After a protracted period of parliamentary ping-pong, the Employment Rights Act was finally passed on 18 December 2025.
This introduces sweeping changes that are set to reshape the landscape of employment law. By topic, our dashboard clarifies the current legal position and what it will look like under the Act.
In terms of when these changes will take effect, on 1 July 2025 the government published a roadmap for the delivery, ending speculation on potential implementation dates. On 3 February the government published an updated timetable which changes some of the original dates. The dates in our dashboard are based on this roadmap as updated by the latest timetable, and as modified to reflect milestones which have already been missed. See our timeline for an overview of implementation.
Additional reforms outside the scope of the Act were outlined in the government’s ‘Next Steps to Make Work Pay’. These are also detailed here.
Latest updates to the dashboard:
27 March 2026 - Update covering the government’s response to the ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting consultation.
24 March 2026 - Various sections – to confirm when several measures will take effect, including the requirement to keep holiday entitlement and pay records (from 6 April 2026)
Unfair dismissal and probationary periods
Right not to be unfairly dismissed – reduced qualifying period
Now: Employees need to work for 2 years before they have the right not to be unfairly dismissed. Employers must give written reasons for dismissal to employees with 2 years’ service on request.
What the Act says: Although Labour originally promised day 1 unfair dismissal rights, during parliamentary ping-pong, the government accepted a House of Lords amendment substituting a qualifying period of six months before an employee can claim unfair dismissal.
The government also plan to make it harder for future governments to amend the qualifying period by ensuring it can only be varied by primary legislation.
What next: The updated timetable confirms that this change will come into effect for dismissals from 1 January 2027, meaning anyone with 6 months’ service on or after that date will be able to claim unfair dismissal.
Read more:
Employment Rights Bill unpacked - day one unfair dismissal rights
Government U-turns on day one unfair dismissal rights - but adds compensation hike?
Unfair dismissal compensation
Now: Compensation for unfair dismissal is limited to 52 weeks’ gross pay or a statutory cap (whichever is lower). The compensatory award cap, which increases in line with inflation every April, currently sits at £118,223. This is an important contrast to discrimination and whistleblowing claims for which damages are uncapped.
What the Act says: Both the 52 week and financial cap are abolished.
This does not impact on the basic award and statutory redundancy pay which are still calculated on a formula based on age, length of service and gross weekly pay.
What next: The government has now confirmed that there will not be any further consultation on this change. The latest factsheet says that this change will take effect on 1 January 2027.
Read more:
Government wants to abolish the cap on unfair dismissal compensation: what employers need to know
Government U-turns on day one unfair dismissal rights - but adds compensation hike?
Uncapped unfair dismissal awards – will Great Britain become an outlier?
Redundancy and restructuring
Restrictions on ‘fire and rehire’
Now: The Code of Practice on fire and rehire was put in place in July 2024. The practice remains lawful, albeit increasingly high-risk from a reputational and industrial relations perspective.
What the Act says: Employers’ ability to use fire and rehire to change terms and conditions will be significantly restricted.
Dismissals to impose changes to certain key contractual terms (pay, required number of working hours, pension, shift times and length, time off rights, and other changes to be defined in regulations (which may include benefits)) will be automatically unfair if the reason for dismissal is that the employee did not agree to the employer’s attempt to vary these terms, or because the employer intended to employ another person on varied terms to carry out substantially the same role. Closing a potential loophole, the ban also extends to dismissals aimed at imposing new flexibility clauses covering these protected terms.
The Act also allows for accompanying regulations to clarify that expenses and certain types of pay may be out of scope, to define which changes to contractual benefits (other than pension) are in scope, and to define what types of shift changes are within scope.
There is a limited qualified exception for employers acting in response to financial difficulties affecting their ability to carry on business as a going concern.
If a dismissal and re-engagement is used to impose a contractual change that falls outside of the categories above, the dismissal will not be automatically unfair. Whether it is fair or not will not be judged according to the usual tests - the wording requires tribunals to take account of the reason for the variation, any individual or collective consultation, and anything the employee was offered in return for the change (arguably all factors a tribunal would have considered in any event).
The ban also extends to “fire and replace” scenarios, where employees are dismissed and replaced with self-employed contractors, workers who are not employees, agency workers, or any other non-employees to do substantially the same work. Such dismissals will be automatically unfair unless the employer is facing financial collapse and the measure could not reasonably have been avoided. Transfers of employment covered by TUPE and dismissals wholly or mainly attributable to a reduction in work are not caught by this new rule.
In the very narrow circumstances when fire and rehire is potentially permitted, the Code of Practice will still apply, but will be updated.
What next: The government previously indicated that it intended to gather views on updating the Code of Practice during autumn 2025. This exercise is yet to start.
The government is running consultation until 1 April 2026 on which (if any) changes to expenses, contractual benefits and payments in kind should be covered, with the preferred option being to exclude them altogether from the new rules. The consultation also asks which types of shift changes should be in scope, with the preferred option of covering changes between day/night working or weekday/weekend working only.
