Employment Rights Act 2025: Implementation Timeline
The Employment Rights Act 2025 became law on 18 December 2025. It brought in a phased programme of UK employment law reform. This guide tells you the main changes in the order they will happen. It explains what they mean, or are expected to mean. Both for employers and workers. The timetable reflects the current government roadmap. Some later dates, and the detail of certain measures, may still change. This is as consultation continues and further regulations are published.
| Change | Detail |
|---|---|
February 2026 | |
| Simplified industrial action and ballot notices | The rules on industrial action became simpler. In particular, the notice period for industrial action was reduced. This went from 14 days to 10 days. Ballot mandates now last for 12 months instead of 6 months. Unions no longer need to give the same level of detail about the number of affected workers in each category. The need to appoint a picket supervisor was removed. |
| Automatic unfair dismissal for trade union participation | Dismissal for taking part in lawful industrial action became automatically unfair. Regardless of when the dismissal takes place. This replaced the previous position. Under this, protection was only for a limited protected period. |
6 April 2026 | |
| Collective redundancy protective award | The maximum protective award for failing to comply properly with collective consultation obligations doubled. From 90 days’ pay to 180 days’ pay. This means much more financial risk for employers that don’t follow the collective redundancy consultation rules in the right way. |
| Day 1 paternity leave. Unpaid parental leave | The service requirements for paternity leave and unpaid parental leave were removed. These both became day 1 rights. Before, employees needed 26 weeks’ service to qualify for paternity leave. They needed 1 years’ service to qualify for unpaid parental leave. Employees who became eligible for day 1 paternity leave and unpaid parental leave were able to start giving notice in February for leave beginning on or after 6 April 2026. |
| Bereaved partners’ paternity leave | Bereaved fathers and partners gained a day 1 right to take up to 52 weeks of paternity leave. This is where the mother or primary adopter dies within the first year of the child’s life. |
| Statutory Sick Pay reforms | Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) was also changed a lot. The waiting period was removed. That means SSP is payable from the first day of sickness absence rather than the 4th day. The Lower Earnings Limit was also removed. This means lower-paid employees are now eligible. For some lower earners, SSP is worked out as the lower of the prescribed weekly rate. Or 80% of normal weekly earnings. |
| Sexual harassment disclosures as whistleblowing | Sexual harassment disclosures changed. They were added to the list of matters capable of amounting to a qualifying disclosure for whistleblowing purposes. That is as long as the usual legal tests are met. This includes the requirement that the worker reasonably believes the disclosure is in the public interest. This strengthens protection for workers who raise broader concerns about workplace culture or misconduct. This also means that whistleblowers who make a sexual harassment disclosures are protected. They are now protected from detriment and unfair dismissal. |
| Trade union recognition process | The statutory trade union recognition process was also made simpler. Unions no longer need to show at the outset that most of the proposed bargaining unit is likely to support recognition. Where a ballot was held, the requirement that at least 40% of all workers in the bargaining unit vote in favour was removed. |
| Gender equality and menopause action plans | Employers with 250 or more employees were able to begin publishing action plans dealing with gender pay gaps. As well as support for employees who are going through the menopause. Publication should become mandatory in 2027. Although the April 2026 stage is voluntary, it signals the direction of travel. It also encourages larger employers to start thinking about what they will do. Things like measurable steps, internal data and policy development in these areas. |
| Holiday entitlement and pay records | Employers now have to keep records of annual leave and holiday pay. Those records should cover matters such as holiday taken, holiday carried over, holiday pay, and payments in lieu of untaken holiday on termination. They must be kept for at least 6 years. Employers must also show how holiday pay has been worked out. This includes any relevant elements. Such as bonuses or commission, where applicable. |
7 April 2026 | |
| Establishment of the Fair Work Agency | A new state enforcement body has been set up. This happened on 7 April 2026. It is called the Fair Work Agency. Although it is not yet clear when it will be fully operational. It is intended to bring together and strengthen enforcement of several employment rights. This means things like minimum wage, sick pay, labour exploitation and the regulation of employment businesses. It is also expected to have wider powers. This means things like enforcing holiday pay, recovering certain statutory payments, imposing penalties. In some cases, it will be able to bring Employment Tribunal proceedings. |
August 2026 | |
| Electronic balloting for statutory trade union ballots | Electronic balloting for certain statutory trade union ballots is expected. Right now, these ballots usually need to happen by post. Moving to electronic voting is likely to make getting involved easier. It may mean there is more turnout and higher engagement. |
October 2026 | |
| ‘All’ reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment | The existing duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment will be made stronger. This means there is a duty to take all reasonable steps. In practice, this is likely to require more thorough preventative action. This means things like better training and making it clearer how to report. It also means regular risk assessments and closer monitoring of workplace culture. Employers who do not comply may face an uplift of up to 25% on Employment Tribunal compensation in sexual harassment cases. More regulations are expected in 2027. These should give more detail about the steps that may count as reasonable. |
| Liability for third-party harassment | Employers may be directly liable where a worker is harassed by a third party. That is if the employer has not taken all reasonable steps to stop it. A third party could be a client, customer or contractor. This extends harassment prevention duties beyond the conduct of employees. It will now also be dealings with third parties. |
| Employment Tribunal time limits | The time limit for bringing most Employment Tribunal claims is expected to go up. This will be from 3 months to 6 months. This is expected to affect most claim types. This means unfair dismissal, discrimination, detriment, and whistleblowing. However, breach of contract claims are expected to stay the same. This means the current 3 months less 1 day limit after termination. |
| Tipping law | The law on tipping will also be tightened. Employers will need to speak to staff on their tipping policy. Not just encouraged to. They will have to review that policy at least once every 3 years. |
