Employment Rights Act 2025 implementation for 2026

Employment Rights Act 2025: consultation papers

The last few months of 2025 were dominated by the Parliamentary ping-pong between the House of Commons and House of Lords. Although there was a delay in Royal Assent, that did not impact on the publication of a number of important consultation papers between September and November 2025. Some of these consultations have already ended but some are still open.

• On 23 October 2025, the consultation paper on Leave for bereavement (including pregnancy loss) was published and the consultation period ends on 15 January 2026. Currently, there is only a statutory right to parental bereavement leave and although many employers provide compassionate leave for other types of bereavement, many do not. The Act will introduce a new, day-one right to bereavement leave, including for pregnancy loss. The consultation paper covers issues such as eligibility criteria, length of leave, when it can be taken and notice requirements. It also considers what types of pregnancy loss should be covered. The new right is not expected until 2027.
• On 23 October 2025, the consultation paper on Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers was published and the consultation period ends on 15 January 2026. The Government wants to strengthen protections for pregnant women and new mothers. It will introduce legislation that will make it unlawful to dismiss pregnant women, mothers on maternity leave and mothers for at least six months after they return to work except in specific circumstances. The consultation paper considers how to define the specific circumstances and when protection should start and end. Views are sought on whether the enhanced dismissal protections should cover other parents away from work for an extended period such as those on adoption leave or shared parental leave. These changes are not expected until 2027.
• On 30 September 2025, the consultation paper on Fair pay agreement process in adult social care (applies to England) was published and the consultation period ends on 16 January 2026. Adult social care is a historically low-paid sector. According to the Government, most care workers are paid at or just above the National Living Wage and in 2023 to 2024 around 21% of posts in the adult social care sector were employed on zero-hours contracts, compared to 3.5% in the wider economy. The Government intends to establish the “Adult Social Care Negotiating Body” and introduce fair pay agreements for the adult social care sector in England. This is expected to be established in October 2026.
• On 19 November 2025, the consultation paper on a draft Code of Practice on electronic balloting and workplace balloting for statutory trade union ballots was published together with the draft Code of Practice. The consultation period ends on 28 January 2026. The Government wants to make participation in trade union ballots easier and to modernise the balloting process so that it is not just conducted by post. It will introduce electronic and workplace balloting for statutory union ballots. The draft Code of Practice sets out details of the requirements for electronic and workplace balloting as well compliance and enforcement. The measures in relation to electronic and workplace balloting are expected to take effect on 6 April 2026.

Employment Rights Act 2025: further consultations

In the Government’s Roadmap published last summer, details of the consultations to take place between summer 2025 and winter/early 2026 were set out. Some of these timelines have now slipped.

Expected in autumn 2025 were consultations on:

• Fire and rehire
• Regulation of umbrella companies
• Ending the exploitative use of zero hours contracts

Expected in winter 2025/early 2026 were consultations on:

• Trade union measures including blacklisting and protection against detriment for taking industrial action.
• Collective redundancy
• Flexible working
• Tightening tipping law

We don’t have any dates for these consultation papers but as some of them relate to measures which will be implemented in October 2026, we would expect the consultation papers to be published in the early part of this year.

Employment Rights Act 2025: trade unions and industrial action

Many of the measures contained in the Employment Rights Act 2025 will be implemented in April and October 2026 with the remainder during 2027. However, the Act also provides that a range of trade union and industrial action changes come into force “at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed”.

The Government has recently published Guidance on the transitional and saving arrangements for the trade union measures of the Employment Rights Act 2025 coming into force on 18 February 2026. The measures include:

• A reduction in the notice period a trade union must give to an employer of industrial action from 14 days to 10 days.
• The removal of the requirement for a 40% support threshold to be met in industrial action ballots in certain important public services.
• An increase in the mandate period for industrial action, following a successful ballot, from six months to 12 months.
• Removing the requirement for trade unions to appoint a picketing supervisor.
• Simplification of industrial action and ballot notices with a reduction in the amount of information to be included.
• Protection against dismissal for taking industrial action. The current protected period is the first 12 weeks of lawful industrial action and during this time, employees have protection from unfair dismissal for taking part in industrial action. The protected period will be removed which means that protection applies regardless of the length of the industrial action.

