Speaking at the MA Leaders Club conference at BOX in Nottingham on Thursday 22 October, representatives from Barons Pub Company, Hickory’s Smokehouse and Chestnut Pubs outlined changes to probation periods, manager training and staff development, as they looked to improve staff retention and performance.
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Under the Employment Rights Act 2025, from 1 January 2027, employees will be able to claim unfair dismissal after six months in a job, rather than having to work for their employer for two years. The law does not require businesses to set a specific probation period.
The change has prompted operators to look more closely at how they manage probation periods and address performance issues.
At Barons Pub Company, people leader Charlotte Whindle said the business had cut probation to four months and introduced a framework to embed expectations in managers’ daily behaviour.
Though she said written policies alone would not be enough and needed to be backed by managers that address issues early and help employees improve.
Barons’ head office staff also regularly work in venues to stay close to the challenges facing teams and support managers.
“You are supporting people to be good at their jobs,” Whindle told delegates.
Rising costs
Barons, which is based in Surrey, has also invested in internal progression through its training academy, which was established in 2020.
The company recorded 76 internal progressions last year, including team members moving into chef and training manager roles and assistant managers progressing to general manager.
For East-Anglian-based Chestnut Pubs, preparing for the changes meant ensuring managers felt confident handling employment issues.
People director Charley O’Toole said the business had focused on planning ahead through structured onboarding, manager development and communication designed to take the “fear” out of employment processes.
Though she said recruitment remained a challenge, particularly as Chestnut planned to expand its estate.
O’Toole also told attendees the business frequently draws on its diverse workforce to help shape policies and changes. However, rising labour costs limited the scope for operators to improve pay, she said.
“I would love to pay people more money but you just can’t,” O’Toole continued.
At Hickory’s Smokehouse, people director Rachel Woodcock said retention posed a bigger challenge than recruitment, adding while application numbers were high, not all were suitable candidates.
Right people
“It’s more important than ever to find the right people for the right role at the right time,” she added, as the business continues to balance recruitment pressures with rising employment costs and productivity demands.
Woodcock also highlighted the need to show employees hospitality can offer a long-term career, offering them opportunities to develop and progress.
In light of this, Hickory’s has also reduced its probation period from six months to three and offers staff guaranteed hours.
Woodcock added the business would continue to focus on fair treatment and managing performance consistently, regardless of how long someone had worked there.
“My personal opinion is we should be managing people fairly,” she told guests.
Other employment-law changes could also affect hospitality employers in the near future.
The time limit for most employment tribunal claims increased from three months to six months on 1 October 2026.
In addition, from 30 October, employers are due to face a stronger duty to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment, alongside provisions relating to harassment by third parties, including customers.
