The Employment Rights Act 2025 – timeline

Morrish Solicitors have produced a handy guide all the changes, arranged chronologically.

27 Feb 2026| News

Employment Rights Act timeline – via Morrish Solicitors.

The Act is being delivered across 2026 to late 2027. Consisting of nearly 30 different parts, it can be confusing, not least because whilst most changes will come in on either 6 April or 1 October each year, as you can see below, some will come in on other dates.

Also, its reach is not uniform across the UK, as most will not apply in Northern Ireland where employment law is devolved and separate legislation is being developed.

However, for unions, employees and workers it is overwhelmingly positive news. It promises enhanced protections and over 18 million working people are estimated to benefit. It’s a Labour project with Reform promising to revoke most of it if they win power.

Once all is in place, the UK is expected to move up from near the bottom of the OECD ranking of international employment law protections to closer to the average. UK annual employment costs are expected to rise by 0.01% but still increase UK GDP overall by 0.04% — a gain.

This guide is intended to show a chronological list of all the changes. As above, given some of the dates for implementation have shifted, please check the precise implementation date before you rely on it, as it may move again.

8 February 2026

The 12-week limit for protection against unfair dismissal for taking industrial action was scrapped, extending unfair dismissal protection indefinitely for individuals.
There has been a near total rollback of the draconian Trade Union Act 2016 and also the entirety of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 has been totally repealed, thereby simplifying requirements on trade unions with the extra staffing and burden for a 40% minimum support in important public services scrapped (minimum service levels etc).
Note that the minimum 50% turnout for industrial action ballot is still needed (expected repeal in August 2026).
The time needed to give notice of industrial action reduced to 10 days, instead of 14 days.
Picket supervisors are no longer be required.
Industrial action mandates will last for 12 months, instead of 6 months. Note the 12 months cannot be extended by agreement, so a union will need re-ballot to go beyond 12 months.
Industrial action and ballot notices have been simplified (e.g. removal of the summary of matters in issue in the trade dispute, less information about breakdowns of affected employees etc).
Removes the 10-year ballot requirement for trade union political funds and introduces an opt-in system.
Removes the Certification Officer enhanced investigatory (e.g. for reporting on industrial action, expenditure on Political Fund above £2,000 etc) and penalty powers, and is in effect a reversion to the pre-Trade Union Act 2016 position.
Removes the requirement for public sector employers to publish information relating to time off for trade union officials for trade union duties.

1 April 2026

Certification Office annual levy on trade unions is expected to be repealed.

6 April 2026

Pay and hourly rates

National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage increase as usual (NLW to £12.71).

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

SSP increases from around £118.75 to £123.25 per week (or 80% of earnings whichever is lower).
SSP will be payable from day one of an employee’s sickness absence, removing the current 3-day waiting period.
The earnings threshold (Lower Earnings Limit) will be abolished making it available to all employees.
This is estimated to benefit up to 1.3 million of the lowest paid employees that were previously unprotected.

Family leave and parental rights

Paternity leave and ordinary unpaid parental leave will become day one rights for all employees, replacing the previous 26-weeks’ qualifying service period required (and with a temporary reduced notice period of 28 days for those who apply for leave from 6 April 2026).
Other family-related statutory pay also increases (maternity, adoption, shared parental, neonatal care, and bereavement pay) to £194.32 per week (or 90% of earnings if lower) but the 26-week qualifying period for Paternity Pay is unchanged.
Ordinary parental leave will also become a day one right replacing the previous one year qualifying service to be eligible.
The restriction on taking paternity leave after shared parental leave will be removed.
Bereaved Partners’ Paternity Leave will enable bereaved fathers and parters to take up to 52 weeks of paternity leave if the mother or primary adopter dies within first year of child’s life.

Redundancy and consultation awards

The maximum protective award (the remedy for failure to consult on collective redundancies) will double from 90 to 180 days’ pay as a deterrent to employers who avoid their collective consultation obligations. We expect more employers to comply with the requirements and fewer will try to ‘buy out’ the long 180-day period of collective consultation.

Whistleblowing and harassment

Making a disclosure about sexual harassment will be expressly added to the whistleblowing legislation as a ‘qualifying disclosure’, meaning that (subject to the other requirements being satisfied, including the disclosure needing to be in the public interest) the complainant will now have protection against detriment and unfair dismissal.

Trade Union changes

The statutory recognition scheme for trade unions will be simplified including removing the 40% support threshold for recognition ballots and the requirement for trade unions to demonstrate majority support for recognition.

Gender pay gap and menopause action plans

New menopause guidance will take effect.
Employers will need to create action plans around menopause and gender pay gaps.
These will be voluntary from 6 April 2026 and will become mandatory sometime in 2027.

7 April 2026

Creation of the Fair Work Agency (FWA)

Responsible for enforcing SSP, holiday pay, national minimum wage, licensing standards for gangmasters and certain aspects of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Having a set of powers to investigate and take action against businesses that do not comply with the law – using civil penalties, civil proceedings and power to inspect workplaces.

In the meantime, many required government consultations close in April and May 2026 including fire and re-hire, tipping, trade union recognition and e-balloting, and umbrella companies/agency workers.

October 2026

Tips and Gratuities

Tipping law will be tightened so as to require the employer to consult the worker (via trade union reps or elected/worker reps, or directly with workers if none exist) on their tipping policy, review the policy every 3 years, and upon review, again consult the workers.
A new Code of Practice on fair and transparent distribution of tips will be issued.
This is estimated to benefit workers with around £200million worth of tips each year that was previously retained by employers.

