On 1 July 2025, the Government published its “Implementation Roadmap” for the Employment Rights Bill, setting out a broad-brush timetable for the phased implementation of the Bill’s provisions. Implementation is due to start in late 2025, with further provisions coming into force in April 2026, October 2026 and then during the course of 2027.

The Government has said that its aim, in implementing the Bill’s measures in phases, is to both allow for further consultations on a variety of the Bill’s provisions and to give employers the time and certainty they need to adapt to the changes. These further consultations are also planned to take place in stages, from Summer 2025 and into early 2026.

In addition, the Government has committed to developing guidance and/or Codes of Practice to clarify the Bill’s provisions and support organisations in ensuring compliance; the timetable for which is yet to be confirmed.

The Government also subsequently announced that further changes are to be made to the Bill, including a new right to bereavement leave (to include miscarriage), a softening of the prohibition on the practice of firing and rehiring to vary terms and conditions of employment, and a proposal to ban non-disclosure / settlement / confidentiality agreements that prevent employees from speaking out about discrimination or harassment. It has also launched a review of the statutory parental leave and pay scheme (including maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental).

We set out below a summary of the Bill’s key implementation dates (as they currently stand), as well as details of the further changes being proposed, for organisations to bear in mind.

The links below will take you straight to each section:

Provisions coming into force in Autumn 2025

Having now progressed through various Parliamentary stages, the Bill is expected to receive Royal Assent in the early Autumn of 2025. A couple of key provisions are due to come into force then, including:

  • Trade Union reform, via:
    • repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, and parts of the Trade Union Act 2016, and
    • the granting of protections for workers, preventing dismissal for participating in industrial action.

In addition, a number of further consultations will commence from Summer / Autumn 2025 and into early 2026, on the issues of unfair dismissal as a “day one” right, restrictions on “fire and rehire” practices, changes to zero hours contracts, the introduction of statutory bereavement leave, enhanced protection from dismissal for pregnant workers and new mothers, collective consultation in large-scale redundancies and flexible working.

Consultation on bereavement leave

The Government have confirmed that a new right to bereavement leave will be granted, and that this will extend to miscarriage and pregnancy loss. Parents will be entitled to at least one week’s unpaid leave if they experience a miscarriage or another form of pregnancy loss. The precise details of this new right are subject to further consultation.

Consultation on “fire and rehire” practices

The restrictions in the Bill, on “fire and rehire” practices as a means of changing terms and conditions of employment, have been softened slightly in its latest iteration. Previously, the Bill proposed to make such practices automatically unfair, unless the changes were necessary for the survival of the business. Now, though dismissals to achieve a change in pay, pension, hours or time off (or to introduce a unilateral variation clause about any of those matters) will still be automatically unfair; dismissing and re-engaging to change other contractual terms, such as an employee’s workplace, will not be. Such dismissals will however remain subject to the usual unfair dismissal rules.

New proposals to ban NDAs relating to discrimination and harassment

On 8 July, the Government announced that it intends to table an amendment to the Bill in the coming weeks, to introduce a ban on non-disclosure / settlement / confidentiality agreements that prevent employees from speaking out about discrimination or harassment in the workplace. The current proposal is that confidentiality clauses in such agreements, which prevent someone from raising or discussing allegations of discrimination or harassment, or raising or discussing the way an employer has responded to such allegations, will be void. It will still be possible to use confidentiality clauses in certain circumstances, but these are likely to be very limited.

If implemented, these proposals will have a profound effect on the use of non-disclosure / settlement / confidentiality agreements, which currently routinely contain confidentiality clauses prohibiting disclosure and discussion of allegations. They may also have a knock-on effect for the way in which employers navigate workplace disputes between colleagues. Further detail is needed.

The proposals are yet to be tabled, or consulted on, but are likely to be included in the Bill when it becomes law (in 2027 at the latest).

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Provisions coming into force in April 2026

Further provisions in the Bill, relating to a variety of new and expanded rights, are expected to come into force in around April 2026 (likely at the start of the new tax year in some cases). These include:

  • Statutory Sick Pay: expansion of the scheme to a greater number of workers (through removal of the “Lower Earnings Limit” requirement to qualify for SSP, and removal of the 3 day “waiting period” before SSP is paid).
  • Family leave: introduction of a “day one” right to paternity and unpaid parental leave.
  • Whistleblowing protection: enhanced protections for whistleblowers.
  • Collective consultation: doubling of the protective award, for failure to comply with statutory collective consultation requirements in large-scale redundancies, from 90 days’ pay to 180 days’ pay.
  • Trade Unions: simplified Trade Union recognition, and the introduction of electronic / workplace balloting systems.
  • “Fair Work Agency”: establishment of a Fair Work Agency (though its powers currently remain unclear).

