Employment Rights Act 2025: what's changing and when
The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 and is rolling out in stages through 2027. Trade union reforms landed first, day-one family leave and sick pay changes followed in April 2026, and the biggest wave, unfair dismissal reform, lands 1 January 2027, with fire-and-rehire restrictions now planned for March 2027.
Fire and rehire limits pushed back to March 2027
What happened
On 22 October 2026 the government updated its plan for when each change starts. The limits on fire and rehire moved from January to March 2027. New flexible working rules are now planned for October 2027.
What it means for you
The six month rule for unfair dismissal claims still starts on 1 January 2027. Plan for both changes now. Plan dates can still move, so check back.
Dates to know
- 30 October 2026Stronger rules on sexual harassment start.
- 1 January 2027Staff can claim unfair dismissal after six months of work, not two years.
- March 2027Planned start of the fire and rehire limits.
- October 2027Planned start of new flexible working rules and more job protection for new mothers.
Source: GOV.UK, Department for Business and Trade. We check this page every week. Last checked .
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is the biggest overhaul of UK employment law in a generation. It received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025, and the government has staged its rollout rather than switching everything on at once. Trade union reforms and day-one notice rights for family leave started 18 February 2026. Day-one paternity and unpaid parental leave, Statutory Sick Pay reform, and stronger whistleblowing protection followed on 6 April 2026, alongside the new Fair Work Agency. The employment tribunal claim time limit doubled to six months on 1 October 2026, and the duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, plus liability for harassment by third parties, starts on 30 October 2026. The largest single wave, cutting the unfair dismissal qualifying period from two years to six months, is set for 1 January 2027; fire-and-rehire restrictions now follow in March 2027. Zero-hours contract reform still has no date; extended bereavement leave is intended for April 2027 and flexible working reform for October 2027, both by secondary legislation still to be made. The rollout has slipped before: a revised roadmap of 3 February 2026 moved several dates, and the update of 22 October 2026 moved fire-and-rehire from January to March 2027, so dates should be treated as the government's current position, not a guarantee.
What has already happened?
Royal Assent was 18 December 2025. Trade union reforms and day-one notice rights for paternity and parental leave started 18 February 2026. Day-one paternity leave, day-one unpaid parental leave, Statutory Sick Pay reform, and stronger whistleblowing protection for sexual harassment disclosures all started 6 April 2026, the same day the collective redundancy protective award doubled to 180 days' pay. The Fair Work Agency, a new single enforcement body, was established 7 April 2026. Electronic and workplace balloting for statutory trade union ballots followed on 25 August 2026.
What is confirmed for later in 2026 and 2027?
The employment tribunal claim time limit rose from three to six months on 1 October 2026; SI 2026/954, made 1 September 2026, commenced it, and it applies where the relevant date falls on or after that day. Acas notes a later date of 9 November 2026 for breach of contract claims in Scotland. SI 2026/1065, made 1 October 2026, then brings in the duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, and liability for harassment by third parties, on 30 October 2026. The single biggest wave lands 1 January 2027: the unfair dismissal qualifying period falls from two years to six months and the compensation cap is removed, both fixed by SI 2026/559. Fire-and-rehire restrictions, once planned for the same day, are now set for March 2027 in the government's timeline.
Which 2026 and 2027 dates rest on the roadmap rather than an instrument?
The main one is fire-and-rehire. The government's timeline, updated 22 October 2026, now sets March 2027 for the restrictions, moved from 1 January 2027. Only the regulation-making powers in section 28 have been commenced, and the consultation response published on 22 October 2026 aims for the supporting regulations to start alongside them. The harassment duties were in the same position until 1 October 2026, when SI 2026/1065 fixed 30 October 2026 in law.
What is still not fixed?
A duty to offer qualifying zero and low-hours workers guaranteed hours, plus reasonable notice of shifts and cancellation pay, is expected in 2027; its consultation closed 25 August 2026 and no government response has been published. Extended bereavement leave now has a stated timing: the government published its consultation response on 22 September 2026 and intends the new rights to take effect in April 2027, through secondary legislation still to be laid. On flexible working, the response published on 15 September 2026 states the government's intention that a duty to consult before refusing a request, and the Act's reasonableness test, both take effect in autumn 2027; the timeline updated on 22 October 2026 now puts this in October 2027. The same update puts enhanced dismissal protection for pregnant women and new mothers in October 2027: the government's response of 22 October 2026 says it will cover pregnancy, maternity leave and six months after the leave ends. None of these is law yet.
