The long-awaited Employment Rights Bill is progressing through Parliament, with Royal Assent expected later this year. Once implemented, it will deliver the most significant reforms to employment law in over a decade. From new day-one rights and tighter rules on fire and rehire practices, to enhanced protections around flexible working, harassment prevention and zero-hours contracts, employers must be ready for sweeping changes. Now is the time for organisations to review policies, train managers and ensure compliance ahead of staged implementation dates running through 2025–2027.
Day-one employment rights
Unfair dismissal
Expected to be implemented in 2027, the right to claim unfair dismissal will follow a probationary period, yet to be confirmed. A recent House of Lords’ amendment proposing a 6-month qualifying period is unlikely to be retained by the Commons. It is anticipated that the Initial period during which a light touch procedure will operate will be nine months. This will remove the 2-year requirement to claim for unfair dismissal.
Paternity, parental and bereavement leave
This will apply from day one with no qualifying period. A consultation around eligibility for bereavement leave is expected this autumn with implementation in 2027. The entitlement to bereavement leave will also apply to any miscarriage or pregnancy loss. Pay for such periods will be unpaid, subject to Employer’s policies. Day one paternity leave and unpaid leave will apply from April 2026.
Fire and rehire restrictions
Dismissing an employee for refusing a contractual change (subject to a Lords’ amendment that restricts the definition of a contractual change to specific elements such as pay, pensions, shift patterns, leave and hours) will be automatically unfair. Only serious financial problems can justify dismissals, but employers will still need to prove that they are necessary and unavoidable. Implementation is expected in October 2026 but there will be a consultation beforehand to iron out some of the detail.
Collective redundancy consultation
Collective consultation will be required when a yet to be agreed threshold (subject to consultation later this year) is met across several sites (the 20 plus redundancy threshold at a single site remains in place). Negotiation with employee’s representatives will be more flexible to allow employers to reach different agreements with different groups. For failure to consult, the maximum protective award doubles from 90 to 180 days’ pay and comes into effect in April 2026.
Zero-hours workers’ rights
The House of Lords amendment switches the emphasis from employers having to make a guaranteed hours offer to those zero hours workers whose hours exceed those specified in their contract, to giving workers the right to request guaranteed hours. Employers must also give workers reasonable notice of work schedules and give proportionate compensation if work is cancelled at short notice. These changes are being consulted on this autumn with proposed implementation in 2027.
Flexible working requests
Employers can refuse a request for flexible working on one of the current eight grounds but only if it is reasonable to do so and must consult with the employee throughout the process. Any decision must be properly documented, and employers should consider training their managers on assessing requests and communicating the outcome.
Equality action plans
Employers with more than 250 employees will be expected to publish action plans on how they propose to promote equality between men and women including closing their gender pay gap and evidence of menopause support. Reporting will be voluntary in 2026 and mandatory in 2027. The Office for Equality and Opportunity and Women and Equalities Unit has published a document on how employers can improve equality in the workplace. You can find a copy here.
Third-party harassment protections
The requirement for employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment has been reinstated in the legislation. From October 2026, employers will also be responsible for ensuring their employees are not harassed by third parties (suppliers, clients etc). Disclosing incidents of sexual harassment will be protected for whistleblowing purposes and will come into effect in April 2026.
Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs)
NDAs signed on or after 1 October 2025 designed to prevent signatories reporting criminal behaviour such as sexual assault, or other types of inappropriate, reportable conduct, will be deemed void and not enforceable. Employers should review their NDAs to ensure that they do not contain any clauses that try to prevent employees from making permitted disclosures because if signed on or after 1 October, they won’t be enforceable.
Fair work agency enforcement
Enforcement of employment legislation will be consolidated within the Fair Work Agency which will have investigatory powers, the power to issue notices for underpayment of the NMW, sick pay and holiday pay, and the power to bring employment tribunal claims on behalf of employees. Implementation is expected in April 2026.
Next steps for employers
The Employment Rights Bill introduces wide-ranging reforms that will reshape employment practices. Employers should begin reviewing policies, contracts and training needs now to ensure compliance ahead of implementation.
If you need guidance on how these changes could affect your business, contact our Employment Law team for expert advice and tailored support.
The information provided in this article is provided for general information purposes only, and does not provide definitive advice. It does not amount to legal or other professional advice and so you should not rely on any information contained here as if it were such advice.
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The information published across our Knowledge Base is correct at the time of going to press.