Harassment duties

There will be a new stronger duty on employers to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent harassment in the workplace.
A duty not to permit harassment by third parties such as clients or customers.
A power will be introduced to enable regulations to specify steps that are to be regarded as ‘reasonable’, to determine whether an employer has taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.

Employment Tribunal time limits

The time limit for bringing tribunal claims will increase from 3 to 6 months for most claims including unfair dismissal, discrimination, and whistleblowing (but not for breach of contract claims).

Public Sector Outsourcing (Protection of Workers)

Reinstates and strengthens the two-tier Code to try to prevent a two-tier workforce where private sector employees working on an outsourced public sector service contract have worse terms and conditions than those employees who were transferred to work on it from the public sector.

New Adult Social Care Negotiating Body

Establishment of a new Fair Pay Agreement Adult Social Care Negotiating Body to enable sector-wide negotiations on Fair Pay Agreements, setting legally enforceable minimum standards on pay (and potentially other terms) across adult social care.

Trade Union changes

Employers will be required to give workers a written statement advising of their right to join a trade union at the same time of providing their section 1 statement of written particulars.
Qualifying unions will be given the right of physical and digital access to workplaces. A new Code of Practice to be issued. Where unsuccessful, the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) can impose access terms.
Existing rights for union representatives to receive paid time off (facility time) to carry out their duties, and to be provided with access to facilities (e.g. office space, meeting spaces, internet etc) to do so to be strengthened. A new Code of Practice to be issued.
Union equality representatives to be given new rights to time off and access to facilities, in order promote equality in the workplace.
Union members to gain protection from detriment on grounds of industrial action.
Regulation of ‘unfair practices’ in the trade union recognition process.

December 2026

Mandatory Seafarers’ Charter

To protect working conditions of seafarers aboard ships operating regular services from UK ports with higher standards around health and safety, pay, job security and rest breaks to be implemented.

January 2027

Unfair dismissal

The length of service required to claim ‘ordinary’ unfair dismissal will be reduced from 2 years to 6 months and will come into force on 1 January 2027, which means those who start employment on 31 July 2026 will be entitled to be fairly dismissed from 1 January 2027.
The qualifying period for an employee’s right to request written reasons for dismissal will reduce from 2 years to 6 months (where the dismissal takes place during pregnancy, maternity leave or adoption leave it is a day one right).
The qualifying period will be protected itself by only being able to be amended by primary legislation.
This is estimated to benefit around 6.3 million employees.
The removal of the current unfair dismissal cap of the lower of annual salary or £118,223 as compensation for unfair dismissal is to be removed entirely, creating uncapped exposure for employers

Fire and Rehire

Stricter limits on “fire and rehire” practices will be implemented so that, where employees are dismissed for failing to agree to a change in their contract of employment, or if the employer dismissed the employee to replace, or to re-engage them on varied contractual terms, those dismissals will be treated as automatically unfair unless the employer can show:
- Evidence of financial difficulties that were affecting, or were likely to affect, their viability.
- The changes were to eliminate, prevent, significantly reduce or significantly mitigate the effect of those financial difficulties; and
- The need to make that change in contractual terms was unavoidable.
If the employer can meet that test, an ET will still have to assess whether the dismissal was fair in the circumstances (e.g. whether the employer consulted with the employee, trade union or other employee representatives, etc).

Date TBC in 2027

Other ERA changes

Changes to the collective consultation threshold from the current ‘trigger’ of a proposal to dismiss as redundant 20 or more employees at one establishment within a period of 90 days or less to possibly an organisation-wide threshold.
A day one right to bereavement leave.
Zero-hours and “low-hours” protections, with a right to guaranteed hours, reasonable notice of shifts, with payment for shifts cancelled, curtailed or moved at short notice. Given the UK has a record high number of workers on zero hours contracts (reportedly 1.23 million in December 2025, a rise of 91,000 from the previous year, driven by young workers).
Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and those returning from maternity leave.
Enhanced flexible working rights – a test of reasonableness to be introduced making it harder for an employer to refuse a request.
Non-Disclosure Agreements – preventing an NDA from stopping an employee or worker speaking out about harassment or discrimination.
Equality Action Plans for large employers (250+ employees) and an extension of pay gap reporting to outsourced workforces
Regulation of ‘umbrella companies’ under the Conduct Regulations ensuring that people who work through them have comparable protections to their counterparts who work directly through an employment business, and other possible Agency Worker Regulations changes.
Working time recording (for annual leave) requirements for 6 years placed on employers.
Action plans on gender equality and mandatory support of employees through menopause.
Specifying what steps that are to be regarded as ‘reasonable’, to determine whether an employer has taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.

Trade Union changes

Strengthening blacklisting protections for union members to protect against AI and third-party blacklists.
Electronic and workplace balloting for recognition and derecognition.

Sector-specific changes

Closing the maritime redundancy notification loophole ensuring that operators providing regular services to British ports aboard ships registered outside of Great Britain (entering a port 120 or more times per year) cannot avoid the collective redundancy notification requirement.
Establishing the School Support Staff Negotiating Body to provide school staff in England with a sector specific voice for pay, conditions, training etc and the same statutory minimum terms.
Providing for the establishment of Fair Pay Agreements in the adult social care sector in England and social care sectors in Scotland and Wales.

Other non-ERA employment law changes to keep an eye on

More equality changes under the Equality (Race and Disability) Act
Providing for the establishment of Fair Pay Agreements in the adult social care sector in England and social care sectors in Scotland and Wales.
Changes to non-compete clauses in employment contracts, such as reducing the length by law
Changes to ET practice and procedure including ET1s and ET3s, applications and other procedural changes.

Last updated: Wednesday 25 February 2026.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 – timeline

8 February 2026

1 April 2026