We now have some clarity from the Government around the implementation of the Employment Rights Bill and the raft of legislative changes this will bring.

Kate Palmer, Employment Services Director at Peninsula, says “Just days after the news that the finalisation of the Employment Rights Bill had been delayed by at least two months, the Government has now confirmed when the Bill’s new laws will come into effect.

“Although the ‘roadmap for delivering change’ sets out the Government’s “initial view” of the point at which key policy areas will change, the document appears to confirm some of the most important changes will begin from April 2026. These include the widening of the statutory sick pay system and enabling employees to take paternity leave and parental leave from day one of employment. Employees will, however, need to wait longer than first indicated to gain unfair dismissal protection from day one of employment, which will now be introduced during 2027.

“Of course it remains to be seen whether the Government does in fact stick to its own timetable, but the roadmap provides significant guidance to employers in helping them set their priorities; we now know which changes will come first, and it’s no real surprise to see that they centre around strengthening union rights, which will take effect in Autumn 2025. Employers should use this information wisely.

“Although nine months sounds like a long time, there is a lot for employers to do during this time to make sure their absence management procedures are robust enough to help mitigate the impact of the requirement to pay statutory sick pay from the first day of absence and to, for the first time, include the lowest earners in their sick pay system. And then just six short months later further changes are planned, followed by another raft of changes in 2027.

“The roadmap covers the next two years of employment law change. Whilst long term clarity is useful, any employer taking stock of what’s to come will certainly realise there is a lot to do.”

Measures that will take effect at Royal Assent or soon afterwards include:

·        Repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023

·        Repeal of the great majority of the Trade Union Act 2016 (some provisions will be repealed via commencement order at a later date)

·        Removing the 10-year ballot requirement for trade union political funds

·        Simplifying industrial action notices and industrial action ballot notices

·        Protections against dismissal for taking industrial action

Measures that will take effect in April 2026 include:

·        Collective redundancy protective award – doubling the maximum period of the protective award

·        Day one Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave

·        Whistleblowing protections

·        Establishing the Fair Work Agency

·        Removing the lower earnings limit and waiting period for Statutory Sick Pay

·        Simplifying trade union recognition process

Measures that will take effect in October 2026 include:

·        Fire and rehire

·        Bringing forward regulations to establish the Fair Pay Agreement Adult Social Care Negotiating Body

·        Tightening tipping law

·        Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union

·        Strengthen trade unions’ right of access

·        Requiring employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees

·        Introducing an obligation on employers not to permit the harassment of their employees by third parties

·        New rights and protections for trade union reps

·        Employment tribunal time limits

·        Extending protections against detriments for taking industrial action

Commencement of the Mandatory Seafarers Charter is expected to be in December 2026.

Measures that will take effect in 2027 include:

·        Gender pay gap and menopause action plans (introduced on a voluntary basis in April 2026)

·        Rights for pregnant workers

·        Introducing a power to enable regulations to specify steps that are to be regarded as “reasonable”, to determine whether an employer has taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment

·        Collective redundancy – collective consultation threshold

·        Flexible working

·        Bereavement leave

·        Ending the exploitative use of zero-hour contracts and applying measures to agency workers

·        Day one right to protection from unfair dismissal