According to the updated timetable, these changes will now take effect in January 2027 (rather than the originally planned October 2026).
Read more:
Employment Rights Act: how will the fire and rehire provisions apply in practice?
Collective redundancy consultation trigger change
Now: Employers proposing 20+ redundancies “at one establishment” within a period of 90 days must go through a process of collective consultation before making any redundancies. If employers don’t comply, employees can claim a protective award of up to 90 days’ pay.
What the Act says: The Act adds a new threshold test, requiring collective consultation if there are either 20+ redundancies at one establishment, or if another – new - threshold test is met. This will be defined in regulations but will involve counting employees across all sites/workplaces, potentially based on a percentage or number higher than 20. The Act also states that, in carrying out collective consultation, the employer does not need to consult all employee representatives together or try to reach the same agreement with all the representatives.
What next: The government opened a consultation on collective redundancy measures on 26 February 2026. It is seeking views on the new threshold test for triggering collective redundancy obligations, with the preferred option being that a fixed number of proposed company-wide redundancies between 250 and 1,000 would trigger collective consultation requirements. The consultation will close on 21 May 2026.
The additional threshold test for collective redundancies will be introduced in 2027.
Read more:
Penalties for not collectively consulting
Now: If an employer does not comply with collective consultation requirements for redundancies (including fire & rehire exercises) it faces a protective award of 90 days’ pay per employee.
What the Act says: The Act doubles the maximum protective award to 180 days’ pay. It does not, however, make ‘interim relief’ available as a remedy, as had at one point been proposed.
What next: The new penalty will apply from 6 April 2026.
Read more:
Outsourcing of public services and TUPE
Now: Ex-public sector employees and private sector employees can work on different terms and conditions following the transfer of public contract.
What the Act says: The Act introduces powers to avoid a “two-tier workforce” with ex-public sector employees and private sector employees being employed on different terms and conditions. Regulations may require public outsourcing contracts to include provisions to ensure that (1) any workers transferring from the public sector should be treated no less favourably than they were when employed in the public sector, and (2) private sector workers working for a supplier will need to be treated no less favourably than the ex-public sector workers who have transferred.
What next: Detailed regulations and a Code of Practice will be introduced relating to outsourcing public service contracts.
More generally, there will be a Call for Evidence to examine TUPE and how it is implemented in practice, potentially in early 2026.
According to the Roadmap, and updated timetable, the two-tier procurement provisions will take effect in October 2026.
Read more:
Zero hours contracts and predictability
Duty to offer guaranteed hours
Now: Zero-hour contracts are allowed but can’t include clauses preventing employees working elsewhere. There is no explicit right to have a more predictable working pattern.
What the Act says: The Act does not ban zero hours contracts, but the effect of the complex rules requiring employers to make an offer of a guaranteed hours contract to a qualifying worker is likely to reduce their use.
Employers will have a duty to offer qualifying workers a contract that reflects the hours regularly worked over a reference period. This duty will continue to apply until the worker no longer meets the qualifying criteria. Following consultation, these provisions have also been extended to agency workers.
Qualifying workers are those who, during the reference period, worked under a zero hours contract, or who worked under a “low hours” contract and worked hours in excess of the minimum hours specified in the contract.
Key points, including the length of the reference period, the threshold of “low hours”, and conditions on the number and regularity of those hours, remain to be defined in regulations. However, the government has previously indicated a preference for a period of 12 weeks.
The offer of guaranteed hours must reflect the hours worked during the reference period and regulations will provide additional details regarding the specific working pattern or days that must be offered. It also remains to be confirmed what prescribed form the offer must be made in and – importantly – how long it must remain open for.
There are exceptions. Addressing the possibility of short-term labour needs, the Act provides that the offer can be a fixed-term contract if that is reasonable (i.e. not permanent guaranteed hours as is the default). “Reasonable” could include when there is a “temporary work need” or when the worker is needed for a specific task, but the scope of this is uncertain. There is also an open-ended provision for further exceptions to be set out in the regulations.
The obligation to offer guaranteed hours will cease to apply if the worker resigns or has been fairly dismissed during the qualifying period or a limited-term contract came to end (in certain circumstances). If the termination occurs after the offer but before acceptance, the offer is considered withdrawn.
The duty to offer guaranteed hours can be disapplied by a collective agreement and does not need to be substituted with a similar entitlement.
A worker who is not offered hours on these terms can bring an employment tribunal claim, with the maximum award to be set out in regulations. Employers will also need to be aware of the tribunal claim which aims to prevent manipulation of work patterns to avoid the application of these provisions. Essentially, this applies if the right to guaranteed hours would have been applicable had the employer not restricted the hours available during the reference period.
In terms of the mechanics of offering guaranteed hours in a tripartite relationship, it will be the responsibility of the end hirer to make any guaranteed hours offer, although regulations may place obligations on the agency in some scenarios. The collective agreement contracting out provisions can also cover agency workers.
The pay offered to agency workers under a guaranteed hours offer must be no less favourable than the agency terms they’d been working under or those of comparable workers. Additionally, when an agency worker accepts a guaranteed hours offer from an end-hirer, they will become a worker (rather than an employee).
