Golf HR’s Carolyne Wahlen explains how employment law changes will affect golf clubs and outlines the practical steps managers should take to prepare.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is bringing some of the biggest changes to employment law in years. Some are already here, with more coming in 2027.
For golf clubs, employing a mixture of permanent, part-time, seasonal and casual staff, these changes will significantly affect how you manage your employees.
Here is what has changed, what’s coming next, and, most importantly, what you need to do.
April 2026 – Statutory Sick Pay
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is now payable from the first full day of sickness, rather than the fourth. The minimum earnings requirement has also been removed, meaning more of your lower-paid and casual employees qualify.
SSP is calculated at 80% of average weekly earnings, capped at £123.25 per week.
For example, an employee earning £100 per week receives £80 SSP for a full week of sickness. Someone earning £300 receives £123.25, not £240.
Average earnings are generally calculated using earnings over the relevant eight-week period.
What you need to do: Update your sickness absence policy, check that your payroll system calculates SSP correctly and, importantly, make sure managers are consistently enforcing your absence reporting procedures.
April 2026 – Paternity and Parental Leave
Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave are now day one rights for all employees.
However, paternity leave does not automatically mean paternity pay.
To qualify for Statutory Paternity Pay, employees must generally have:
- Completed 26 weeks’ continuous employment by the qualifying week (15 weeks before the baby is due).
- Average weekly earnings of at least £129.
- Given the appropriate notice.
Statutory Paternity Pay is £194.32 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.
Eligible employees can take one or two weeks’ leave, either together or separately.
What you need to do: Update your family leave policies and make sure you distinguish between entitlement to leave and entitlement to pay.
October 2026 – Employment Tribunal Claims
From 1 October, employees have six months rather than three to bring Employment Tribunal claims concerning incidents occurring from that date. In addition to time at Early Conciliation.
What you need to do: Keep clear, accurate records of employment decisions, meetings and disciplinary matters. Memories fade remarkably quickly, particularly when managers move on.
30 October 2026 – Sexual Harassment: A Much Higher Standard
This is one of the most significant changes for golf clubs.
You must now take ALL reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, not simply some reasonable steps.
You are also legally liable, i.e. can be sued, for harassment by third parties, including members, visitors, societies and contractors.
Harassment is defined as unwanted behaviour that makes someone feel intimidated, humiliated, degraded or offended because of ANY protected characteristic. It is unwanted and can include inappropriate comments, jokes, unwanted touching, gestures or messages. The behaviour does not have to be intentional or repeated to constitute harassment.
Let’s be absolutely clear: having a sexual harassment policy and telling employees who to complain to is nowhere near enough.
You need to demonstrate that you have actively identified risks and put measures in place to prevent harassment before it happens.
Here are some practical steps every golf club should be considering:
- Make prevention a committee/board responsibility. It should be an item on the agenda of their monthly meetings, as this oversight is key to protecting the club from reputational damage and financial loss.
- Carry out a proper risk assessment. Look specifically at the bar, clubhouse, changing rooms, staff working alone, evening functions, alcohol consumption and interactions between members and younger employees. Record the risks, preventative action and review dates.
- Train every employee, not just managers. Use real-life scenarios relevant to golf clubs, including inappropriate jokes, unwanted touching, sexual comments, messages and behaviour from members. Refresh training regularly and keep attendance records.
- Train managers and the committee to intervene immediately. They must know how to challenge inappropriate behaviour when they witness it, rather than waiting for someone to complain. Include bystander intervention and practical role-playing.
- Educate your members. Make your expectations clear through membership communications, the club’s code of conduct and signage. Members need to understand that inappropriate behaviour towards employees will result in disciplinary action, including suspension or expulsion.
- Ask employees about their experiences. Conduct regular confidential staff surveys, including questions about inappropriate behaviour by colleagues, managers and members. Act on the findings, even when no formal complaints have been made.
- Reduce opportunities for harassment. Review lone-working arrangements, provide safe ways for employees to summon assistance and ensure younger or vulnerable staff are not left dealing with potentially difficult situations without support.
- Monitor and demonstrate action. Keep records of training, risk assessments, complaints, interventions, staff feedback and improvements. Review the effectiveness of your measures regularly. Make sure you have a robust member disciplinary policy that is applied without delay when incidents happen.
You cannot simply introduce a policy, run one training session and consider the job done.
You need to be able to demonstrate what you have done, why you did it, and how you know it is working.
And remember, a member’s subscription does not buy them the right to behave inappropriately towards your staff.
By the End of 2026 – Tips and Gratuities (date not yet confirmed)
You will need to consult employees about your tipping policy (legal requirement since October 2024), share a summary of their feedback and review policies at least every three years.
Make sure tips from members, societies, functions and other hospitality activities are distributed fairly and transparently.
What you need to do: Review your current tipping arrangements, involve your employees in the consultation and make sure your written policy reflects what actually happens in the clubhouse.
January 2027 – Unfair Dismissal
From 1 January 2027, all existing and new employees will qualify for ordinary unfair dismissal protection after just six months’ service instead of two years.
The cap on unfair dismissal compensation is also being removed.
This means you can no longer allow an underperforming employee to drift along for months without addressing the problem.
What you need to do: We recommend reducing probationary periods to four months, with regular documented performance reviews. Make sure managers deal with concerns promptly and make decisions while there is still time to do so.
January also brings stronger restrictions on dismissing and rehiring employees on less favourable terms, often called “fire and rehire”.
January 2027 – You Must Tell Staff About Their Right to Join a Trade Union
From 1 January 2027, you must give all new workers a written statement explaining their right to join a trade union.
You must also provide this information to all existing workers by 5 April 2027, whether or not your club recognises a trade union.
The Government is producing a standard statement which you must use. It will explain what trade unions do, employees’ legal rights to join and, where applicable, details of recognised unions and their contact information.
The Government has not yet finalised the wording of this statement, so do NOT create your own version. You must wait for the official wording to be published and use that.
You can provide the statement directly, for example by email, or make it available through your staff handbook or intranet, provided everyone is told where to find it and can access it.
You must then issue the information, or remind staff where to find it, every year by 5 April.
What you need to do: Add the Government’s official statement to your new starter documentation from January, arrange for all existing workers to receive it by 5 April, and put an annual reminder in your calendar. Keep records so you can demonstrate compliance.
Later in 2027 – Zero-Hours Contracts and Flexible Working
Further changes will introduce rights to guaranteed hours, reasonable notice of shifts and compensation for shifts cancelled or changed at short notice.
For clubs relying on casual bar, catering and seasonal employees, this could significantly affect how you prepare rotas.
Flexible working rules will also become stricter, requiring you to justify why refusing a request is reasonable.
Additional protections for pregnant employees and new mothers, and new bereavement leave rights, are also expected.
What you need to do: Start reviewing how you use casual and zero-hours employees, particularly where working patterns have become regular and predictable. You should also ensure managers understand how to handle flexible working requests properly.
The Bottom Line
Employment law is changing, but the fundamentals of good management haven’t.
You need to review your contracts, update your policies, train your managers, deal with poor performance promptly and keep proper records.
Above all, don’t assume that having the correct documents means you are compliant.
What matters is what actually happens in your club, and whether you can prove it.
A little preparation now could save you a very expensive problem later.
