The Shift: Big changes to employment rights are here, and the games industry needs to be ready

Right from the start, WorkWise for Screen has worked in partnership with people from across the screen sector, so that all our resources are relevant, accessible and practical.

We have commissioned this series of opinion editorials as we believe that having industry perspectives are vital to move the conversation from theory to practical reality. We hope you feel the same and want to join that conversation either here or on our LinkedIn.

As always, the views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.

Employers in the gaming industry are dealing with a lot of things at the moment. Between AI and acquisitions and general day-to-day operational issues, there's plenty to worry about. But it'd be a mistake not to prioritise staying on top of changes brought in by the Employment Rights Act 2025.

Those in the gaming space will likely be aware of recent disputes between organisations and employees, around Unionisation. I would argue that this potentially highlights an ignorance or arrogance towards legislative responsibility, from an employer perspective.

For example, as of October 2026, are you aware that the ERA will require all organisations to regularly, succinctly, and tangibly inform all employees of their legal right to join a Trade Union? 

This will mean that employers will need to provide easy access to resources around employees’ legal protections, a Union’s purpose, how to join, and how they can help them, in writing. This is true regardless of whether your studio recognises any Unions for the purposes of collective bargaining. Therefore, if any Studios are treating Unionisation as an “unspoken” topic, they will very soon have to come to terms with the reality that they need to actively engage in the conversation with their employees.

There’s another issue that I fear has potential to trip Studios up; the proposed changes to the threshold that allows employees to make an unfair dismissal claim. We’ve all watched closely as the boundaries around this have shifted as the ERA has progressed from a bill to legislation.

Initially proposed as a day one right, the right to make an unfair dismissal claim is now proposed to be available to employees from 6 months’ service onwards, starting in January 2027. This isn’t an excuse for organisations to take their foot off the gas however, and where I think some Studios might trip up, is in their awareness that the threshold is to be backdated for 6 months.

This has massive implications for new starters and their probation period, as anyone who starts their job from 1 July 2026 onwards will be eligible to make an unfair dismissal claim from January 2027 onwards.

This poses a range of important questions we need to be asking ourselves. Is our current probation period (typically 6 months) appropriate and could it be shorter? How strong are our onboarding, induction, and training processes? Are new starts given the direct support they need and are Managers equipped to provide this?

Are we on top of probation deadlines and issuing outcomes in time? Have we thought about the implications of a probation extension possibly taking an employee into the eligibility period for an unfair dismissal claim?

With these changes, ignorance could quickly become a costly endeavour. The ERA speaks to a cultural shift around employee rights, and an awareness of how the goal posts are shifting will be invaluable to all studios operating in the UK - from the “big dogs” to the startups.

Even if your current focus is elsewhere, if you haven’t begun considering this, start now. You haven’t got as much time as you might think!