What next: Consultation on these measures is now expected in early 2026. Then, according to the Roadmap and updated timetable, these measures (including their application to agency workers) will take effect in 2027.
However, as noted, a number of key provisions remain to be determined in secondary legislation. Detailed government guidance is also expected.
Read more:
Employment Rights Bill unpacked: will guaranteed hours guarantee flexibility for both parties?
Employment Rights Bill unpacked: zero hours reforms extended to agency workers
Right to reasonable notice of work schedules and proportionate compensation
Now: No statutory right to notice of shifts.
What the Act says: Workers gain the right to reasonable notice of a shift, including the time, day and how many hours are to be worked. This duty will apply to workers employed on a zero hours or minimum hours basis, as well as workers who do not have a set working pattern.
There is also a right to reasonable notice of any change or cancelled shift. This includes the extension of contractually guaranteed shifts. What is “reasonable” notice will depend on the circumstances, but regulations will set out a specific minimum time.
Cancelled shifts include the situation in which a shift is offered to more people than are needed, and then the worker is ultimately not required because someone else has agreed to cover it. However, a worker will only have entitlement to payment for a short notice cancellation etc. if they had reasonably believed that they would be needed for that shift. This provision potentially helps to clarify the scope of these rules when shifts are offered to a large number of workers.
There is a duty on employers to make a payment to workers each time there is a change to a shift at “short notice”. Details will be clarified in regulations, but compensation will be proportionate to the cancellation or curtailment.
These provisions can be disapplied by the terms of a collective agreement and this does not have to be substituted with something similar.
Following consultation, these provisions will apply to agency workers. It will be the responsibility of both the employment agency and end hirer to provide an agency worker with reasonable notice of shifts. The responsibility for paying any cancellation or curtailment payments falls to the agency only, although this can be recouped from the end hirer.
What next: Consultation on these measures is expected in early 2026. It’s anticipated that this will consider how much notice must be given, what payment must be made, how any compensation will be calculated and any exceptions.
Then, according to the Roadmap, these measures (including their application to agency workers) will take effect in 2027.
Read more:
Employment Rights Bill unpacked: shifting the power for shift workers
Employment Rights Bill unpacked: zero hours reforms extended to agency workers
Work-life balance
Stronger rights to flexible working
Now: Employees have a right to request flexible working from day 1. Employers can refuse based on one or more of the eight business reasons listed in legislation. The penalty for breaching the statutory flexible working regime is eight weeks’ pay, currently capped at £5,600.
What the Act says: Refusal of a flexible working request must be reasonable, although the eight business reasons remain the same. An employer must state and explain to the employee what the ground for any refusal is and why their refusal is considered reasonable. There is no change to the penalty.
Draft regulations may set out steps to be taken when consulting with an employee before refusing a request.
What next: The updated timetable confirms that these measures are set to take effect in 2027.
The government is running consultation until 30 April 2026 on a proposed “light touch process” for employers to follow when a request is not agreed. The suggested process includes a requirement for the employer to meet with the employee and communicate the outcome of the request in writing. The consultation also covers what support would help businesses navigate flexible working requests and other ways to improve access to flexible working.
Read more:
Flexible working consultation: will the statutory process be flexible enough?
Employment Rights Bill unpacked: will flexible working really be the “default”?
Right to switch off
Now: There is no explicit right to disconnect in UK law.
What the Act says: This is not covered in the Act. The government previously indicated that it would deliver a right to switch off through a statutory Code of Practice.
What next: In a House of Lord’s debate, a spokesperson confirmed the government’s commitment to implementing the right to switch off, despite earlier press reports that it would not move forward with this proposal. We await consultation on a draft Code of Practice.
Read more:
New Deal talking points: New details emerge on Labour’s right to switch off
New Deal talking points: What could a new right to disconnect look like under a Labour government?
Diversity, discrimination and pay reporting
Equality action plans – gender pay gap and menopause
Now: Employers with 250+ employees must publish annual gender pay gap reports. Employers are not required to publish an action plan for closing it, but many do so. The requirement is enforced by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
What the Act says: New regulations will require employers with 250+ employees to produce and publish “equality action plans” covering steps that are taken to reduce the gender pay gap and support employees through menopause. The regulations will include specific penalties for not doing so.
What next: The regulations need to be drafted and we expect further consultation. The regulations will set out the detailed requirements and how often plans must be published, but this cannot be more than every 12 months. The government has published employer guidance on creating an action plan, together with lists of evidence-informed actions employers could take. Additional guidance for employers on action plans will be published in April 2026.
Action plans will be introduced on a voluntary basis on 6 April 2026, before coming into force in 2027.
Read more
Gender pay gap reports to identify contract workers
Now: Employers with 250+ employees must publish annual gender pay gap reports covering their employees. Reports are based on a snapshot taken on 5 April and must be published within a year of the snapshot, i.e. by 4 April the next year.
What the Act says: Regulations will require employers to identify the providers/employers of contract workers. This does not mean that gender pay gap data must include data reflecting what contract workers are paid. It is simply a requirement to name the providers/employers of those contract workers.
