The Employment Rights Bill, described as the biggest single upgrade of employment rights in a generation, is now in its final stages of the Parliamentary process and is expected to become law this Autumn.
On 1 July, the Government published its ‘roadmap’, setting out the anticipated timeline of key changes.
Some changes are expected in 2025, but most will happen in 2026 and 2027.
Although the roadmap provides a useful overview, further adjustments may still be made as the Bill processes through Parliament.
Autumn 2025 – Trade Union Reforms Begin
Trade union reform including enhancing rights and protections in areas such as political funds, balloting, industrial action and recognition. The Bill also gives Trade Unions a right to access workplaces.
Several of the proposals will directly overturn laws implemented by the previous Government. Trade unions will only have the right to access workplaces that are not also dwellings, and they must be a ‘qualifying’ trade union defined as having an independent certificate. These measures will be phased in from Autumn 2025.
April 2026 – New Leave Rights and Fair Work Agency Introduced
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) payable to all workers from day one of absence at 80% of weekly earnings or the flat rate, whichever is lower. Currently, employees must earn at least the lower earnings limit to get SSP, which is paid from the fourth day of sickness absence. The new rules will apply in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Parental leave will become a day-one right. Under the current rules, an employee must have one year’s service with their employer before they are entitled to parental leave.
Under the new rules, paternity leave will be available from day one of employment. Paternity leave is, under current rules, available to employees who have 26 weeks’ service with their employer counted at the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth, or in the week their partner is notified of being matched for adoption.
A new Fair Work Agency will be established to bring together different government enforcement bodies. The agency will have the powers to enforce payment of statutory payments, bring employment tribunal claims on behalf of individuals, and provide legal assistance, support or representation where individuals have raised a claim themselves.
Enforcement is currently handled by several separate agencies, such as HMRC and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. At present, there is no mechanism for one party to bring an employment tribunal claim on behalf of another.
Increase the maximum protective award a tribunal can make when a business has failed to follow their obligations on collective consultation. The maximum award will increase from 90 days’ pay to 180 days’ pay.
October 2026 – Strengthened Protections and Extended Deadlines
‘Bullying’ fire and rehire practices will be brought to an end. “Fire and rehire”, where an employer dismisses and reengages an employee to push through changes to terms and conditions, will be an automatic unfair dismissal except where a business is in serious financial trouble affecting its continuation, and the employer could not reasonably have avoided the need to make the change.
Extended time limit for tribunal claims. The time limit for employees to bring a claim to a tribunal will be increased from three to six months.
Employers will be required to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. From October 2024, employers are required to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. This duty will later be strengthened to require “all reasonable steps.”
Employers to be liable for third party harassment. Currently, employers are not liable for third party harassment (harassment from a client, customer, member of the public etc) although under a proactive duty in place from October 2024, employers must take reasonable steps to prevent third party sexual harassment.
Trade union statement. Employers will be required to provide employees, alongside their statement of main terms, with a statement confirming their right to join a trade union.
2027 – Day-One Rights, Flexible Working and Further Protections
Unfair dismissal protection will be in place from day-one, but a statutory probation period will apply.
Employees must currently wait for two years until they have protection from ordinary unfair dismissal. During the statutory probation period, employers will be able to take a ‘light touch’ approach making it less onerous to fairly dismiss an employee. The government has proposed the statutory probation period be for a period of nine months, however this is subject to a consultation.
A new right to bereavement leave of at least one week to apply from day one of employment.
Parental bereavement leave is the only legal entitlement to time off to grieve, and this only currently applies to parents whose child, under the age of 18, dies. Under the new plans, the right to unpaid bereavement leave will cover a wider set of circumstances including miscarriages before the 24th week of pregnancy.
Flexible working will become the default unless the employer can show that it is unreasonable. Employers can currently decline flexible working requests if one or more of eight specific grounds apply. Under the new proposed rules, they will also need to show why it was reasonable to refuse the request.
Collective redundancy procedures to be extended. The “at one establishment” rule will be removed, meaning the number of potential redundancies across all branches/offices will be added together when determining whether the collective redundancy threshold has been met. A consultation will take place to determine the number of redundancies that will be needed to trigger collective consultation in these instances
Employees will be given more protection from dismissal whilst pregnant, on maternity leave and within six months of returning to work. This group of employees was given enhanced protection against redundancy in April 2024. The new proposal will strengthen this protection further and prevent dismissal in other circumstances, except where specific rules apply.
Zero hours workers (including agency workers) will be entitled to reasonable notice of shifts and changes to their shifts, and compensation for shifts which are cancelled, moved or ended early.
This will be a brand-new addition; there are no similar rules currently in place. Future regulations will set out how much notice the employer needs to give. These rules will apply to all shifts set by the employer, either ‘required’ or ‘requested’.
Those working on zero hours or ‘low hours’ contracts (including agency workers) will have the right to be offered a guaranteed hours contract to reflect regular hours they have worked over a defined period.
Employers will be required to provide information at the start of employment, and on an ongoing basis, for workers who may later become eligible for a guaranteed hours offer. They must also supply supporting information when making the offer. Workers may choose to remain on a zero-hours contract if they prefer. Importantly, this law will also apply to ‘low-hours’ contracts.
Large employers will be required to create action plans on supporting employees through menopause and reducing their gender pay gap. It is likely that a “large employer” will be defined as those with 250+ employees. It’s worth noting that an action plan is different to a policy.
Beyond 2027 – Future Reforms and Government Vision
The following are not included in the Employment Rights Bill, but will be progressed in separate legislation or by non-legislative means:
- the right to disconnect
- supporting workers with a terminal illness through the Dying to Work Charter
- modernising health and safety guidance
- enacting the socioeconomic duty
- ensuring the Public Sector Equality Duty provisions cover all parties exercising public functions
- developing menopause guidance for employers and guidance on health and wellbeing
- extending pay gap reporting to ethnicity and disability for employers with more than 250 staff
- extending equal pay rights to protect workers suffering discrimination on the basis of race or disability
- ensuring that outsourcing of services can no longer be used by employers to avoid paying equal pay
- implementing a regulatory and enforcement unit for equal pay with involvement from trade unions
The following also form part of the Government’s longer-term vision:
- parental leave review
- carer’s leave review
- surveillance technologies and negotiations with trade unions and staff representatives
- single ‘worker’ status
- strengthen protections for the self-employed through a right to written contract, extending blacklisting
- protections and extending health and safety protections
- review of Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE)
- review health and safety guidance and regulations
- raising collective grievances
- reform the procurement system
- extend the Freedom of Information Act to private companies that hold public contracts
If you have any queries about the Employment Rights Bill or would like practical advice on how your organisation can prepare for these changes, please email tcms@thomas-carroll.co.uk and our Employment Lawyers will be happy to help.
