The Employment Rights Act 2025 introduces a wide range of changes to employment law in the UK. Some measures are already in force, while others are being introduced in stages during 2026 and 2027. In this article, we look at the key changes for employers and what they mean for the workplace.”
Although the general focus is on worker protections, it also provides employers with a vital opportunity to align many workplace and cultural practices with the modern workforce. In this article, we tell you everything you need to know about what’s coming, what you need to do to prepare and what benefits you can expect to see from what we think are some really positive changes.
Table of Contents
- So, what's new?
- Protections
- Leave eligibility
- Flexible working
- Parental rights
- So, is it good news?
- Key takeaways
So what’s new?
Many of the changes are things that have been discussed or practices and benefits informally applied by more progressive and forward-looking companies for some time. Broadly speaking, the reforms cover workers’ rights and protections relating to leave, dismissal, discrimination, flexible working, zero-hours contracts and workplace representation.
The bill is pretty lengthy, and you can get the Employment Rights Bill 2024 fact sheet here, but we’ll run through the top-line changes for you here, grouped by theme.
We always recommend that you consult the appropriate legal and HR advisors to stay ahead and ensure your business is compliant from the outset.
Protections
One of the new protections is from unfair dismissal. We’ve talked before about short-service dismissal, which limits possible claims of unfair dismissal for the first two years of employment. The Employment Rights Act 2025 will reduce the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal claims from two years to six months. This change will apply to dismissals from 1 January 2027. The government originally proposed a statutory probationary period, but the legislation instead retains a qualifying period of six months.
The removal of short-service dismissal will place more pressure on your recruitment and onboarding processes. This means employers will need to consider ordinary unfair dismissal protections much earlier in an employee’s employment. Employees will generally be able to bring an ordinary unfair dismissal claim once they have completed six months’ service, although protections against automatically unfair dismissal and discrimination continue to apply separately.
You’ll really want to get those hiring decisions right the first time and embed new team members in your culture from day one, emphasising the importance of performance frameworks. This is good practice though, and can make your team stronger overall if you rise to the challenge.
The Act also introduces new restrictions on ‘fire and rehire’, limiting the circumstances in which an employer can dismiss an employee and re-engage them, or replace their terms and conditions with less favourable ones. These protections are expected to come into force in January 2027. These reforms open up the opportunity for businesses to manage change more transparently and boost morale.
The Act also introduces new rights for eligible workers on zero-hours and certain low-hours arrangements. These include a right to be offered guaranteed hours that reflect the hours they regularly work, as well as rights to reasonable notice of shifts and payments where qualifying shifts are cancelled, moved or curtailed at short notice. The detailed rules are expected to be introduced through future regulations.
Employers will have a greater duty to protect staff from sexual harassment, and large companies (250+ staff) will need an ‘equality action plan’ setting out how they intend to tackle the gender pay gap and support staff through menopause, for example. The mandatory requirement is expected to come into force in 2027.
Leave eligibility
There are a few bits of news on the leave front. From 6 April 2026, eligible employees can receive Statutory Sick Pay regardless of earnings, following the removal of the Lower Earnings Limit. The waiting period was also removed, so SSP can now be payable from the first full day of sickness absence, subject to the other eligibility requirements. This is a big positive, as presenteeism helps no one and is both physically and culturally unhealthy in the workplace.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 also provides for a new statutory right to Bereavement Leave, extending beyond the existing parental bereavement entitlement to cover other bereavements, including pregnancy loss. The detailed entitlement will be set out in future regulations. There are changes to parental leave too, which we’ll explain below.
Employers should review their existing leave policies to make sure they reflect changes that are already in force and prepare for those still to come. Sick pay and parental leave rules have already changed, while the new statutory Bereavement Leave entitlement is expected in 2027.
Flexible working
This is a biggie. And a goodie! You’ll know by now that Leave Dates are big fans of flexible working as the norm, when the business model/industry allows for it. Employees already have the right to request flexible working from day one and can make two statutory requests in any 12-month period. Importantly, these requests won’t just be lip service – there are just eight statutory reasons employers can deny a flexible work request.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 will strengthen these rights further. Employers will only be able to refuse a flexible working request where one or more of the statutory reasons applies, and it is reasonable to refuse the request on that basis. All employers will also need to give a written justification for denied requests, so this should be another area of policy worth reviewing. There may be barriers to overcome, so the sooner you start thinking about how this can be done, the better.
As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, flexible employers are (increasingly) attractive employers, so while this may initially be a hassle in some industries, we really think the train is moving irreversibly in this direction. So it’s better to get on board and be ready!
Parental rights
From 6 April 2026, Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave became Day 1 employment rights, meaning employees no longer need a minimum period of service to qualify for the leave itself. Employees can also take Paternity Leave after Shared Parental Leave.
The Act also provides for enhanced protection against dismissal during pregnancy and following certain periods of statutory family leave, including Maternity Leave. Statutory Maternity Pay remains subject to its existing eligibility requirements, so if you offer an enhanced maternity package, you may want to review the qualifying service period for that package and ensure your policy is clear if this differs from SMP. Further regulations are expected to set out the detailed dismissal protections.
The UK Government began an 18-month review of the parental leave system in July 2025, consulting with working parents, employers and expert organisations to understand and craft a system that supports growing families.
So, is it good news?
The Employment Rights Act 2025 creates additional obligations for employers in many areas, with some measures already in force and others being introduced during 2026 and 2027, likely creating a bit of work for already time-poor business owners. However, it also presents us with a chance to adopt modern workplace standards and rethink our cultures. Any business that responds early is in the best position to retain their staff, build a better culture and avoid any unforeseen legal risks.
Good relationships are always based on understanding and respect, and a quest for mutual value creation. Many of the remaining reforms will require secondary legislation and further guidance before they take effect, so employers should continue to monitor the implementation timetable as the details are confirmed.
Key takeaways
The plan is to ‘get Britain working’ and to ‘make work pay’ through labour market reforms. We think it’s a hugely positive step forward in reshaping the employment landscape and relationships for a new generation. A lot of the headline changes are things we’ve talked about before and that we see in place already with many of our clients.
Explore the ways that this new bill can support your people and culture strategy. This means seeing work as one part of a holistic life and, as employers, doing everything we can to make work a positive force and feature of that person’s life, adding to their wellbeing.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is now law, although many of its provisions are being introduced in stages. Employers should keep up to date with the implementation timetable and review their policies as the remaining changes come into force.
The information on this site is general and may not apply to specific circumstances. It should not be considered legal advice. We strive to provide accurate information but cannot guarantee its accuracy. We are not responsible for any losses resulting from reliance on the information on this site.
