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Templates were compliant when you downloaded them. That was the last time.
Acas templates, CIPD resources, and policies you wrote yourself all share the same problem: they are frozen in time. UK employment law is not.
The four problems with templates
1. They are static
UK employment law changed 12 times between April 2024 and April 2026. Statutory rates change every April. The Acas template you downloaded in 2023 knows nothing about the harassment prevention duty, the day-one flexible working right, or the upcoming removal of the compensation cap. Templates do not update themselves.
2. They are generic
A template does not know your sector, your working patterns, or your benefits. A disciplinary policy for a care home needs to reference safeguarding and DBS checks. A remote working policy for a technology company needs to address international working and equipment provision. Templates cannot include what they do not know about you.
3. Nobody checks them
When did you last have someone review your policies against current law? Not whether they look professional or read well — whether they actually meet the legal requirements that apply to your specific business. Templates arrive unchecked and stay unchecked.
4. You have to track changes yourself
The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduced changes arriving across 2026 and 2027. Fire-and-rehire becomes automatically unfair in January 2027. The compensation cap is being removed. Do you know which of your policies are affected? Templates do not tell you.
The cost of getting it wrong
25%
compensation uplift
Failure to follow the Acas Code on disciplinary and grievance procedures. Tribunals adjust awards upward.
Uncapped
tribunal compensation
From January 2027, the statutory cap on compensatory awards is being removed. Tribunal awards will be based on actual financial loss.
£20,000
per breach
The Fair Work Agency can issue penalties for non-compliance with employment rights obligations.
The template is free. The tribunal claim is not.
What Pedantic does differently
| With templates | With Pedantic | |
|---|---|---|
| How you get policies | You download a generic document and hope it is right | Your policies are generated from your specific business profile |
| Law change tracking | You track law changes yourself (or don’t) | 18 regulatory sources monitored daily with automatic alerts |
| Staying current | Nobody tells you when your policies become outdated | Specific update recommendations with proposed new wording |
| Employee distribution | You send PDFs by email and hope employees read them | Built-in distribution with timestamped acknowledgement records |
How you get policies
- With templates
- You download a generic document and hope it is right
- With Pedantic
- Your policies are generated from your specific business profile
Law change tracking
- With templates
- You track law changes yourself (or don’t)
- With Pedantic
- 18 regulatory sources monitored daily with automatic alerts
Staying current
- With templates
- Nobody tells you when your policies become outdated
- With Pedantic
- Specific update recommendations with proposed new wording
Employee distribution
- With templates
- You send PDFs by email and hope employees read them
- With Pedantic
- Built-in distribution with timestamped acknowledgement records
Check whether your current policies are compliant
Upload your handbook or individual policies. We check against 28 specific legal requirements. If your templates are fine, you will know. If they are not, you will know exactly what to fix.