How the 2026 Employment Rights Bill Will Impact UK Businesses and Why Outsourcing Offers a Strategic Advantage
The UK’s new Employment Rights Bill, due to come into force in 2026, represents the most significant shift in workplace regulation in more than a decade. Designed to strengthen protections for employees, the legislation introduces changes that affect hiring practices, minimum standards, contract structures, flexibility provisions and dismissal processes.
For many organisations, this will create additional administrative complexity, higher employment costs and greater legal risk. Sectors such as professional services, facilities management, property management, lift maintenance and healthcare will feel the impact particularly strongly due to their high reliance on customer-facing and operational support roles.
As these pressures increase, outsourcing becomes more than a cost-saving measure. It becomes a strategic way to maintain service quality, reduce employment risk and preserve operational flexibility without expanding internal headcount.
Below, we explore the key changes introduced by the Employment Rights Bill and how outsourcing your communication and customer service functions can help your organisation adapt.
1. Stricter Hiring and Employment Standards
The Bill is expected to tighten rules around:
- day-one employment rights
- predictable working hours
- enhanced sick pay requirements
- more stringent onboarding documentation
- stronger employee consultation processes
For businesses that operate in highly responsive environments, such as property services, facilities management, lift operations and healthcare, these increased obligations will make it more challenging and costly to maintain flexible staffing models.
How outsourcing helps
Outsourced partners like Lemon Contact Centre absorb the responsibilities and risks associated with recruitment, onboarding and ongoing personnel management.
Your organisation gains:
- predictable service costs
- no additional payroll or statutory obligations
- access to trained call handlers without recruitment lead times
- the ability to scale support up or down quickly
This allows you to maintain customer service standards without navigating complex new employment requirements.
2. Increased HR Admin and Compliance Burdens
The new legislation will require organisations to keep more detailed employee records, implement stronger HR policies and comply with tighter reporting standards.
For teams already managing significant operational workloads across property, facilities, healthcare services or technical support roles, these additional HR demands can place even more pressure on internal resources.
How outsourcing helps
Outsourced contact centres operate independently of your internal HR structure.
Lemon Contact Centre manages:
- staff training and competency checks
- performance monitoring and quality assurance
- compliance with employment legislation
- workforce scheduling, absence cover and holiday management
This reduces administrative strain and enables internal teams to focus on core service delivery and operational priorities.
3. Higher Costs Associated with Direct Employment
Expanded statutory rights and additional protections will increase the overall cost of employing staff. Businesses in customer-facing sectors, where call volumes fluctuate and demand varies throughout the day, will find it increasingly difficult to justify the cost of maintaining an in-house team.
These rising costs may include:
- increased sick pay liabilities
- greater HR and payroll overheads
- more investment in training and development
- higher salary expectations in competitive labour markets
How outsourcing helps
Outsourcing transforms fluctuating staffing expenses into a stable and scalable service model.
Through Lemon’s shared-agent bureau model, clients benefit from:
- a fully trained, multi-skilled contact team
- capacity that naturally scales with call demand
- no exposure to absence, turnover or productivity risk
- significantly lower overheads compared to internal staffing
You maintain a high-quality communication function at a fraction of the cost of direct employment.
4. Increased Risk Around Employee Relations and Disputes
With expanded employment rights, the likelihood of disputes and grievances may rise. Even well-managed organisations may face growing challenges related to:
- flexible working rights
- predictable hours
- dismissal processes
- contract changes
- employee consultation requirements
These risks impact businesses across every sector, from property and FM to healthcare and professional services.
How outsourcing helps
Outsourced teams operate as a contracted service rather than employees of your organisation.
This means:
- no exposure to employment disputes
- no grievance or disciplinary procedures
- no liability for workforce decisions
- no risk associated with restructures or shift pattern changes
You receive consistent and reliable communication support without carrying employment-related risks.
Partnering with Lemon Contact Centre in a Changing Employment Landscape
As the Employment Rights Bill reshapes the responsibilities and costs of direct employment in 2026, outsourcing becomes an increasingly valuable strategy for businesses across the UK.
Lemon Contact Centre supports clients with:
- 24/7 customer communication support
- Out of hours call handling
- Professional business call answering
- Emergency response and escalation
- Integration with property, healthcare, FM and service management systems
- ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certified operations
Whether you work in property, facilities, lifts, healthcare, professional services or any sector that relies on rapid and reliable communication, Lemon provides a scalable, flexible and professional alternative to expanding internal teams.
Get in touch today to explore how outsourcing your communication function can help your organisation navigate the Employment Rights Bill and thrive in 2026 and beyond.