The Guidance also covers other measures such as political funds, opt-out reminder notices, check-off in the public sector and facility time. For more details see Government guidance trade union law transition

Employment Rights Act 2025: implementation

Collective redundancy protective award

As of 6 April 2026, the Government will double the maximum protective award for failure to collectively consult under section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, from 90 days’ pay to 180 days’ pay. This significant increase is intended to make non-compliance far less financially viable and prevent employers from “pricing in” the cost of ignoring consultation obligations. Employment Tribunals will retain discretion to make proportionate awards below the maximum, based on the facts of each case.

Paternity leave and Parental leave

From 6 April 2026, statutory provisions will introduce day-one rights for paternity leave and unpaid parental leave. This means the current qualifying periods, 26 weeks’ continuous employment for paternity leave and one year for unpaid parental leave, will be removed. It will also be possible to take paternity leave after shared parental leave which is not permitted at the moment and this will give individuals more flexibility about how and when to take their leave.

A new right to Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave will also be introduced from 6 April 2026. This provides up to 52 weeks of leave for fathers and partners who lose their partner before their child’s first birthday. This measure remedies the difficulties faced by bereaved partners who did not have the relevant qualifying service for time off and who had to rely on their employer giving them compassionate leave.

Employers should start considering the impact of these changes on workforce planning and policies well ahead of implementation.

Statutory sick pay (SSP)

From 6 April 2026, employees will receive SSP from day one of sickness absence, removing the current three-day waiting period. The lower earnings limit will also be abolished and replaced with a fairer system: SSP will be paid at £123.25 per week or 80% of normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

Employers should prepare for higher SSP costs, as there will be no rebate scheme for small businesses. They will also need to review sickness absence policies.

Whistleblowing and expanded protection for sexual harassment disclosures

From 6 April 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 will broaden the definition of a qualifying disclosure under section 43B of the Employment Rights Act 1996 to include disclosures that sexual harassment (as defined in section 26(2) of the Equality Act 2010) has occurred, is occurring, or is likely to occur.

Workers will still need to meet the usual rules on protected disclosures to benefit from protection against detriment and unfair dismissal. Disclosures to an employer, prescribed persons, or legal advisers are likely to be protected, while wider disclosures (such as to the press or on social media) will only be protected in limited circumstances.

Employers should review whistleblowing policies and reporting mechanisms now to ensure they cover sexual harassment disclosures and provide clear guidance for staff.

Trade union recognition and electronic balloting

From 6 April 2026, the statutory recognition scheme for trade unions will be simplified. Key changes include the removal of the 40% support threshold for recognition ballots and the requirement for trade unions to demonstrate majority support for recognition. These reforms aim to make the process more accessible and efficient.

In addition, electronic balloting for statutory union ballots is expected to be introduced from 6 April 2026, marking a significant shift towards modernising voting procedures.

Employers should review employee relations strategies to ensure readiness for these changes.

Fair Work Agency (FWA)

Launching on 6 April 2026, the Fair Work Agency will focus on enforcing labour market laws and tackling worker exploitation. While the timeline for its enforcement powers remains uncertain, FWA is expected to have significant authority, including the ability to investigate employers, conduct workplace inspections, issue civil penalties for underpayment, and represent workers in legal proceedings.

Employers should monitor developments closely and prepare for greater scrutiny of employment practices as the FWA’s remit becomes clearer.

Equality action plans

From April 2026, employers with 250 or more employees are expected to introduce voluntary equality action plans under the Employment Rights Act 2025. These plans will outline steps taken to promote gender equality, address the gender pay gap, and support employees through the menopause.

Although voluntary, these measures signal a growing expectation for transparency and proactive equality initiatives. Equality action plans will be mandatory in 2027.

Unfair dismissal rights

One of the most high-profile and contentious issues in the Employment Rights Bill was the provision to introduce protection from unfair dismissal from day-one of employment.

