The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025. The below provides a summary of the main employment law changes that employers can expect. It provides, in relation to each change, information on when it is (or is likely) to be implemented, and whether a consultation and/or regulations are expected.
Industrial action—repeal of minimum service level provisions
- Provisions: section 78
- Main changes: repeals the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, which provides for the Secretary of State to set minimum service levels to be provided during strikes affecting certain essential services and for an employer to be able to give a ‘work notice’ requiring the trade union calling the strike to take reasonable steps to ensure its members comply with the work notice. Also makes consequential amendments
- Implementation: on passing of ERA 2025 (ie 18 December 2025) – is in effect now!
Industrial action ballots—period after which ballot ceases to be effective
- Provisions: section 72
- Main changes: period after which ballot ceases to be effective extended from six months (or nine months by agreement) to 12 months
- Implementation: 18 February 2026
Industrial action—notice to employer
- Provisions: section 74
- Main changes: the notice for a trade union to give the employer of industrial action after it has secured a ballot mandate and before any such action is taken is being reduced from 14 to 10 days
- Implementation: 18 February 2026
Statutory sick pay (SSP)
- Provisions: sections 10–13
- Main changes: removal of waiting period (‘waiting days’) and removal of the requirement to earn above the lower earnings limit (LEL). Weekly rate of SSP to be the lower of £118.75 and 80% of the employee’s normal weekly earnings
- Likely implementation: April 2026
- Regulations required? Yes
Parental leave—removal of qualifying period of employment
- Provisions: section 15
- Main changes: amendment of Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) to remove the requirement for a qualifying period of service before employees are entitled to take parental leave, making it a ‘day one’ right
- Likely implementation: April 2026
- Regulations required? Yes
Paternity leave—removal of qualifying period of employment
- Provisions: section 16
- Main changes: amendment of ERA 1996 to remove the requirement for a qualifying period of service before employees are entitled to take paternity leave in cases of birth and adoption making it a ‘day one’ right, including the removal of modifications relating to paternity leave for bereaved partners, as these are no longer required
- Likely implementation: April 2026
- Regulations required? Yes
Protection from harassment—protection of disclosures relating to sexual harassment
- Provisions: section 23
- Main changes: provisions of ERA 1996 relating to protected disclosures (whistleblowing) to explicitly include sexual harassment (that has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur) as a relevant failure in relation to disclosures qualifying for protection
- Likely implementation: April 2026
Enforcement of Labour Market Legislation—Fair Work Agency
- Provisions: Part 5, Schedules 7–11
- Main changes: establishment of the Fair Work Agency by bringing together existing state enforcement functions including regulations for employment agencies and employment businesses, the unpaid employment tribunal award penalty scheme, enforcement of the National Minimum Wage, statutory sick pay, the licensing regime for businesses operating as ‘gangmasters’ in certain sectors and enforcement of parts 1 and 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and incorporates a wider range of employment rights, such as holiday pay
- Likely implementation: Fair Work Agency to be established April 2026. Remaining measures in phases
Tips and gratuities
- Provisions: section 14
- Main changes: new requirement to consult with the representatives of recognised trade unions, worker representatives, or workers likely to be affected by the policy, before introducing a policy or during every review of an existing policy. Includes new requirement to review policy periodically, with first review at least once within three years from date initial version and subsequent reviews at least once every three years thereafter. Where such consultation has taken place, to provide all workers at the place of business with an anonymised summary of it
- Likely implementation: October 2026
- Consultation due: Early 2026
Sexual harassment
- Provisions: sections 20, 22
- Main changes: ‘all’ added before ‘reasonable steps’ in section 40A(1) of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) (employer duty to prevent sexual harassment of employees), and power reserved to specify ‘reasonable steps’ .
