On The Radar: August – UK/IRE Clubs

Running a club has never been only about the course and the clubhouse. Between employment law, safety rules and how you manage your team, the bar for what a well-run club is expected to evidence keeps rising, and there are always a few changes worth having on your radar sooner rather than later.

None of them calls for a panic. Each one simply rewards the clubs that stay ahead: the ones who prepare calmly over the months they have, rather than scrambling when a deadline, an inspector or a committee question arrives. That is the thread running through all three of the changes below, from how you employ seasonal staff to how you run events.

Here are three things UK and Ireland clubs should know about right now, why each one matters, and where to go for the detail.

The Employment Rights Act is landing in stages

The biggest overhaul of employment law in a generation is being phased in across 2026 and 2027. Several measures are already in force: statutory sick pay from day one, a duty to keep proper records of holiday and leave, guaranteed-hours rights for zero-hours workers, and pay for shifts cancelled at short notice. A six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal follows in 2027.

For clubs that lean on casual and seasonal staff through the summer, the record-keeping and shift rules now carry real weight. The club that can show, at a glance, who worked what and who was trained on what is the one that stays on the right side of all this without the scramble. (Source: Acas.)

Martyn’s Law: time to prepare your clubhouse

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, known as Martyn’s Law, now has its statutory guidance published, with enforcement expected in spring 2027. Premises and events that expect between 200 and 799 people fall into the “standard tier”, which covers most clubhouses running weddings, society days and larger functions. Those in scope will need to train staff in evacuation, lockdown and emergency communication, and document the procedures they have in place.

There is time to get ready, and that is the point. Appointing a responsible person, training the team and keeping the paperwork current is far easier done calmly over the next year than in a rush near the deadline. (Source: ProtectUK. Obbi keeps risk assessments and staff training linked and current.)

FYI – Ireland: auto-enrolment is now live

My Future Fund, Ireland’s automatic pension enrolment scheme, went live on 1 January 2026. Employers must now enrol eligible staff, those aged 23 to 60, earning over €20,000 a year and not already in a workplace pension, and match their contributions, starting at 1.5% and rising over the next decade.

If you run an Irish club with seasonal or casual payroll, it is worth confirming who falls in scope and that your payroll is set up to handle it. (Source: gov.ie)

Different rules, same principle

What ties these together is not the detail, it is the direction. More of what a club does is expected to be visible and provable, not just done. The clubs that stay ahead of changes like these are the ones already set up to prove where they stand, on any given day, not just when someone asks.