What next: Accompanying regulations are needed to extend the scope of gender pay gap reporting in this way and there may be further consultation on the details.
The Roadmap indicates that implementation will depend on timelines for broader changes related to pay gap reporting, in the upcoming Equality (Race & Disability) Bill (not yet published).
Stronger duty to prevent sexual harassment
Now: Employers must take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of employees and workers in the course of their employment.
What the Act says: Employers will have to take “all” reasonable steps to prevent workplace harassment. The Act gives the government powers to set out what amounts to “reasonable steps” in regulations. The government also ran a call for evidence on “what works” to reduce and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
What next: The updated timetable confirms that these measures will take effect in October 2026.
Somewhat confusingly, according to the latest factsheet on the regulations, the power to introduce regulations will not take effect until 2027/2028, well after the obligation itself has come into force (although the updated timetable still says 2027).
Read more:
Employment Rights Bill unpacked: tougher stance on workplace harassment
Employers to be liable for harassment by third parties
Now: Employers are not explicitly/directly liable if their employees are harassed by customers/clients/other third parties.
What the Act says: Employers will be liable for third party harassment unless the employer took all reasonable steps to prevent this. This covers all types of harassment not just sexual harassment.
What next: The Roadmap and updated timetable say that these measures will take effect in October 2026 and do not indicate there will be further consultation on them.
Read more:
Employment Rights Bill unpacked: tougher stance on workplace harassment
Disclosure of sexual harassment to be added to list of qualifying disclosures
Now: Employees who disclose a breach of health and safety obligations or other breach of the law are protected as whistleblowers if they reasonably believe the disclosure is in the public interest. Sexual harassment complaints can already be disclosures which qualify for protection where they meet the public interest test and count as a breach of health and safety obligations or breach of a legal obligation.
What the Act says: Disclosing sexual harassment has been added to the list of what counts as a qualifying disclosure, making it more explicit that this can amount to whistleblowing – as long as it meets the test of reasonable belief that it is made in the public interest (and other tests needed for it to be a protected disclosure).
What next: This change takes effect on 6 April 2026.
Read more:
Employment Rights Bill unpacked: tougher stance on workplace harassment
Non-disclosure agreements
Now: There has been longstanding concern about the abuse of NDAs where they prevent disclosures about sexual harassment. The absence of regulation of these kinds of waivers was a notable omission from the original draft of the Bill.
What the Act says: Any agreement preventing a worker from making allegations or disclosures about harassment or discrimination, including disclosures about the employer's response to such allegations, will be void.
This ban may be extended to agreements with independent contractors and those in work experience or training.
Regulations may also define "excepted agreements" where the ban does not apply, potentially following Ireland's approach, which allows NDAs at the employee's request with prior independent legal advice.
The new provision covers harassment or discrimination by the employer or fellow workers. The wording also seems wide enough to cover third-party harassment claims. Victimisation is also covered (although the wording is not clear that all types of victimisation are covered, such as acts of victimisation by a colleague rather than the employer).
What next: It is not currently clear when this ban will come into effect as it was not included in the government’s roadmap for implementation of the Act, and has not been included in the updated timetable either.
Read more:
Ban on dual discrimination
Now: The Equality Act 2010 already contains a provision about dual discrimination (called “combined discrimination”) but it has never been brought into force. This provides that it is direct discrimination to treat a person less favourably because of a combination of 2 protected characteristics.
What the Act says: This was not covered in the Bill but the government ran a call for evidence on how to bring this provision into force, which closed on 30 June 2025.
What next: It’s possible that the government will legislate on this as part of the expected Equality (Race and Disability) Bill (not yet published).
Read more:
Ethnicity pay gap reporting
Now: Ethnicity pay gap reporting is not compulsory, although there is government guidance for employers who choose to report voluntarily.
What the Act says: The Employment Rights Bill did not deal with ethnicity pay gap reporting but the government plans to introduce this under the separate Equality (Race and Disability) Bill. The government has now published its response to last year’s consultation. This confirms that ethnicity pay gap reporting will apply to employers with 250 or more employees largely as proposed in the consultation.
What next: The implementation timeline is unclear and several details remain outstanding.
Read more:
Government confirms mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers
Disability pay gap reporting
Now: Disability pay gap reporting is not compulsory.
What the Act says: The Employment Rights Bill did not deal with disability pay gap reporting but the government plans to introduce this under the separate Equality (Race and Disability) Bill. The government has now published its response to last year’s consultation. This confirms that disability pay gap reporting will apply to employers with 250 or more employees largely as proposed in the consultation.
What next: The implementation timeline is unclear and several details remain outstanding.
Read more:
Government confirms mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers
New pay transparency measures
Now: The EU’s Pay Transparency Directive requires employers to take several measures to improve pay transparency, including providing salary ranges when recruiting, not asking candidates about salary history and providing employees with information about their pay and how it compares to those doing the same role or work of equal value. These measures do not apply in the UK.
