Preparing for change: Employment and Immigration law reforms affecting the sports industry

October changes

1. Third-party harassment and sexual harassment

From 30 October 2026, employers will be liable for acts of harassment by third parties against their employees unless they have taken “all reasonable steps” to prevent it from happening. Harassment is a broad concept and can include any unwanted comment, gesture or other conduct which relates to any protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 (such as race, sex, gender, sexual orientation) or, otherwise, is sexual in nature.

This obligation is significant for sports organisations, given players, coaches, stewards and other staff may be exposed to hostile environments, at both sporting events and on social media. Employers therefore face an increased risk of claims, on top of existing regulatory rules from their sporting governing bodies, which often already impose financial penalties and other sanctions on clubs in response to abusive behaviour by fans.

We wrote a long-form piece on the topic for Law in Sport here.

How can we prepare?

• The issue should be regularly tabled at Board level, with the aim of implementing a “top down” culture which promotes anti-discrimination, while championing diversity and inclusion initiatives.
• Risk assessments should be undertaken to identify situations where harassment may arise, for example, on matchdays, when working in hospitality, or during third-party events, such as concerts, conferences and corporate receptions. The assessments should then be used to guide what preventative measures may reasonably be required.
• Review and update ticketing terms, Codes of Conduct, and the severity and effectiveness of the sanctions in place for offenders, to ensure that the message of ‘zero tolerance’ is clear.
• Place clear signage around the premises, outlining that discriminatory or harassing behaviour will not be tolerated, and publicise the procedure for reporting concerns. Stewards and security staff should be trained on relevant procedures, ensuring the swift removal of offending spectators or visitors. Follow up investigations and appropriate responses (including media statements) may also be required depending on the situation.
• Monitor social media for abusive, discriminatory or harassing online content directed at players, coaches and staff. Various technology and AI platforms now offer such services and moderation tools can be used to filter and hides abusive comments. These tools can help organisations respond quickly, gather evidence and demonstrate a proactive approach to protecting employees.

2. Pre-employment right to work checks

At present, employers are only liable for illegal working penalties in respect of their direct employees. From 1 October 2026, this will be extended to include workers, individual sub-contractors, substitutes and online matching services/”gig economy” platforms. While it will not include genuinely self-employed individuals providing services to the public, if an individual labelled as “self-employed” provides services personally to the organisation, they will be caught by the requirement (which adds to the ever-ongoing risks relating to engaging off-payroll workers).

The use of agency workers, contractors, and casual staff is commonplace within sports organisations given the nature of the work often involved in match-days, media, and events. Organisations may also engage other atypical workers, for example, in their scouting and recruitment departments, who may spend significant time based overseas but still undertake work in the UK.

Failing to comply with immigration requirements could lead to the revocation of an organisation’s sponsor licences – which would include any international sportsperson licence as well as the skilled worker licence and would therefore have a serious impact on its ability to recruit talented overseas individuals.

How can we prepare?

To avoid civil penalties, organisations will need to demonstrate compliance with ‘prescribed requirements’ in three key areas:

• Contractual controls: ensure written arrangements are in place to require those further down the labour supply chain to carry out right to work checks.
• Substitute worker controls: where an alternative individual is permitted to provide the work who has not previously been checked, there must be a process in place to ensure that substitutes are checked before work starts.
• Identity verification: a process should be implemented to ensure the individual carrying out the work is the same person whose right to work was verified.

3. Extension of time to bring employment claims

From 1 October 2026, most employment tribunal claims can be brought within six months of the act complained of, instead of three months. Coupled with the January 2027 changes in the unfair dismissal regime discussed below, the increased pool of employees eligible to bring claims will result in increased litigation and uncertainty for businesses. It will be unclear if and when a claim may land from the already back-logged employment tribunal and, given significant delays, witnesses may have moved on and memories are more likely to fade.

How can we prepare?

• Documenting processes thoroughly may no longer be enough. It may be prudent to take witness statements from those involved in disciplinary, investigation or other employee relations processes at an early stage (particularly once it looks likely that a claim may arise).
• It will also be important to negotiate assistance provisions to avoid losing the ability to ask key witnesses who are exiting the business to co-operate. That might be done by adding post-termination obligations to employment contracts generally, or otherwise negotiating assistance provisions in appliable termination documents.