- Likely implementation: October 2026 (with regulations expected April or October 2027)
- Consultation due: Yes
- Regulations required? Yes, to specify steps that are to be regarded as ‘reasonable’
Protection from harassment—harassment by third parties
- Provisions: section 21
- Main changes: new provisions in EqA 2010 prohibiting employers from permitting harassment by third parties. An employer permits such harassment only if it happens during the course of employment and the employer fails to show they took all reasonable steps to prevent it
- Likely implementation: October 2026
- Regulations required? Yes
Protection from harassment and discrimination—contractual duties of confidentiality
- Provisions: section 24
- Main changes: new provisions in ERA 1996 making void a contractual provision that purports to preclude a worker from making an allegation or disclosure about relevant harassment or discrimination (or an allegation or disclosure relating to the employer’s response)
- Likely implementation: October 2026
Employment tribunal—increase in time limits for making claims
- Provisions: section 152, Schedule 12
- Main changes: time limits to be increased for making claims in employment tribunals in Great Britain (and, in certain cases, industrial tribunals in Northern Ireland) from three months to six months
- Likely implementation: October 2026
Protection against dismissal for failing to agree to variation of contract
- Provisions: section 28
- Main changes: new type of automatically unfair dismissal applies where an employer dismisses an employee for not agreeing to a contractual variation, or where an employer dismisses the employee to replace or re-engage them on varied contractual terms, unless the statutory exemption applies. This exemption will only apply if the employer can show that the variation was required to eliminate, prevent, significantly reduce or mitigate the effects of financial difficulties which, at the time of the dismissal, impaired the employer’s ability to carry on the business and that in all the circumstances the employer could not have reasonably avoided the need for such variation
- Likely implementation: October 2026
Trade unions—right to statement of trade union rights
- Provisions: section 58
- Main changes: new right to be provided with a statement of the worker’s right to join a trade union. This statement needs to be given at the same time as the written statement of particulars of employment and at ‘other prescribed times’
- Likely implementation: October 2026
- Regulations required? Yes
Industrial action—industrial action ballots: turnout threshold
- Provisions: section 68
- Main changes: repeal of requirement for at least 50% of the trade union members entitled to vote to do so in order for the industrial action ballot to be valid
- Implementation: Not yet known. Under section 159(5), in deciding whether and when to bring section 68 into force, the Secretary of State must have regard to the effect that provisions for industrial action ballots to be conducted otherwise than by post brought in by ERA 2025 have (or are expected to have) on the proportion of those eligible to vote in such ballots doing so
Unfair dismissal
- Provisions: section 25, Schedule 3
- Main changes: reduction of the qualifying period of employment (ERA 1996, s 108) from two years to six months and removal of the cap on the compensatory award
- Likely implementation: 1 January 2027
- Consultation due: No, although the government has promised an impact assessment on the removal of the compensatory award cap.
- Regulations required? Yes
Bereavement leave
- Provisions: section 18
- Main changes: ERA 1996, s 80EA to be amended to provide an entitlement to unpaid bereavement leave of at least one week. Regulations will allow employees to take protected time off work, in addition to existing provision for parental bereavement leave. A ‘bereaved person’ will be defined in regulations by reference to the employee’s relationship with the person who has died, including pregnancy loss
- Likely implementation: April or October 2027
- Regulations required? Yes
Zero hours contracts (guaranteed hours)
- Provisions: sections 1–6, 8, Schedules 1, 2
- Main changes: new rights for qualifying workers, and extending rights to agency workers. Includes the right to be offered guaranteed hours that reflect the number of hours worked in a reference period, to be given reasonable notice of shifts, to be given reasonable notice of cancellation or change of shift and to be given payment for short-notice cancellation, movement or curtailment of shifts
- Likely implementation: April or October 2027
- Consultation due: 2026
- Regulations required? Yes
Flexible working
- Provisions: section 9
- Main changes: additional requirement that an employer may only refuse a request if it considers that one of the specified grounds apply and that it is reasonable to refuse the request on that ground. If a request is refused, the employer must state in writing the ground(s) for refusing and why the employer considers that the refusal is reasonable. Regulations to specify steps that the employer must take when they are consulting with an employee before rejecting an application.
- Likely implementation: April or October 2027
- Consultation due: Early 2026
- Regulations required? Yes. Regulations required on steps the employer must take
Dismissal during pregnancy and during or after period of statutory family leave
- Provisions: sections 26, 27
- Main changes: enhanced protection against dismissal or redundancy
- Likely implementation: April or October 2027
- Regulations required? Yes
Equality action plans
- Provisions: section 33
- Main changes: new requirement on larger employers (250 or more employees, or public authorities) to publish an equality action plan showing the steps adopted with regard to matters related to gender equality in their workforce, together with prescribed information relating to the plan. ‘Gender equality’ includes addressing the gender pay gap and supporting employees going through menopause. Proposed amendments to the ERB would expand the definition of ‘matters related to gender quality’ to include supporting employees with menstrual problems and menstrual disorders’
- Likely implementation: April or October 2027, (to be introduced on a voluntary basis in April 2026)
- Regulations required? Yes
Employment businesses
- Provisions: section 36
- Main changes: the scope of the Employment Agencies Act 1973 to be extended to cover other types of business, such as umbrella companies, that participate in arrangements under which people are supplied by their employer to work for other people or organisations
- Likely implementation: April or October 2027
- Consultation due: 2026
Annual leave records—duty to keep records relating to annual leave
- Provisions: section 35
- Main changes: new duty to keep records adequate to show compliance with the right to paid annual leave and retain them for six years. Failure to comply with this duty is to be a criminal offence, punishable with a fine.
- Likely implementation: Not known
Tom Redfern email: tredfern@redfernlegal.com
