This article was first published on 15 January 2026. It has been updated following the Government’s announcement on 3 February 2026 regarding its revised implementation timeline.
On 18 December 2025, after much debate between the House of Commons and House of Lords, the Employment Rights Bill was finally approved, and received Royal Assent; becoming the Employment Rights Act 2025 (the “Act”).
The Act will bring in a raft of changes to UK Employment Law; the scope and significance of which have not been seen for decades. However, its provisions are far from finalised – a significant amount of crucial detail is yet to be determined, which will necessitate further consultations and further implementing regulations. A copy of the Government’s “Factsheet Overview” of the Act can be found here.
The changes brought in by the Act will take effect in phases across 2026 and 2027, with the Government initially confirming that it intended to keep to its original implementation roadmap, but subsequently (on 3 February 2026) publishing an updated implementation timetable with a handful of significant amendments. Our earlier article on the original implementation roadmap can be found here, the Government’s report on it can be found here, and the Government’s updated implementation timetable can be found here.
What changes will the Act bring into force and when will they take effect?
We have set out below a summary of the key provisions which will be coming into force over the next couple of years, the timetable for their implementation, and considerations for organisations to bear in mind.
The links below will take you straight to each section:
Provisions in force on or soon after 18 December 2025
Provisions coming into force on 18 February 2026
Provisions coming into force in April 2026
Provisions coming into force in August 2026
Provisions coming into force in October 2026
Provisions coming into force in January 2027
Provisions coming into force in 2027
Provisions with unspecified implementation dates
What does this mean for organisations?
Provisions in force on or soon after 18 December 2025
- Trade unions: repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023.
Provisions coming into force on 18 February 2026
- Trade unions: repeal of most of the Trade Union Act 2016, the introduction of protection against dismissal for taking industrial action, removal of the ten-year ballot requirement for trade union political funds, and the simplification of industrial action notices and ballot notices.
Provisions coming into force in April 2026
- 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).
- Menopause: new guidance will take effect on 6 April 2026, and provisions regarding voluntary menopause action plans will also come into force.
- Family leave: introduction of a “day one” right to paternity and unpaid parental leave, and changes enabling paternity leave to be taken after shared parental leave (rather than requiring it to be taken first or lost). There will also be a new right for bereaved fathers and partners to take up to 52 weeks of paternity leave if the mother or primary adopter of their child dies within the first year of the child’s life. The Government has also launched a full review of the statutory parental leave and pay scheme, which is expected to take place throughout 2026.
- Gender equality: provisions regarding voluntary action plans on gender equality in the workplace will come into force.
- Whistleblowing: enhanced protections for whistleblowers, including the addition of disclosures of sexual harassment to the list of what counts as a qualifying disclosure (making it more explicit that this can amount to whistleblowing if it meets the other statutory tests).
- Collective redundancy 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 recognition provisions.
- Fair Work Agency: establishment of new “enforcement body”, the Fair Work Agency. It’s not clear when this will be fully operational, nor what the extent of its duties/powers will be. However, it is expected to take over some existing enforcement functions; such as in relation to the National Minimum Wage, the Employment Tribunal penalty scheme, labour exploitation and modern slavery, and employment agency rules. It will also likely have a new enforcement function relating to holiday pay and Statutory Sick Pay.
In addition to the above, the usual annual increases to the hourly National Minimum Wage will come into force from 1 April 2026. The National Living Wage will be increasing from £12.21 to £12.71, and a full list of all categories of NMW increases can be found here.
Family-related leave rates will also increase, on 6 April 2026, from £187.18 per week to £194.32 per week. Statutory Sick Pay will increase from £118.75 to £123.25.
Provisions coming into force in August 2026
- Trade unions: electronic workplace balloting systems will be introduced for statutory trade union ballots. These will then be rolled out for recognition and derecognition ballots in 2027.
Provisions coming into force in October 2026
- Fire and rehire: the new restrictions on dismissals relating to certain key terms of employment were originally due to come into force in October 2026, however, in February 2026 the Government announced that these would be pushed back to January 2027 (see below for further information). In the interim, a consultation is taking place. It asks for views on which contractual changes to expenses, benefits, payments in kind, and shift patterns, should constitute “restricted variations”, for the purposes of the new right not to be automatically unfairly dismissed for failing to agree to a restricted variation. A link to the consultation, which closes on 1 April 2026, can be found here.
- Sexual harassment: strengthening of the statutory requirement for employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, from a duty to take “reasonable steps” to prevent it, to a duty to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent it. The power to make regulations specifying the steps that are to be regarded as “reasonable” will also be introduced.