| Enhanced protection for union activity | A wider package of trade union reforms is also expected from October 2026. These include a duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union. It will mean will more rights for trade union representatives. Detriment protection linked to industrial action will be expanded. They also bring in trade union access agreements. |
| Duty to inform workers of the right to join a trade union | Employers will have to give workers a written statement explaining that they have the right to join a trade union. They will have to do this when they provide a written statement of terms and conditions. This is at the start of employment. The detail of the statement will be set out in regulations. This may appear quite a small change. But it reflects a wider change to make awareness of union rights at the outset of employment more normal. |
| Trade union access rights | Trade unions will also gain stronger rights of access. This means both to workplaces and workers. Under the new framework, a union will be able to make an access request to an employer. This may lead either to agreement or to a formal process that can be referred to the Central Arbitration Committee. This is if agreement is not reached. Access is expected to include both physical entry and general communication with workers. This could be for meeting, supporting, representing, recruiting or organising workers. It could also be for making collective bargaining happen. |
January 2027 | |
| Unfair dismissal qualifying period reduced to 6 months | The qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal is expected to go down. This is from 2 years’ service to 6 months. This is one of the biggest reforms for employers. It means more employees will gain unfair dismissal protection much earlier in their employment. The change is expected to apply retrospectively. That means any employees with 6 months’ employment on 1st January 2027 will have protection from unfair dismissal. |
| Removal of the unfair dismissal compensation cap | The statutory cap on compensation for ordinary unfair dismissal will probably be removed. Right now, compensation is usually capped. This is at the lower of a statutory maximum (which changes annually) and 52 weeks’ gross pay. This is only not true in limited cases. Once the cap is removed, tribunals will be able to award compensation based on actual and future loss, without that ceiling. |
| Restrictions on fire and rehire | The rules on dismissal and re-engagement will tighten from January 2027. This practice is called “fire and rehire”. Under the new regime, a dismissal is expected to be automatically unfair where it relates to an employee not accepting a restricted variation to terms. Or where the employer seeks to re-engage the employee, or replace them, on altered terms involving such a variation. This will only not be the case in a small number of cases. |
2027 (exact dates are to be confirmed) | |
| Collective redundancy threshold changes | The key proposed change is to employers assessing if collective consultation obligations are triggered. They will need to think about all of proposed redundancies across the whole organisation. This is rather than only at individual establishments. The minimum consultation period may also go up. This would be from 45 days to 90 days. This is if 100 or more redundancies are proposed. |
| Guaranteed hours and shift scheduling for zero-hours and low-hours working arrangements | Workers are expected to gain a right to request a contract that reflects their average hours after 12 weeks’ service. They are also expected to gain rights to reasonable notice of shifts and shift changes. As well as compensation where shifts are cancelled, shortened, or moved at short notice. |
| Flexible working requests | Where an employer refuses a flexible working request for one of the accepted business reasons, it will also need to explain why that refusal is reasonable. For many organisations this may already be good practice. But the change matters because a fuller explanation process is expected to become a legal requirement. |
| Mandatory gender pay gap and menopause action plans | There was voluntary introduction of equality action plans in April 2026. Publication of gender pay gap and menopause action plans will become mandatory for larger employers. This will move employers from optional policy development into a formal reporting and accountability framework. This will mean they have to not only to identify issues and concerns, but also to set out concrete steps they are taking to address them. |
| Enhanced protection for maternity returners | Protection against dismissal for pregnant workers and those returning from maternity leave is expected to strengthen. We don’t have the full details yet. But the overall effect is likely to be a stronger legal framework around dismissal decisions affecting employees. It is also likely to be around maternity leave. |
| Regulation of umbrella companies | The definition of employment agencies is expected to be expanded. This will include umbrella companies. This will bring umbrella businesses more clearly within the employment law enforcement framework. |
| Bereavement leave, including pregnancy loss | A new right to statutory bereavement leave is likely to include pregnancy loss. Right now, UK statutory bereavement leave is limited. It does not usually cover early pregnancy loss. This leaves a big gap in protection. The reform is there to recognise the emotional and physical impact of pregnancy loss. It will provide employees with protected time away from work. But the leave is expected to be unpaid. |
| Further protections against sexual harassment | More regulations on sexual harassment are expected. This will follow the October 2026 move to an “all reasonable steps” duty. These regulations are expected to specify what steps may be treated as reasonable when assessing employer compliance. They are important because they should give clearer guidance on what employers are expected to do in practice. But it may also make it easier to know if what the employer did was enough. |
| Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) | Restrictions on the use of NDAs are also awaited. Clauses that seek to stop workers from alleging or disclosing certain things will be void. This means things like work-related harassment, discrimination, or similar unlawful conduct. This would mark a big change from the current position. Right now, confidentiality clauses are commonly used in settlement agreements and related arrangements. The aim is to stop the use of NDAs to suppress disclosure of wrongdoing. But there may still be limited exceptions. This includes where the employee is seeking confidentiality and has received independent legal advice. The exact scope of any exception is still to be confirmed. |
| Further trade union reforms | These reforms include extending protection. This will be protection against discrimination and blacklisting for trade union members. They are also expected to bring in a new industrial relations framework. These are to support engagement between employers and unions. Also allowing electronic voting in recognition and derecognition ballots. Taken together, these changes further strengthen trade union rights, participation and organisational capacity. |