What the Act says: The Employment Rights Bill did not deal with this topic but the government ran a call for evidence about whether these sorts of pay transparency measures should also be extended to Great Britain, which closed on 30 June 2025.
What next: It’s not clear if these measures will form part of the expected Equality (Race and Disability) Bill (not yet published).
Extension of equal pay rights
Now: Equal pay claims made under the equal pay regime are currently limited to differences in pay based on sex. Claims about pay based on other protected characteristics have to be brought under discrimination law. Outsourced employees cannot compare themselves against direct hires for the purposes of an equal pay claim.
What the Act says: The Employment Rights Bill did not deal with the extension of equal pay rights but the government plans to legislate under the separate Equality (Race and Disability) Bill. The government ran a call for evidence on how to “make the right to equal pay effective” for ethnic minority and disabled people, which closed on 30 June 2025. The new legislation could extend existing equal pay laws to cover race and disability (the government’s original plan) or follow some other model. The call for evidence also explored allowing pay comparisons between outsourced and “in house” workers.
What next: A draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill is expected in early 2026.
Read more:
Equal Pay enforcement unit
Now: Equal pay claims are brought by individuals, albeit often acting in groups.
What the Act says: The Employment Rights Bill did not deal with this issue, but the government ran a call for evidence on establishing a new Equal Pay Regulatory and Enforcement Unit, which closed on 30 June 2025.
What next: This may be dealt with in the separate Equality (Race and Disability) Bill (not yet published).
Employee representation and voice
Right of trade union access
Now: There is no general right for trade unions to access workplaces for recruitment and organisation of members – exceptionally unions can currently only come onto an employer’s premises if the employer agrees (for example as part of a collective agreement where the union is already recognised) or it is ordered by the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) ahead of a statutory recognition ballot.
What the Act says: Trade union officials will have a wider right to access workplaces for recruitment, organising (not including organising industrial action) and collective bargaining purposes, subject to following a prescriptive statutory process. This includes digital/virtual access, which will potentially help unions to engage with workers more effectively. Unions will gain a right to request access: in response, employers can either choose to negotiate the terms of “access agreements” or the union will be able to apply to the CAC for it to order access, with a presumption that union officials should be able to access a workplace in any manner that does not unreasonably interfere with the employer’s business. The detail of default terms for access arrangements (where the parties are unable to reach agreement through negotiation) will be prescribed in future regulations. Any part of the workplace used as a ‘dwelling’ will be exempt.
If an employer fails to comply, the CAC will have powers to order the employer to take steps to enable access to the workplace by union officials and to impose financial penalties Consultation on the proposed enforcement framework for access agreements closed on 2 December 2024, and the detailed framework for financial penalties will be consulted on further.
The government has consulted on how the right should work in practice and the maximum value of the financial penalties that can be imposed by the CAC.
What next: The government will now publish secondary legislation setting out in detail the statutory process for requesting access, the grounds on which the CAC will be able to refuse requests for access and the default access arrangements which the CAC can impose.
These measures are expected take effect in October 2026.
Read more:
Will the Employment Rights Act mean a new dawn for trade unions?
Employment Rights Bill: consultations on trade union reforms
Reforms to statutory union recognition
Now: The recognition process is complex - to commence an application for statutory recognition, a union must show that at least 10% of a proposed bargaining unit are union members and that the majority of them are likely to support recognition. The CAC can only then order recognition if, either (i) at least 50% of the bargaining unit are union members or (ii) a ballot is held, in which a majority of votes cast are in favour and at least 40% of all workers in the bargaining unit vote for recognition. Restrictions on unfair practices only apply when the CAC has ordered a ballot. There are no specific rules dealing with employees hired into the proposed bargaining unit during the process.
What the Act says: The Act meaningfully lowers the hurdles of the process by removing the 40% threshold and the initial requirement to show majority support is likely. The Act also gives the government the power to reduce the required threshold for union membership to as low as 2% of the proposed bargaining unit through future secondary legislation. Restrictions on unfair practices will apply as soon as a union’s request for statutory recognition is accepted by the CAC. Also, employees hired more than 10 days after the CAC receives the union’s application will not be eligible to vote in the recognition process or be counted towards the number of workers in the bargaining unit for recognition purposes.
What next: On 4 February 2026 the government published a new draft Code of Practice on access and unfair practices during the recognition and derecognition process. It is consulting on this draft and on proposals to prevent interference with electronic balloting until 1 April. This consultation document indicates that there will be published guidance but no further consultation on the new recognition process as a whole.
The removal of the 40% turnout threshold and initial requirement to show likelihood of majority support take effect on 6 April 2026. The power to change the 10% membership threshold also takes effect on 6 April 2026, but this is just a power to make future changes - no new percentage test has been announced. The restrictions on unfair practices during ballots will be brought into force later – likely October 2026.
Read more:
Will the Employment Rights Act mean a new dawn for trade unions?
Collective grievance process
Now: There is no legal requirement on employers to adopt a procedure for collective grievances. Employees can raise individual grievances, and have a statutory right to be accompanied by a trade union representative at an individual grievance hearing.