- Third party harassment: introduction of employer liability for third party harassment (of all kinds, not just sexual harassment).
- Employment Tribunal time limits: the time limit for bringing Employment Tribunal claims will be extended from the current 3 months to 6 months. This follows in the wake of the Early Conciliation period having been increased, on 1 December 2025, from 6 weeks to 12 weeks. The position on the latter will be reviewed in October 2026, to decide whether it remains appropriate.
- Trade unions: various rights and protections will be introduced or strengthened, including a new duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union in their contract of employment, extending protections against detriments for taking industrial action (and strengthening those relating to dismissal), and new union access rights. Further consultation on these provisions is yet to commence, but is expected to start soon.
Provisions coming into force in January 2027
- Unfair dismissal protection: the length of service requirement for protection from unfair dismissal will be reduced from 2 years to 6 months, and the statutory cap on the amount of compensation that can be claimed for unfair dismissal (which is currently the lower of a year’s salary or £118,223) will be removed completely.
- Fire and rehire: far greater restrictions on firing and rehiring as a means of varying terms and conditions of employment (other than in limited circumstances) will be introduced. A dismissal will be automatically unfair if it arises as the result of an employee’s refusal to vary terms relating to pay, working hours, pension, shift time, shift length, and time off (as well as other terms yet to be defined in further regulations). A dismissal will also be automatically unfair if the reason for it is either that the employer wants to impose a flexibility clause covering changes to the terms listed above; or the employer intends to employ another person to do the same role on the varied terms; or the employer intends to replace the employee with agency or other non-employed workers on the varied terms. There will be a narrow exception to these provisions, in circumstances where the employer is proposing the variation(s) to eliminate or significantly reduce financial difficulties affecting their ability to carry on their business as a going concern, and they cannot reasonably avoid needing to make the variation(s). The existing Code of Practice on fire and rehire will be updated, and will remain in place for changes to terms and conditions other than those set out above (such changes will not make any subsequent dismissal automatically unfair, but the usual ordinary unfair dismissal principles will still apply). Further consultation on these provisions is currently underway.
Provisions coming into force in 2027
- Zero hours contracts: limitations on “exploitative” zero hours contracts, through the provision of guaranteed minimum hours and the introduction of compensation for late curtailment or cancellation of shifts. Some exemptions are expected for seasonal work. Further consultation on the precise provisions is underway.
- Flexible working: introduction of a requirement for any refusal of a flexible working request (which must be based on one of the eight business reasons contained in statute) to be reasonable in the circumstances. Employers will have to explain to the employee what the ground(s) for any refusal is, and why it considers it to be reasonable. Secondary legislation may set out steps to be taken when consulting with an employee, and before refusing a request. Further consultation on these provisions is expected in early 2026.
- Bereavement leave: introduction of a statutory right to bereavement leave (including for early miscarriages and pregnancy loss), currently expected to be up to 1 week of unpaid leave. Further consultation on this is underway.
- Sexual harassment: specification steps that are to be regarded as “reasonable”, to determine whether an employer has taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.
- Gender pay gap and menopause action plans: will become mandatory. In addition, regulations will require employers to identify the providers / employers of contract workers. Further consultation is expected in 2026.
- Protections for pregnant women and new mothers: introduction of enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers.
- Collective redundancy consultation: changes will be made to the collective consultation threshold for large-scale redundancy processes. Further consultation on this will take place before it is implemented.
- Trade unions: electronic and workplace balloting will be introduced for recognition and derecognition ballots.
- Umbrella companies: will be subject to tighter regulation, the specifics of which are yet to be confirmed.
Provisions with unspecified implementation dates
- Non-disclosure agreements: confidentiality provisions relating to allegations of workplace discrimination and harassment, contained in non-disclosure / settlement / confidentiality agreements, will become void and unenforceable. There will be some exemptions, but these are expected to be very limited. (Similar provisions have already come into force for higher education sector employers.) The Government’s current implementation timetable gives no information about when these provisions will be brought into force. Further consultation on this issue is expected in 2026, but again, no timeframe has yet been given.
The Government has stated that it will produce clear and comprehensive guidance in advance of the implementation deadlines to help organisations navigate the changes.