Review of Parental Leave and Pay

In addition to the changes that are to be made to family leave outlined above, the Government has also launched a full review of the statutory parental leave and pay scheme, in order to determine how to modernise and improve the system. All types of parental leave and pay will be considered as part of the review (including maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental), to see how the system can work better for parents and employers. The current system and the case for future reform will be assessed against four objectives: maternal health, economic growth through labour market participation, best start in life and childcare. The review will also focus on creating a fair system for different types of parents (supporting broader societal goals such as shifting social and gender norms around paternal childcare) and different employment statutes (balancing costs and benefits to businesses and the exchequer).

As part of the review, the Government has launched a “call for evidence”, which invites views and evidence from a variety of different institutions and bodies. A link to the call for evidence, which closes on 25 August 2025, can be found here.

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Provisions coming into force in October 2026

Provisions expected to come into force in around October 2026 include:

  • Fire and rehire: restrictions on firing and rehiring as a means of varying terms and conditions of employment (other than in certain limited circumstances). The precise detail of these provisions is subject to consultation, as outlined above.
  • Tips: stronger statutory provisions around employees’ rights to tips.
  • Sexual harassment: strengthening of the statutory requirement for employers to prevent sexual harassment, from taking “reasonable steps” to taking “all reasonable steps”.
  • Third party harassment: introduction of employer liability for third party harassment.
  • Employment Tribunal time limits: extended time limits for bringing Employment Tribunal claims (likely from 3 months to 6 months).
  • Trade Unions: various rights and protections introduced or strengthened, including a new duty to inform workers of their right to join a Trade Union and extending protections against detriments for taking industrial action.
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Provisions coming into force during the course of 2027

The remaining provisions of the Employment Rights Bill are expected to come into force during the course of 2027. These include:

  • Zero hours contracts: limitations on “exploitative” zero hours contracts through provision of guaranteed minimum hours and introduction of compensation for late curtailment or cancellation of shifts. The precise detail of these provisions is subject to consultation, as outlined above.
  • Gender pay gap and menopause action plans: will become mandatory (after having been introduced on a voluntary basis in April 2026).
  • Bereavement leave: introducing a statutory right to bereavement leave (including for miscarriages and pregnancy loss). The precise detail of these provisions is subject to consultation, as outlined above.
  • Sexual harassment: introducing a new power to enable regulators to specify steps that are to be regarded as “reasonable”, to determine whether an employer has taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.
  • Pregnancy: introducing enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers. The precise detail of these provisions is subject to consultation, as outlined above.
  • Unfair dismissal: will become a “day one” right. The precise detail of these provisions is subject to consultation, as outlined above.
  • Collective redundancy consultation: changes to the collective consultation threshold for large-scale redundancy processes.

We assume that the newly announced ban on NDAs relating to discrimination and harassment will also come into force at this stage, but further details are awaited.

The Government has stated that it will produce clear and comprehensive guidance in advance of the implementation deadlines to help organisations navigate the changes.

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What does this mean for organisations?

The Implementation Roadmap undoubtedly provides some helpful clarification for organisations in relation to the expected timings of consultations and when key reforms are likely to take effect. It is also helpful that further consultation will take place, and that reforms will be introduced in phases (the majority from 2026 to 2027) – as this will give organisations more time to be able to understand the detail of the reforms being proposed and their impact, and it will enable them to start to plan compliance / implementation in the workplace and to minimise legal risk.

However, some of the key provisions of the Bill are yet to be finalised, and there remains a significant amount of uncertainty as to the precise detail.

The first of the further consultations will take place in the coming months, and we will continue to provide updates on this (and any other developments) as and when they are announced.

Links to the Government’s press release and Roadmap can be found here and here.

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The material in this article is provided for guidance and general information only and is not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice upon which you should rely. In particular, the information should not be used as a substitute for a full and proper consultation with a suitably qualified professional. Please do contact the Bates Wells team if you require further information.