What the Act says: The Employment Rights Bill did not deal with collective grievances, however, the government have confirmed that this is one of their longer-term delivery reforms, taking longer to undertake and implement. The government will consult with Acas to allow employees to collectively raise grievances about conduct in the workplace.
What next: The government has stated that it will consult with Acas on this proposal, but no reference is made to this in the Roadmap.
Read more:
New Deal talking points: what will Labour’s trade union reforms mean for non-unionised employers?
Obligation to notify workers of their right to join a trade union
Now: Employers must give all workers a written statement of employment particulars when they start work: among other prescribed information, these must state whether there is a collective agreement which affects their terms and conditions of employment. The penalties for not doing so are limited (two to four week’s pay capped at £2,800).
What the Act says: The Act expands the list of required particulars that employers must give to their employees to include an explicit statement that workers have the right to join a trade union. The specific content and form of this statement and the obligations placed on employers in terms of when and how it should be provided will be set out in future secondary legislation. The government launched a consultation on how the duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union should work in practice, which closed on 18 December 2025.
What next: These measures are expected take effect in October 2026.
Read more:
Will the Employment Rights Act mean a new dawn for trade unions?
Employment Rights Bill: consultations on trade union reforms
Repeal of Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 and Trade Union Act 2016 and permission for electronic balloting
Previously: The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 gave the government powers to set minimum service levels during strikes in essential services.
The Trade Union Act 2016 imposed various limitations on strikes, including longer notice periods, restrictions on picketing, higher ballot thresholds for certain important public services and the expiry of industrial action mandates after six months.
Industrial action balloting must be done in secret by post.
What the Act says: The Act repeals the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 and most of the Trade Union Act 2016, rolling back almost all of the restrictions on calling strike action introduced by Conservative-led governments since 2010. The Act also simplifies the information which unions must provide to employers in notices of ballots and industrial action, lengthens industrial action mandates to 12 months, reduces the notice required for industrial action from 14 to 10 days and allows for electronic balloting.
What next: The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act was repealed as soon as the Act had Royal Assent, and the relevant provisions of the Trade Union Act will be repealed on 18 February 2026, without further consultation. Electronic balloting was originally expected to be introduced in April 2026, but the updated timetable now says this will be “no earlier” than August 2026.
Electronic balloting was originally expected to be introduced in April 2026, but the updated timetable now says this will be in August 2026. The government is consulting on proposals to prevent interference with electronic balloting until 1 April.
New protections for trade union reps and members
Now: Employees cannot be subjected to detrimental treatment or dismissal because of their trade union membership or activities; however, the Supreme Court recently confirmed in Mercer that there is no protection from detriments short of dismissal for taking part in industrial action. It’s also unlawful to refuse to employ someone on grounds relating to trade union membership or to compile a ‘blacklist’ of union members and representatives.
What the Act says: The Act introduces new protection for workers against detriments short of dismissal for taking part in protected industrial action, correcting the gap in existing protection confirmed in the Mercer decision. It also strengthens and simplifies the existing protection against being dismissed for taking part in protected industrial action.
The Act also introduces a new statutory role for “union equality representatives” in workplaces with recognised unions. Their duties will include promoting equality in the workplace, providing advice and support to union members on equality matters, and consulting with the employer on equality matters. They will have a right to paid time off to carry out these duties.
Existing rights of representatives of recognised unions, requiring employers to provide them with reasonable facilities and accommodations to carry out their duties, will be increased, in addition to their existing right to paid time off.
The Act also extends existing protections against blacklisting, to cover discriminatory actions by bodies other than employers or employment agencies.
What next: The government opened a consultation on protection from detriment for taking industrial action on 26 February 2026. Options include prohibiting all detriments or creating a list of prohibited detriments. It also seeks views on any related uplift to a tribunal award for a failure to comply with ACAS code of practice. The consultation closes on 23 April. The measures are then expected to take effect in October 2026.
What next
New protections against detriment for striking workers what is being proposed
Fair Pay Agreement in adult social care
Now: Pay and other terms and conditions in the social care sector are set by individual employers and are only collectively bargained with trade unions where they are recognised by particular employers.
What the Act says: The Act gives the government new powers to establish the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body, an industry-wide body composed of representatives of employers and unions in the social care sector. The Secretary of State will be able to ‘ratify’ agreements reached within the Negotiating Body relating to the terms and conditions of all staff employed in the provision of adult social care in England, in which case they will become binding on all employers in the sector. They can also set pay directly in the event of a failure to reach an agreement within the Negotiating Body.
What next: The government will consult on its proposals for ‘Fair Pay Agreements’ in the adult social care sector. It will now publish regulations and codes of practice governing the operation of the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body in greater detail.
In terms of timing, according to the Roadmap, regulations to establish the Fair Pay Agreement Adult Social Care Negotiating Body will be brought forward in October 2026.
Surveillance technologies - negotiations with trade unions and staff representatives
Now: There are no specific statutory provisions on consulting with staff or unions about surveillance technology.
What the Act says: This was not mentioned in the Employment Rights Bill – only referred to in Next Steps document.
