Employment Rights Act 2025

The Employment Rights Act 2025 (“the ERA”) introduces wide–ranging changes to employment law in Great Britain.   The Act does not generally apply in Northern Ireland, but the changes to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) and the establishment of the new Fair Work Agency will apply across the whole of the UK. 

The ERA has been described as a “patchwork quilt” because it brings together changes to many different areas of employment law under one complex piece of legislation. Although now in force, the government is still consulting on how some parts will work in practice and detailed regulations will follow over the next 12-18 months. This means you will see a series of changes arriving in stages, rather than everything changing at once. 

We’ll be keeping you up to date with each phase of change, explain what’s coming and how to get prepared, updating  your contracts and handbooks to keep you compliant, and providing tailored advice on any real-life situations that arise in your business. 

The government first published a timetable in July 2025, setting out three main waves of reform: 

• 8 changes from April 2026 

• 9 further changes from October 2026 

• 11 more changes in 2027 

At that stage, the Bill was expected to become law in early autumn 2025 but it faced a difficult passage through the House of Lords and only received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025. Many commentators thought this might delay implementation, but that has not happened to any great extent. 

On 2 February 2026, the government published a revised timetable which is broadly in line with the original plan. The main exception is the reforms aimed at restricting the use of “fire and rehire” tactics, which have been pushed back from October 2026 to January 2027. Also, the changes to union balloting which were expected to come into force in April 2026 have been pushed back to August 2026. 

You can find the latest timetable here.

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What this guide covers 

In this guide, we focus on the changes due to come into force on 6 April 2026 and how we’ll support you to navigate them. We also look ahead to the major changes to unfair dismissal rights coming into force on 1 January 2027, and what you should be thinking about now to get ready for this. 

Before we turn to the April 2026 changes, it’s worth highlighting a number of measures around Trade Union activities, some of which took effect as soon as it became law and some which will come into force on 18 February 2026.  

The Act immediately repealed the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023. This legislation had imposed restrictions on strike activity by allowing employers in key sectors such as fire, health and border security to issue ‘work notices’ to maintain minimum service levels during strike action.  

On 18 February the following trade union related measures will come into force: 

• Repeal of most of the Trade Union Act 2016, (this will simplify trade union requirements in many areas) 

• Removing the 10-year ballot requirement for trade union political funds, replacing the requirement to hold a ballot with members instead receiving a notice every 10 years reminding them of their ability to opt in or out of political fund contributions 

• Simplifying industrial action notices and industrial action ballots  

• Increasing protection against dismissal for taking industrial action – any dismissal for taking part in industrial action will be automatically unfair, regardless of when the action took place (previously this was restricted to a 12-week ‘protected period’). 

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Upcoming changes

From 6 April 2026 the following changes will come into force: 

 

• Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) – Currently employees who earn less than the Lower Earnings Limit (£125 per week) are not eligible to receive SSP and SSP is not payable for the first 3 days of sickness absence. From 6 April SSP will be payable from the first day of sickness absence and the earnings requirement will be removed, meaning that even very low paid employees will be eligible for SSP. Low earners will receive either the flat rate of SSP (increasing to £123.25 per week from 6 April) or 80% of their average weekly earnings, whichever is the lower. Learn more > 
• Paternity leave – Currently employees need to have 26 weeks’ service by the 15th week before the EWC (estimated week of childbirth) to be eligible to take paternity leave. From 6 April this requirement will be removed meaning that Paternity Leave will become a day one right for births/ adoptions from 6 April. This change only affects the right to take Paternity Leave. The right to receive Paternity Leave Pay will still require 26 weeks’ service. Learn more > 
• Unpaid Parental Leave – Currently an employee needs to have 12 months’ service to be eligible to take unpaid Parental Leave. From 6 April the service requirement will be removed and this will become a day one right. Learn more > 
• Whistleblowing protections – Raising allegations that sexual harassment has happened, is happening or is likely to happen will be treated as ‘protected disclosures’ under the whistleblowing legislation, giving workers protection from being treated badly or dismissed because they have raised these allegations. Learn more > 
• Collective redundancy – Collective consultation rules apply where you are proposing to dismiss 20 or more employees at one establishment within a 90– day period (this also applies to dismissals based on changes to terms and conditions). Currently tribunals can order a protective award of up to 90 days’ pay per affected employee, if these collective rules are breached. From 6 April the maximum amount which can be awarded will increase to 180 days’ pay per employee. Learn more >
• Equality Action Plans – Covering measures designed to tackle gender pay gaps and detailing menopause support – From April 2026, employers with 250 or more employees are encouraged (on a voluntary basis) to publish Equality Action Plans setting out measures including those they are taking to tackle gender pay gaps in their business and the support they have put in place for employees going through the menopause. This is in advance of compulsory rules for large employers coming into force in 2027. Future rules may also require large employers to include outsourced workers in pay gap reporting. Learn more >
• Trade union recognition – Changes will be introduced relaxing the current trade union recognition rules. The current requirement for the support of at least 40% of those eligible to vote in the recognition ballot will be removed, so all that is needed is a simple majority of votes actually cast. Also, the current requirement that at least 10% of the group need to be union members already will be reduced to a lower figure (which has still to be decided).  Learn more >

From 7 April 2026:

 

• Establishment of the Fair Work Agency – A new, UK-wide enforcement body which will take over responsibility for all areas where the state enforces employment rights such as National Minimum Wage, agency business regulation etc together with an extended remit to enforce SSP and holiday pay rights. In addition to new areas of enforcement, the agency will have new powers backed up by civil and criminal penalties. Learn more >

 

From October 2026:

 

We’ll be taking a look at the next wave of changes due to come into force in October in our further update on the Act which will be published later this month, but there’s one big change coming up in January 2027 which you should start thinking about now. 

 

From 2027, but you need to prepare now:

 

• Unfair dismissal – Currently employees can’t bring a claim for ordinary unfair dismissal unless they have completed 2 years’ service. From 1 January 2027 this will be reduced to 6 months’ service with immediate effect. From the same date, the current cap on unfair dismissal awards will be abolished. To understand how these changes will work in practice and what you can do to start getting ready now, please click here >