Your UK Employment Rights Act roadmap, tracked
- Measures applied the day they commence
- Day-one rights in contracts and payroll
- Policies updated as each part lands
Key figures
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Royal Assent | The Employment Rights Bill received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025, becoming the Employment Rights Act 2025 (c.36). The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 was repealed the same day. (source) |
| Revised roadmap publication | The Department for Business and Trade published a revised implementation timetable on 3 February 2026, replacing the original roadmap from July 2025. It has been updated several times since, most recently on 22 October 2026, which added detail on 2027 timings and moved fire-and-rehire protections from January to March 2027. It continues to confirm electronic and workplace balloting from 25 August 2026. (source) |
| 18 February 2026: trade union reforms (in force) | Dismissal for taking industrial action became automatically unfair (12-week protection limit removed), industrial action notice cut to 10 days, ballot mandates extended to 12 months, and the 10-year re-ballot requirement for political funds was scrapped. Day-one notice/eligibility provisions for paternity and unpaid parental leave also started this date, ahead of the leave itself commencing in April. (source) |
| 6 April 2026: day-one family leave, SSP reform, whistleblowing (in force) | Paternity leave and ordinary unpaid parental leave became day-one rights (no qualifying service); SSP became payable from day one with the Lower Earnings Limit removed; sexual harassment became a qualifying disclosure under whistleblowing law; the collective redundancy protective award doubled to 180 days pay; the Fair Work Agency was established on 7 April 2026. (source) |
| October 2026: tribunal time limits and the harassment duties (both commenced) | The employment tribunal claim time limit rose from three to six months on 1 October 2026, commenced by SI 2026/954 (made 1 September 2026) bringing section 152 and Schedule 12 into force, with transitional provisions so it applies where the relevant date falls on or after that day. Acas states a later date of 9 November 2026 for breach of contract claims in Scotland. SI 2026/1065, made 1 October 2026, brings sections 20, 21 and 22 of the Act into force on 30 October 2026: the duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, liability for harassment by third parties, and a power to set the required steps out in regulations. (source) |
| 1 January 2027: unfair dismissal reform (fire-and-rehire moved to March 2027) | The unfair dismissal qualifying period falls from 2 years to 6 months and the compensatory award cap is removed, both under section 25 and both commenced for 1 January 2027 by SI 2026/559. Protection against fire-and-rehire, once planned for the same day, is set for March 2027 by the timeline update of 22 October 2026; no commencement instrument has fixed it. (source) |
| 2027: zero-hours (no date), bereavement leave (April 2027) and flexible working (October 2027) | The guaranteed-hours consultation opened 2 June 2026 and closed 25 August 2026; no government response has been published and the roadmap marks the timing as to be updated after the consultation. The bereavement leave consultation closed 15 January 2026 and the government published its response on 22 September 2026: a day-one right to unpaid bereavement leave, extended to step, adoptive, foster and kinship relationships, plus up to two weeks' unpaid leave for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, to be enacted by secondary legislation and intended to take effect in April 2027. The flexible working response of 15 September 2026 states the intention that both the new duty to consult before refusing a request and the Act's reasonableness test take effect in autumn 2027, with a revised Acas Code of Practice laid in Parliament in early summer 2027. The timeline update of 22 October 2026 places bereavement leave in April 2027 and flexible working in October 2027. None of the three is yet fixed by a commencement instrument. (source) |
| 25 August 2026: electronic and workplace trade union balloting (in force) | Electronic and workplace balloting became available for statutory trade union ballots on 25 August 2026, where the union and employer arrangements allow, covering industrial action ballots, union elections and other statutory ballots. The supporting Code of Practice Order is SI 2026/880. The DBT roadmap was updated on 25 August 2026 to confirm it. (source) |
| January 2027: duty to tell workers about the right to join a trade union | The government response of 25 September 2026 says employers will have to give workers a written statement about their right to join a trade union, and intends the duty to start in January 2027. New workers would receive it alongside their written statement of employment particulars. For existing workers it can be sent directly each year by 5 April, or kept available with a yearly reminder. The details will be set in secondary legislation, which has not yet been made. (source) |
| October 2027: enhanced dismissal protection for pregnant women and new mothers | The government published its consultation response on 22 October 2026. Enhanced dismissal protection will apply during pregnancy, throughout maternity leave and for 6 months after the leave ends. The implementation timeline places it in October 2027. No legislation has been made yet. (source) |
Frequently asked questions
Is the Employment Rights Act 2025 fully in force yet?
No. It received Royal Assent in December 2025, but most of its substantive duties commence in stages through 2027 under a government roadmap. Several measures are already in force; the largest wave, unfair dismissal reform, is set for 1 January 2027.
Has the rollout timeline changed?
Yes, more than once. The revised implementation timetable of 3 February 2026 moved several dates, pushing fire-and-rehire restrictions from October 2026 to January 2027. The update of 22 October 2026 moved them again, to March 2027, and set October 2027 for flexible working reform. Unfair dismissal reform stays on 1 January 2027, fixed in law by SI 2026/559.
What should employers do now?
Review contracts, policies and probation practices against the confirmed 2026 changes (day-one leave, SSP, whistleblowing) now, and start preparing for the January 2027 unfair dismissal changes well in advance, since the qualifying period will fall to six months for anyone dismissed on or after that date.
UK employment law is moving fast, and commencement dates have slipped before. When Teamed is your legal employer, we track every change and update your contracts, policies and payroll as the law lands, so you never have to read a roadmap to stay compliant.