What next: The Next Steps document indicates that there will be a consultation on workplace surveillance technologies and associated union and staff consultation provisions. It remains to be seen how this may tie into any future reforms on the regulation of artificial intelligence.
Family rights
Protection for maternity returners
Now: In redundancy situations, women have the right to be offered suitable alternative employment (if available) once they inform their employer of their pregnancy or if their expected date of childbirth was less than 18 months ago.
What the Act says: The Act gives the government powers to introduce regulations to cover other dismissals (which are not redundancies) during pregnancy, maternity leave or following a return to work. Protection will also apply to other forms of family leave such as adoption leave, shared parental leave, neonatal care leave and bereaved partners’ paternity leave.
While the precise content of the regulations is not yet clear, an amendment confirms they will specify the required notices to employees, the evidence employers must provide and any additional procedures to be followed.
According to the explanatory notes at the Bill stage, this will ban dismissals of women who are pregnant, on maternity leave, and during a six month return to work period, except in specific circumstances. Reflecting this, a consultation has opened on when dismissal of pregnant women and new mothers will still be allowed and when the protections should start and end. The government is also consulting on whether other new parents should be protected. Consultation closed on 15 January 2026.
What next: We await further detail in regulations.
In terms of implementation, the updated timetable confirms that the measures will take effect in 2027.
Read more:
Employment Rights Bill unpacked: just getting started for family rights?
Right to bereavement leave (including for pregnancy loss)
Now: There’s no general statutory right to bereavement leave unless an employee’s child dies under the age of 18 or is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy whereby statutory parental bereavement leave and pay may apply. There is also a right to unpaid reasonable time off for family and dependants in an emergency. There is no entitlement to leave for pregnancy loss that takes place before 24 weeks.
What the Act says: The Act gives the government the power to introduce a day 1 right to at least one week of bereavement leave for employees. Regulations will specify the necessary relationship with the deceased in order to qualify but we assume this is likely to follow the definition used in time off for dependants. Unlike parental bereavement leave, this will not be paid. The new right to bereavement leave also includes pregnancy loss that occurs before 24 weeks of pregnancy. The government launched a consultation seeking views on how to shape this right, which closed on 15 January 2026.
What next: Further regulations are required to set out the precise detail of this right, with the measures expected to take effect in 2027.
Read more:
Employment Rights Bill consultations: bereavement leave including pregnancy loss before 24 weeks
Employment Rights Bill unpacked: just getting started for family rights?
Day 1 parental leave
Now: Employees need to have been employed for one year to be eligible for parental leave.
What the Act says: The Act removes any length of service requirement for parental leave.
What next: The change takes effect for babies born on or after 6 April 2026, or due on or after 5 April 2026.
Read more:
Paternity leave changes
Length of service
Now: Eligibility for statutory paternity leave requires employees to have been employed for 26 weeks, assessed 15 weeks before the expected birth week.
What the Act says: The Act removes any length of service requirement for paternity leave.
What next: The change takes effect on 6 April 2026.
Interplay with shared parental leave
Now: Employees lose any entitlement to paternity leave and pay if they take shared parental leave and pay before exhausting their paternity leave entitlements.
What the Act says: Employees will now be able to take paternity leave and pay even after they have taken shared parental leave and pay.
What next: The change takes effect on 6 April 2026.
Read more:
Day one family rights from April 2026
Employment Rights Bill unpacked: just getting started for family rights?
Sickness, wellbeing and disability
Statutory sick pay reforms
Now: Statutory sick pay is payable from day four of sickness, and employees need to be earning above the weekly lower earnings limit (currently £123) to qualify.
What the Act says: SSP will be payable from day 1 of sickness and payable for the first 3 Qualifying Days of sickness. In addition, the lower earnings limit will be removed, meaning that all eligible employees, regardless of earnings, will be entitled to SSP. Those earning less than the lower earnings limit (currently £123 a week) will become entitled to SSP at a rate of 80% of weekly earnings.
What next: Regulations confirm these changes will take effect on 6 April 2026.
Worker status and self-employment
New single status of worker
Now: There is a 3-tier system for employment status: people are either self-employed, workers or employees.
What the Act says: Nothing. The Next Steps document discusses plans to move to a two-tier system, removing the distinction between ‘employees’ and ‘workers’. This was not part of the Employment Rights Bill.
What next: The government has indicated that the consultation on employment status will be published by the end of 2025 but this is still awaited.
Pay and tax
Holiday (entitlement and pay) records
Now: There is no specific obligation to keep records demonstrating compliance with holiday entitlement and pay (except for employment businesses).
What the Act says: The Act imposes a new specific obligation on all employers to keep records demonstrating compliance with holiday entitlement (including the amount of leave and pay). There’s no set format for these records, but they must be kept for six years and failure to comply will be a criminal offence punishable with (potentially unlimited) fines.
What next: The new requirement to keep holiday entitlement and pay records will take effect on 6 April 2026.