In addition to the implementation of the above provisions, and separately from the Act, the Government has also confirmed that it will review:
- the use of umbrella companies and their regulation,
- existing employment status categories and consider a new single status of worker,
- unpaid internships and whether to ban these,
- the use of restrictive covenants in contracts of employment,
- the right for workers to “switch off” or disconnect,
- whether to bring into force provisions on dual, or combined, discrimination,
- ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting,
- extension of equal pay rights to ethnicity and disability (possibly to be included with the two provisions above in the new Equality (Race and Disability) Bill), and
- improving pay transparency measures, and
- introducing a new Equal Pay Enforcement Unit.
What does this mean for organisations?
The Government’s Implementation Roadmap undoubtedly provides organisations with a helpful timetable for the introduction of the provisions of the Act. However, some of the key provisions are yet to be finalised, and there remains a significant amount of uncertainty as to the precise detail.
A significant number of consultations (up to 26 in total) are underway and/or expected. A significant number of further regulations, implementing the details of various provisions, are also required.
Notwithstanding the above, this year and next will no doubt be exceptionally busy for HR teams across all sectors, as organisations try to stay on top of the changes. We have set out below some of the steps that organisations can be taking now, to prepare themselves for the changes.
- Assess the impact of the upcoming changes on your organisation, and look for potential compliance gaps. Make sure that you have a handle on who works for you, in what capacity, on what terms, and for what period(s). Consider whether a risk assessment may be helpful. Assess whether there are any potential compliance gaps, and how best to rectify this.
- Review contracts of employment. Make sure that terms and conditions are fit for purpose, up to date, and comply with the provisions of the Act whilst also balancing the needs of the organisation – including in relation to probation periods, pay, working hours, shift patterns, pensions, time off, variation clauses, notice periods, etc. Review the organisation’s approach to zero hours contracts, and flexible working, and ensure that these comply with the provisions of the Act. Bear in mind that the Act will make it much more difficult to change certain terms and conditions where staff do not wish to agree to the changes.
- Review policies, procedures and systems. Make sure that policies and procedures are fit for purpose, up to date, and comply with the provisions of the Act whilst also balancing the needs of the organisation – including in relation to recruitment, probation periods, equality action plans, sickness absence, family leave, bereavement leave, flexible and temporary working, anti-harassment, trade unions (if applicable), performance management, conduct, dismissal procedures, etc. Ensure that you have robust HR systems and procedures in place, to implement and manage reforms once they are in effect.
- Consider the organisation’s approach to sick pay and sickness absence management. Will this need to change in light of the new provisions in the Act? Do any contracts and/or policies need to be updated as a result? Is sickness absence well managed, or do those processes need to be improved upon?
- Review recruitment, onboarding, probation, notice and termination provisions and processes. Make sure that these are fit for purpose, up to date, and comply with the provisions of the Act whilst also balancing the needs of the organisation. Bear in mind that employees will be protected from unfair dismissal after six months’ service, and able to claim unlimited compensation in the event that they bring a successful claim. It is therefore important that the first six months of the employment relationship, and beyond, are well managed.
- Ensure compliance with the requirement to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Make sure that your organisation has comprehensive policies, procedures (including regular risk assessments) and training in place. Keep these under review and update them regularly. Stay up to date with the latest guidance on what taking “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace will entail, bearing in mind that this may develop as further regulations are published. Bear in mind too that your organisation will be liable for harassment by members of staff, but also harassment by third parties in the workplace (of any kind).
- Review the organisation’s approach to confidentiality provisions in settlement agreements and non-disclosure agreements. Consider how this may need to be changed or adapted to ensure compliance with the new provisions in the Act, whilst also balancing the rights of employees and the needs of the organisation. Bear in mind that it will no longer be possible to require confidentiality around allegations of discrimination and harassment, and consider how this might affect the terms of the agreement more broadly.
- Provide training for HR and managers on the changes being brought in by the Act, and how to implement them, in good time. This will be essential, as without it, organisations will struggle to ensure compliance with the Act, and are likely to open themselves up to increased risk – both from a legal and employee relations perspective. Our team would be happy to help with training as needed.
- Stay on top of the provisions in the Act, the timeframe for their implementation, and any developments. Consider appointing someone in HR / a manager to do this, feedback to relevant colleagues, and help manage any changes required.
- Get legal advice to minimise risk. The above is only intended as a brief overview of the key changes proposed by the Act, the current timeline for implementation, and some considerations for organisations to bear in mind; and whilst a helpful starting point, it is no substitute for comprehensive legal advice. Make sure that your organisation obtains such legal advice, as needed, to minimise risk.
If you’d like to discuss any of the issues outlined in this article, please get in touch and our team of experienced Employment lawyers would be happy to help.
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 advice or information about management training which we offer.