are respected, and their wellbeing is taken seriously are more likely to stay. With unemployment at its highest level since the pandemic, there is a growing pool of people looking to enter or re-enter the workforce. Care providers that have strengthened their induction, probationary and absence management processes are better placed to attract and retain that talent than those that have not.
Instead of freezing hiring plans, managers should become more selective by fine-tuning recruitment and extending onboarding. This is what supports retention because managers stop simply filling vacancies temporarily and instead build teams who are equipped to grow the service. This may entail slowing recruitment down to wait for those who meet a criteria of skills and values.
The first step is to ensure recruitment decisions bring in people who either have the right skillset or the potential to develop it. This will be the deciding factor in whether the onboarding will work effectively. Scenario-based questions can shape an interview in a way that helps identify where a candidate’s potential lies, how they will fit within the team, and what extra support or training they may need, which can be addressed during onboarding.
The most important factor is not to rush onboarding to meet demand needs. A slower, more structured onboarding process builds long-term stability across the team. Give new staff the time to absorb information and allow space for questions. Pair them with a mentor to ensure they are competent and confident in safeguarding, medication awareness, moving and handling, reporting procedures and role expectations, before completing critical care tasks alone.
Support should not be cut short once onboarding is complete. Regular check-ins throughout the probation period and beyond create a consistent rhythm for developing skills and ensuring team members feel supported. Interim reviews are key to this, and discussions about performance during probation will face more scrutiny from 1st January 2027 when employees with six months’ service will have the right to bring unfair dismissal claims.
Building a more resilient workforce
The most important focus is ensuring managers are confident in applying new rules correctly in real situations as the ERA continues to roll out changes. These are major changes to management responsibilities, so training needs to actively reshape how they make decisions in the moment.
That starts with helping managers genuinely understand what the ERA changes mean in practice and why accurate records matter more than ever. From there, the priority shifts to how managers apply those rules day to day to strengthen the service. Scenario-based training will help build the skills before the changes become mandatory; even small gaps in knowledge could leave providers operating outside of employment law.
The ERA asks more of care employers: more planning, more documentation and more proactive management. But it also offers a clearer framework for building a workforce that is sustainable, not just sufficient. Care businesses who use this period to tighten onboarding processes, refresh policies, retrain managers and redesign staffing models will be better placed to protect quality of care, manage costs and stay compliant as the reforms bed in.
That is how the care sector builds resilience, not by stepping back from hiring, but by making sure the new people brought in are set up to succeed with fully ERA-compliant policies and practices.
How did your organisation prepare for the new ERA reforms implemented in April? Comment on this feature or join the conversation to share your thoughts.
Gill McAteer is Director of Employment Law at Citation.
Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: @Citation-Professional-Solutions