Read more:
Failure to keep adequate holiday records will become a criminal offence from April 2026
National Living Wage
Now: The National Living Wage increases in April each year. The rate is set by the government, based on recommendations made by the Low Pay Commission. The NLW does not apply to under 21s. There is a lower hourly minimum wage for 18-20 year olds.
What the Act says: Nothing - the NLW was not dealt with in the Employment Rights Bill. However, in April 2025 the NLW increased by 6.7% to £12.21 and the 18-20 minimum wage rate increased by 16.3% to £10.
What next: The rates will go up again in April 2026 to £12.71 for the NLW and £10.85 for 18 to 20 year olds. Whilst the government had committed to phasing out the 18-20 rate altogether, media reports suggest this change is likely to be delayed given the high levels of youth unemployment, meaning that the 18-20 rate is likely to continue for some while longer.
Ban on unpaid internships
Now: Status of interns can be a grey area. There is no legal definition of “internship” or “work experience” and an individual’s employment status will determine what pay they are entitled to and what rights they have.
What the Act says: Nothing. But the government was seemingly committed to banning unpaid internships (unless they are part of an educational or training course) when it launched a Call for Evidence, which closed on 9 October 2025.
What next: The government responded to the Call for Evidence on 27 February 2026 saying that to tackle illegal internships it would update its guidance, crack down using the upcoming Fair Work Agency and launch a communication campaign, but it did not announce legislative change.
Read more:
Tips
Now: New tipping legislation took effect in October 2024 which required employers to pass all qualifying tips on to workers. Employers are also required to introduce a written tips policy, setting out how tips are allocated.
What the Act says: The Act strengthens existing law by requiring employers to consult with trade union or elected representatives or (if none) workers directly, before producing the first version of their written tips policy and when reviewing it. Any tips policy will need to be reviewed every three years from when it was implemented. Employers will also be required to make available an anonymised summary of feedback received in consultation.
What next: The measures are expected to take effect in October 2026. The government is running consultation until 1 April 2026 to gather views on the existing law and where improvements could be made, as well as how the new requirements can be effectively implemented.
Umbrella companies
Now: There are concerns that, as regulated, umbrella companies can deprive workers of employment rights, distort competition in the labour market, and cause significant tax loss.
What the Act says: The Act defines umbrella companies (by amendment of the Employment Agencies Act) which will be the gateway to further regulation (subject to consultation). Statutory regulation will bring umbrella companies within the regulation of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (to then pass to the Fair Work Agency when established).
What next: The government has published a consultation on how to bring umbrella companies within the regulatory framework governing the temporary labour market and strengthen protections for agency workers. The consultation remains open until 1 May 2026, with measures expected to take effect in 2027.
Read more:
Enforcement
Extension of time limits for bringing tribunal claims
Now: Most tribunal claims need to be brought within three months of the act complained of (e.g. dismissal, discrimination, deduction from wages).
What the Act says: Time limits for bringing tribunal claims will be extended from three to six months. This will apply to all types of claims, including discrimination and unfair dismissal (although curiously it does not currently apply to breach of contract claims – this seems to be an oversight so may be corrected).
What next: According to the updated timetable this is expected to take effect in October 2026.
Read more:
Employment Rights Bill unpacked: extension of time limits for bringing tribunal claims
Creation of Fair Work Agency
Now: The UK has limited state enforcement of employment rights.
What the Act says: The Act gives the government various powers to enforce labour market regulation and to delegate this to a new public authority (expected to be called the Fair Work Agency). The Next Steps document says that the Fair Work Agency will bring together existing enforcement functions, including minimum wage and statutory sick pay enforcement; the employment tribunal penalty scheme; labour exploitation and modern slavery; employment agencies rules; as well as introducing the state enforcement of holiday pay for the first time. The Act sets out a range of enforcement powers, including the ability to enter premises to obtain documents and inspect electronic records.
The Fair Work Agency will be able to:
- Enforce failure to comply with the new obligation to keep adequate records of holiday pay.
- Enforce failure to pay certain statutory payments to workers – including holiday pay and statutory sick pay. Based on the existing regime for minimum wage enforcement, agency will be able to issue a notice of underpayment to employers, which specifies the amount payable within 28 days. This is combined with a penalty of 200% of the sum due, payable to the Secretary of State. This will have major implications for employers who get holiday pay wrong across a workforce.
- Bring Employment Tribunal proceedings on behalf of a worker, if the worker has the right to bring a claim but it appears they are not going to.
- Provide legal assistance for employment-related proceedings, such as helping claimants with holiday pay claims.
- Recover their own enforcement costs from employers who are not complying with the law. This is a major new addition that will increase non-compliance costs for employers and potentially help to fund the agency’s work.
- Enter homes with a warrant to obtain documents and check computers.
What next: The Fair Work Agency body will be established on 7 April 2026. It’s then likely to take some time before the practical arrangements for the new agency are fully up and running, but its extensive powers indicate that it is seen as a key part of the future model of enforcement.
Read more:
The Employment Rights Act covers England, Wales and Scotland.
Northern Ireland is planning its own overhaul of employment law rights. See our Northern Ireland Employment Law Reform Impact Hub for information.