Employment Rights Act 2025 Changes: The Full Timeline
· 14 minute read
The Employment Rights Act 2025 changes arrive in stages from December 2025 to 2027. The Act was previously called the Employment Rights Bill. It received Royal Assent in December 2025, at which point the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 was repealed. This guide is a maintained timeline of every change we can currently confirm, sourced to the government’s own timeline update, with a filterable tool below and a plain answer to the question we are asked most: no, unfair dismissal has not become a day one right. This is general awareness information, not legal advice, stated as at September 2026 and last reviewed 24 September 2026.
The government’s own position is that every future date “remains subject to parliamentary processes and may change” (GOV.UK, “Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act: timeline update”, Department for Business and Trade, updated 25 August 2026). Treat any date below that has not yet passed as the government’s current expectation, not a certainty.
Employment Rights Act 2025 changes, at a glance
Three dates carry most of the weight: 6 April 2026 for the biggest single batch of changes, 30 October 2026 for the harassment duty, and 1 January 2027 for the unfair dismissal qualifying period. Everything else is listed in the timeline below.
Employment Rights Act timeline
Use the tool below to see every change in order, filter it by topic, and add any dated change straight to your calendar.
Filter by topic, or add any dated change straight to your calendar.
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Expected December 2025; exact date not yet confirmed.
Royal Assent. The Employment Rights Bill becomes the Employment Rights Act 2025. The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 is repealed.
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Repeal of most of the Trade Union Act 2016.
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Simplified industrial action notices and ballot notices.
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Protections against dismissal for taking industrial action.
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Employees newly eligible for day one paternity leave and unpaid parental leave can give notice.
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Repeal of the Certification Officer levy.
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Day one paternity leave and unpaid parental leave.
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Statutory sick pay: the lower earnings limit and the waiting period are removed.
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Collective redundancy protective award maximum period doubled.
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Stronger whistleblowing protection for reporting sexual harassment.
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Voluntary action plans on gender equality and menopause support.
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Menopause guidance.
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Simplified trade union recognition process.
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Bereaved partners' paternity leave (not an Employment Rights Act measure, but taking effect the same day).
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The Fair Work Agency is established.
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Electronic and workplace balloting for statutory trade union ballots.
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The time limit for bringing most Employment Tribunal claims rises from 3 to 6 months.
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Employers must take "all reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment of employees.
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A new obligation not to permit harassment of employees by third parties.
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A power to set specific steps to prevent harassment by regulations, at a later date.
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Trade union measures: a duty to inform workers of the right to join a union, a strengthened right of access, recognition reforms, new protections for union representatives, and extended detriment protection for industrial action.
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The time limit for breach of contract claims in the Employment Tribunal in Scotland rises to 6 months.
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Expected October 2026; exact date not yet confirmed.
Regulations to set up the Fair Pay Agreement Adult Social Care Negotiating Body (England).
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Expected October 2026; exact date not yet confirmed.
Reinstating the two-tier code in public procurement.
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Expected December 2026; exact date not yet confirmed.
Seafarer Protection Regulations.
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Expected By the end of 2026; exact date not yet confirmed.
Strengthened tipping law.
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The unfair dismissal qualifying period falls from two years to six months, for dismissals from this date.
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The cap on unfair dismissal compensatory awards is removed.
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Expected January 2027; exact date not yet confirmed.
Fire and rehire protections take effect.
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Expected During 2027; exact date not yet confirmed.
Mandatory gender equality and menopause action plans.
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Expected During 2027; exact date not yet confirmed.
Enhanced dismissal protection for pregnant women and new mothers.
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Expected During 2027; exact date not yet confirmed.
Extended blacklisting protections.
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Expected During 2027; exact date not yet confirmed.
Umbrella company regulation.
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Expected During 2027; exact date not yet confirmed.
Collective redundancy consultation threshold changes.
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Expected During 2027; exact date not yet confirmed.
Flexible working changes.
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Expected During 2027; exact date not yet confirmed.
Bereavement leave, including pregnancy loss.
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Expected During 2027; exact date not yet confirmed.
Guaranteed hours and reasonable notice and short notice payments (timing to be updated after consultation).
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Expected During 2027; exact date not yet confirmed.
Electronic balloting for recognition and derecognition.
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Expected During 2027; exact date not yet confirmed.
Regulations to prevent misuse of NDAs in harassment or discrimination cases.
Source for every date and change above: GOV.UK, “Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act: timeline update”, Department for Business and Trade, updated 25 August 2026 (gov.uk).
Employment law changes 2026
Most of the year’s changes land on three dates. From 18 February 2026, most of the Trade Union Act 2016 is repealed, with simplified industrial action and ballot notices and new protections against dismissal for taking industrial action. From 6 April 2026, day one paternity leave and unpaid parental leave arrive alongside statutory sick pay changes (below), a doubled collective redundancy protective award, stronger whistleblowing protection for reporting sexual harassment, and a simplified trade union recognition process. From 30 October 2026, employers must take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of employees, with a new obligation not to permit harassment by third parties.
Employment law changes 2027
The headline 2027 change is the unfair dismissal qualifying period falling from two years to six months, for dismissals from 1 January 2027, alongside the removal of the cap on compensatory awards, with new fire and rehire protections also expected in January 2027. A longer list of changes is expected “during 2027” without an exact date yet, covering gender equality and menopause action plans, enhanced protection for pregnant women and new mothers, umbrella company regulation, bereavement leave including pregnancy loss, and guaranteed hours reforms, among others.
Statutory sick pay changes 2026
From 6 April 2026, two changes remove the barriers that previously stopped some employees getting statutory sick pay from day one: the three waiting days are removed, so sick pay can start from the first day of sickness, and the lower earnings limit is removed. Statutory sick pay is then paid at the lower of 80% of average weekly earnings or the weekly flat rate of £123.25, for up to 28 weeks. This figure was confirmed against GOV.UK on 24 September 2026 (gov.uk; cross-checked against gov.uk). Sources: the GOV.UK timeline above; Acas, “Statutory sick pay changes 2026”; the GOV.UK statutory sick pay factsheet.
Is unfair dismissal now a day one right?
No. A common belief about this Act is that unfair dismissal protection becomes available from an employee’s first day of work. It does not. What changes, from 1 January 2027, is the qualifying period: it falls from two years to six months, for dismissals from that date. An employee still needs six months’ service, not zero, before they can bring most unfair dismissal claims.
Train your managers on this
The Manager’s Guide to the 2026 Employment Rights Overhaul covers what changed on 6 April 2026, the Fair Work Agency and harassment duties, for managers who need to apply these changes at work rather than just read about them. See the course. It is one of our governance and compliance courses, and our HR training page brings together everything relevant to HR and people teams.
Frequently asked questions
Was the Employment Rights Act 2025 previously the Employment Rights Bill?
Yes. The Employment Rights Bill received Royal Assent in December 2025 and became the Employment Rights Act 2025.
When does the Employment Rights Act 2025 fully take effect?
It does not take effect on one date. Changes are staged from December 2025 through 2027, with several 2027 changes not yet given an exact date. See the timeline above for the current position.
Does the Employment Rights Act 2025 make unfair dismissal a day one right?
No. From 1 January 2027, the qualifying period for most unfair dismissal claims falls from two years to six months. It does not fall to zero.
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