4. Right of access for unions

From 30 October 2026, workers must be informed of their right to join a trade union, and trade unions will gain enhanced rights to access organisations to engage with workers (often with the aim of recruiting members and, ultimately, gaining union recognition). “Access” includes both physical and digital access to the organisation. This is likely to increase union visibility and recognition requests. While professional players and managers are already commonly represented by established trade unions and player associations, sports organisations should be mindful that these reforms may encourage increased unionisation amongst other parts of the workforce, including hospitality staff, retail employees, stewards and grounds staff.

How can we prepare?

• Given the relatively short timeframe for responding to requests when they are received, it may be advisable to prepare a draft access agreement in advance so that appropriate parameters can be proposed quickly.
• Organisations should also review their approach to workforce engagement and employee relations, as maintaining positive communication channels may reduce the likelihood of formal recognition requests.

January 2027 changes and beyond – what should we do to prepare now?

5. Unfair dismissal

Coaching staff and seasonal staff are often engaged on relatively short, fixed term contracts and may therefore never acquire the two years’ service required to bring a claim for unfair dismissal. Claims are also currently subject to a cap on the compensatory element of any award (the lower of a year’s salary or £123,543), which often means that such claims are low on the priority list for highly paid departing coaching and playing staff who do reach the two years’ service requirement.

However, from January 2027, employees will gain protection after just six months’ service and there will be no cap on compensation. This will change the risk profile significantly and, while fixed-term contracts in the industry often include early exit mechanisms in exchange for an agreed sum, this does not make the arrangement immune from unfair dismissal claims. The termination (or non-renewal) of a fixed term contract constitutes a “dismissal” for the purpose of unfair dismissal claims.

How can we prepare?

Be prepared for greater negotiation of contracts and exits, particularly for coaching staff, playing staff, sporting roles, and executive level, C-suite and senior leadership personnel.

Organisations may consider:

• Including robust mitigation provisions in contracts, requiring ex-employees to seek alternative employment, along with periodic reporting requirements, to assist in reducing contractual termination payments (or payments in lieu of notice) and potential unfair dismissal compensation.
• Including staged termination payment structures in contracts and considering whether there are conditions attached, including the waiver of certain claims.
• While it’s generally impractical and unrealistic to performance manage individuals in sporting roles, particularly in circumstances where a swift exit is required, employers should consider at least some level of documented ‘process’, such as records of conversations following poor performance, or evidence of loss of trust from the Board, the team, or fans. We may see a rise in reliance on “some other substantial reason” grounds for dismissal in the sporting context, therefore documenting at least some form of decision-making rationale is better than nothing.
• More broadly, it will be important for employers to ensure their recruitment practices are robust, and that line managers are conducting regular reviews and making the best use of probationary periods. The probationary outcome meeting should be held well in advance of the six-month mark.

6. Casual and matchday staff

From some point in 2027, organisations will need to offer a guaranteed hours contract (in other words, make an offer of employment) to zero-hour and low-hour workers if they have worked a certain number of hours and/or with sufficient regularity over a defined reference period. There will also be requirements to provide reasonable notice of shifts and of any changes or cancellations to shifts, together with an entitlement to compensation where shifts are cancelled at short notice.

This is of particular relevance in the sports industry, where significant reliance is placed on casual workers and agency staff such as stewards, hospitality staff, security, event staff and seasonal workers, to meet fluctuating demands around matchdays, tournaments and other events. The responsibility for offering guaranteed hours will fall on the organisation using the agency worker, rather than the agency or other intermediary.

How can we prepare?

While much of the detail is awaited in regulations, organisations can still take steps to prepare now:

• Audit current use of such staff – if there are individuals who, in reality, work regular shift patterns in the same way as other employees, now would be a good time to consider offering them a contract reflective of their normal working pattern.
• Ensure that systems are in place to monitor hours worked and regularity of work, as well as to manage shift allocations, changes and cancellations.
• Review and re-negotiate contracts with agencies given that temp-to-perm fees can often be costly (and will be incurred in the event an agency worker accepts a guaranteed hours offer).

A live tracker of all ERA changes can be found here. If you have any questions, or require any support, please contact our Employment and Immigration team.