This was one of the key disputes between the House of Commons and House of Lords and the main reason for the Parliamentary ping-pong in the latter part of 2025. The House of Lords wanted instead a six-months’ qualifying period because of concerns that day-one rights would have a detrimental impact on recruitment and the economy. Eventually, on 27 November 2025, the House of Commons agreed to reducing the qualifying period for unfair dismissal from two years to six months. It subsequently voted to remove the unfair dismissal compensation cap too.

The Government has confirmed that the reduction in the qualifying period to six months and removal of the compensation cap will be implemented in January 2027. This means that employers will need to be mindful that an employee whose employment commences from 1 July 2026 will benefit from the reduction in the qualifying period and removal of the unfair dismissal compensation cap.

Harassment and sexual harassment

From 1 October 2026, employers will face a strengthened legal duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. This builds on the current requirement, introduced by the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 in October 2024, which obliges employers to take reasonable steps.

The duty will also extend to preventing harassment of any kind, including sexual, from third parties, such as customers or clients, unless the employer can demonstrate that all reasonable steps were taken to stop it. Current guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission provides a useful starting point.

A separate but related development in the Employment Rights Act 2025 (and not included in the original draft of the Bill) relates to Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs). New rules will provide that confidentiality clauses in settlement agreements or other agreements will be void, to the extent that they attempt to prevent individuals from discussing allegations of harassment or discrimination. There will be limited circumstances where NDAs can still be used in relation to harassment and discrimination complaints known as “an excepted agreement”. The proposals regarding NDAs came after the Roadmap was published and we do not have any information as yet about an implementation date.

Fire and rehire

From 1 October 2026, dismissing an employee for refusing certain contract changes, known as “restricted variations”, will be automatically unfair, except where the employer is in financial difficulty. Restricted variations include changes to pay, pensions, working hours, shift patterns, holiday entitlements, or adding clauses that allow unilateral changes to these terms.

Furthermore, it will automatically be deemed unfair dismissal if an employer intends to replace an employee with an individual who is not a direct employee, yet will undertake the same or substantially similar responsibilities as the dismissed employee. This provision is designed to safeguard employment protections and prevent employers from bypassing these safeguards by engaging external personnel to fulfil equivalent roles.

Trade union rights

From 1 October 2026, employers will face a range of new obligations designed to strengthen trade union rights in the workplace.

Employers must provide workers with a written statement of their right to join a trade union when issuing the section 1 statement and at other prescribed times. The Government’s consultation on this duty, introduced under the Employment Rights Act 2025, closed on 18 December 2025. The Government is now reviewing the consultation feedback and will publish a formal response once its assessment is complete.

Additionally, qualifying trade unions will gain the right to access workplaces, both physically and through direct communication with workers. Existing rights for trade union representatives to receive paid time off and access to facilities will be enhanced, and new rights will be introduced for equality representatives to ensure they can carry out their duties effectively.

Trade union members will also be protected from detriment on the grounds of industrial action.

Employment Tribunal time limits

From 1 October 2026, the time limit for bringing a claim to an Employment Tribunal will increase to six months for all claims, doubling the current standard limit of three months. This change gives employees more time to pursue claims and may lead to a rise in Employment Tribunal cases but it also provides more time for early conciliation.

The Procurement Act 2023

Scheduled for implementation on 1 October 2026, amendments to the Procurement Act 2023 will introduce measures to prevent the creation of a “two-tier workforce” on outsourced contracts. These changes will ensure that workers transferring from the public sector are treated no less favourably than existing private sector employees working on the same contract.

Tipping

The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 regulates how employers allocate tips by introducing obligations to ensure that workers receive tips, gratuities and service charges (tips) in full and that tips are allocated in a fair and transparent way.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 builds on these protections. From 1 October 2026, employers must consult with workers and trade union representatives about their written tips policy and review that policy at least once every three years. This change aims to ensure transparency and fairness in how tips are managed. Employers should review existing policies and consultation processes.

Links to the consultation papers ending in January 2026:

• Adult social care
• Leave for bereavement (including pregnancy loss)
• Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers
• Consultation paper on draft Code of Practice
• Draft Code of Practice