Employment Rights Act 2025: What employers need to know

The Employment Rights Bill has now officially become the Employment Rights Act 2025, and this wide‑ranging legislation introduces some of the most significant changes to UK employment law in a generation.

Importantly, most of the changes are not in force yet. Instead, they will be phased in over 2026 and 2027, giving employers time to understand what’s coming and prepare.

At Altum HR, we’re helping organisations get ahead of these changes. Below is a clear, practical overview of what is changing, when it’s changing, and what employers should be thinking about now.

Why the Employment Rights Act 2025 matters

The Act amends and adds to existing legislation, including the Employment Rights Act 1996, with a strong focus on:

• Strengthening worker protections
• Rebalancing trade union rights
• Improving fairness around pay, job security and workplace treatment
• Increasing employer responsibilities in areas such as sick pay, family leave and harassment

While consultations are still ongoing for many areas, the direction of travel is clear. Employers that prepare early will be best placed to remain compliant and minimise risk.

What’s already changed (December 2025)

Removal of minimum service level rules for strikes

From 18 December 2025, the rules requiring minimum service levels during strikes were removed. This change applies immediately and affects organisations involved in industrial relations and collective action.

Changes coming in February 2026

All of the following changes will take effect on 18 February 2026.

Stronger protection for industrial action

• Dismissal for taking part in lawful industrial action will become automatically unfair
• The current 12‑week limit on unfair dismissal protection will be removed

Trade union activity reforms

Employers should prepare for a number of practical changes:

• Notice of industrial action reduced from14 days to 10 days
• Industrial action ballots only need more votes for than against
• Removal of additional public sector ballot thresholds
• Picket supervisors no longer required
• Industrial action mandates extended from6 months to 12 months
• Simplified ballot and industrial action notices
• Changes to political fund rules

April 2026: Major employment law changes

Most of the Act’s early employment‑focused changes take effect on 6 April 2026.

Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave

• Paternity leave becomes a day‑one right(currently 26 weeks’ service required)
• Unpaid parental leave becomes a day‑one right(currently 1 year’s service required)
• The restriction on taking paternity leave after shared parental leave will be removed

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

• SSP payable from day one of illness (currently day four)
• Removal of the lower earnings limit, meaning more workers will qualify

Collective redundancy protective awards

• Maximum protective award for failure to consult doubles from 90 days’ pay to 180 days’ pay

Whistleblowing and sexual harassment

• Sexual harassment will become a qualifying disclosure under whistleblowing law
• Whistleblowers will be protected from both detriment and unfair dismissal

Gender pay gap and menopause action plans

• Employers will be encouraged to introduce voluntary action plans from April 2026
• These will become mandatory in 2027

Further trade union reforms

• Simplified routes to trade union recognition
• Introduction of electronic voting for union ballots
• Removal of the 50% turnout requirement for industrial action ballots (expected shortly after e‑voting is introduced)

The Fair Work Agency

• A new Fair Work Agency will be established
• It will combine enforcement bodies and take on enforcement of rights such as holiday pay and statutory sick pay

 October 2026 changes

Many of the October 2026 changes are subject to consultation, but employers should begin planning now.

‘Fire and rehire’

• Dismissing and rehiring employees on worse terms will become automatically unfair in most cases

Harassment protections

• Employers will be liable for third‑party harassment (e.g. customers or clients) unless all reasonable steps have been taken
• The duty to prevent sexual harassment increases from ‘reasonable steps’ to ‘all reasonable steps’
• Changes to NDAs are expected to prevent clauses that silence harassment or discrimination allegations (date to be confirmed)

Tipping law

Employers will be required to:

• Consult workers before implementing a tipping policy
• Review and update tipping policies every three years

Employment tribunal time limits

• Time limits for bringing tribunal claims increase from 3 months to 6 months

Additional trade union rights

• Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union
• Expanded rights of access to workplaces
• New rights to facilities and reasonable accommodation for union reps
• Paid time off for union equality representatives

Increased protection from detriment

• Workers participating in industrial action will gain protection from detriment, not just dismissal

Public sector outsourcing

• New ‘two‑tier code’ to prevent inferior terms and conditions for outsourced workers

Adult Social Care

• A new Adult Social Care Negotiating Body will be introduced

December 2026

Mandatory Seafarer’s Charter

From December 2026, a mandatory charter will be introduced for the seafarer industry, strengthening standards around:

• Health and safety
• Pay
• Job security
• Rest breaks

Key changes coming in 2027

Exact dates have not yet been confirmed for many 2027 reforms.

Unfair dismissal

• Right to claim unfair dismissal reduced to 6 months’ service (currently 2 years)

Pregnancy and maternity protection

• Enhanced protection from dismissal during pregnancy and on return from maternity leave

Bereavement leave

• Introduction of a new statutory bereavement leave entitlement (paid or unpaid still to be confirmed)

Zero‑hours contracts

• Right for workers to request guaranteed hours, where desired

Cancelled or shortened shifts

• Right to compensation if a shift is cancelled, moved, or cut short

Flexible working

• Employers rejecting a request must:
  • State the business reason
  • Explain why the refusal is reasonable

Harassment law clarification

• Further clarification of what ‘reasonable steps’ means in preventing sexual harassment

Mandatory action plans

• Gender pay gap and menopause action plans become mandatory

Collective redundancy

• Redundancy numbers assessed across the whole organisation, not just individual sites
• Enhanced protection for certain maritime workers

Trade union changes

• Stronger protection against discrimination and blacklisting
• A new industrial relations framework

Umbrella companies

• Expansion of the legal definition of agencies to include umbrella companies, enabling enforcement

What should employers do now?

Although many changes are still to come, employers should start preparing now by:

• Reviewing existing policies and contracts
• Planning updates to handbooks and procedures
• Training managers on upcoming rights and obligations
• Keeping up to date with government and Acas consultations

At Altum HR, we’re supporting clients through every stage of the Employment Rights Act rollout – from policy updates and training to practical, compliant implementation.

If you’d like support preparing for the changes ahead, get in touch with Altum HR today.