Responding to the Employment Rights Act 2025

Enhanced Employment Protections

From 18 February 2026, dismissal for taking part in lawful, protected industrial action is automatically unfair for the entire duration of the action (abolishing the old 12-week limit).

Trade Unions

Most of the Trade Union Act 2016 is repealed, removing many restrictions on unions; the 10‑year ballot renewal requirement for trade union political funds is scrapped; and industrial action and ballot notices are simplified (including a shorter 10‑day notice period, reduced information requirements, and a 12‑month mandate), with the special 40% support threshold for “important public services” abolished from that date.

Discrimination and Family Friendly

Employees who become newly eligible for Day 1 paternity leave and unpaid parental leave may begin giving notice of their intended leave in advance of the rights taking effect on 6 April 2026.

Trade Unions

From 6 April 2026, the statutory union recognition process is simplified - removing the 40% ballot support threshold; electronic/workplace balloting does not take effect until no earlier than August 2026.

Discrimination and Family Friendly

Day 1 paternity and unpaid parental leave rights, removing the current 26 week and 1 year service requirements. The restriction around taking paternity leave after shared parental leave will be removed.

Enhanced Employment Protections

• Collective redundancy penalty doubled from 90 days to 180 days’ pay.
• Statutory sick pay lower earnings limit and waiting period to be removed, meaning entitlement it will start from the first day of sickness.
• Whistleblowing protections strengthened as sexual harassment becomes a “qualifying disclosure”.

Enforcement

Fair Work Agency established to enforce employment rights, including national minimum wage, holiday pay, sick pay and modern slavery. The Fair Work Agency will have significant enforcement powers, including enforcing holiday pay in a similar way to current HMRC enforcement of national minimum wage. In addition, the Chancellor announced in the Autumn Budget 2025 that there will be more regular name and shame lists and proactive follow-up on enforcement activity.

Trade Unions

• Trade union rights to access workplace increased. This wider right will cover meeting, representing and organising workers, including via virtual access, subject to a statutory request process.
• Employers will need to inform workers of their right to join a Trade Union. The Government has consulted on the format and frequency of this statement.
• Workers taking part in industrial action will be protected against detriment, in addition to unfair dismissal.

Discrimination and Family Friendly

• Employers will be liable for third party harassment for the first time, covering all types of harassment.
• Employers will need to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, increasing the existing proactive duty.

Enhanced Employment Protections

Tipping law will be tightened requiring employers to consult recognised trade union or elected worker representatives (or workers directly if none) before issuing their first written tips policy, review that policy at least every three years and share an anonymised summary of consultation feedback with workers.

Enforcement

Employment Tribunal time limits to be extended from 3 months to 6 months for all claims.

Enhanced Employment Protections

• Reduction of unfair dismissal qualifying period to 6 months for dismissals post 1 January 2027;
• Uncapped compensatory awards - the statutory cap on the unfair dismissal compensatory award is removed, abolishing both the 52‑weeks’ pay and financial caps; and
• Fire & rehire protections - dismissals to impose restricted contractual variations become automatically unfair, tightening fire‑and‑rehire practices.

Trade Unions

• Taking into account the ERA cumulative changes, by 2027 a new industrial relations framework will have been established;
• Electronic and workplace balloting will be enabled for recognition and derecognition ballots, modernising CAC processes beyond postal-only voting; and
• Protections against trade union blacklisting will be extended, strengthening remedies and coverage via further regulations.

Discrimination and Family Friendly

• Enhanced flexible working rights as employers will need to explain both the reasons for any refusal of a flexible working request and why that refusal is reasonable.
• Enhanced protection against dismissal for pregnant workers, those on maternity and recent returners, increasing existing rights around redundancies.
• New restrictions on NDAs in harassment and discrimination cases (no date confirmed yet).
• Gender pay gap and menopause action plan must be reported by large employers (250+ employees) as part of equality action plans.
• New statutory right to unpaid bereavement leave. Further regulations will clarify this right.

Enhanced Employment Protections

• Collective redundancy thresholds to be amended. The new test will be set out in regulations.
• Guaranteed hours offers for zero and low hours employees. This means that these workers will have the right to be offered guaranteed hours contracts at regular intervals.
• Zero and low hours employees will also have the right to be given reasonable notice of a shift and to receive compensation if a shift is cancelled, curtailed or moved at short notice.