UK employment law: what's changing and when
Every Employment Rights Act 2025 reform and adjacent UK employment-law change on one page, with confirmed dates where they exist, and who handles it if you hire through Teamed.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 and is commencing in stages through 2027. As of 28 October 2026, measures already in force include trade union reforms, day-one family leave, Statutory Sick Pay reform, electronic trade union balloting and, since 1 October 2026, a six-month time limit for employment tribunal claims. The strengthened harassment duties start on 30 October 2026, a date fixed in law by SI 2026/1065. The biggest wave is 1 January 2027 (unfair dismissal reform); fire-and-rehire restrictions moved to March 2027 in the government's timeline update of 22 October 2026. Of the measures still without a fixed date, the timeline puts bereavement leave in April 2027 and flexible working reform in October 2027, while guaranteed hours has no stated timing.
The full timeline
| What's changing | Status | When | Who handles this at Teamed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment Rights Act 2025 receives Royal Assent | In force | 18 December 2025 | Contracts and policies already track the Act |
| Trade union reforms in force | In force | 18 February 2026 | Covered under Teamed's UK employment framework |
| National Living Wage rises to £12.71/hour | In force | 1 April 2026 | Applied automatically in UK payroll |
| SSP payable from day one; Lower Earnings Limit removed | In force | 6 April 2026 | Calculated correctly in UK payroll |
| Day-one paternity and unpaid parental leave; Fair Work Agency established | In force | 6 to 7 April 2026 | Reflected in UK contracts from day one |
| New six-year holiday record-keeping duty | In force | 6 April 2026 | Records kept automatically in UK payroll |
| New pay-period salary compliance rule for sponsors | In force | 8 April 2026 | Sponsorship risk removed entirely under an EOR |
| Electronic and workplace balloting for statutory trade union ballots | In force | 25 August 2026 | Covered under Teamed's UK employment framework |
| Employment tribunal claim time limit extends from 3 to 6 months | In force | 1 October 2026 | Records retained to the extended limit as standard |
| Right-to-work checks extend to workers, individual sub-contractors and online matching services | In force | 1 October 2026 | Every UK check is run by Teamed as the legal employer |
| Duty to prevent sexual harassment ("all reasonable steps") and third-party harassment liability in force | Confirmed date | 30 October 2026 | Anti-harassment policies updated ahead of commencement |
| Unfair dismissal qualifying period falls to 6 months; compensation cap removed | Confirmed date | 1 January 2027 | Applied automatically to every dismissal |
| Fire-and-rehire restrictions in force | Expected | March 2027 (government target, timeline updated 22 Oct 2026; not yet commenced) ‡ | Contract variations run through a compliant process |
| Zero-hours and guaranteed-hours contract duty | Still consulting | Consultation closed 25 Aug 2026; no response yet; in force expected 2027 ‡ | Will be reflected once regulations are set |
| Extended bereavement leave, including pregnancy loss under 24 weeks | Expected | Government response published 22 Sep 2026; timeline says April 2027 ‡ | Will be reflected once regulations are set |
| Flexible working: reasonableness test and meeting before refusal | Expected | Response published 15 Sep 2026; timeline says October 2027 ‡ | Will be reflected once regulations are set |
| Enhanced dismissal protection for pregnant women and new mothers | Expected | Response published 22 Oct 2026; timeline says October 2027 ‡ | Will be reflected once regulations are set |
| Duty to tell workers about their right to join a trade union | Expected | Response published 25 Sep 2026; intended January 2027 ‡ | Will be reflected once regulations are set |
How to read this
Status reflects whether a measure is already in force, has a confirmed commencement date, has only an expected timeframe, or is still under consultation. Commencement dates for the Employment Rights Act 2025 have moved before, most recently in a revised roadmap, so this page is reviewed regularly and figures are checked against primary sources on the dates shown.
Every one of these changes lands on your contracts, policies or payroll eventually. When Teamed is your legal employer, we track the roadmap and update what you need, when it actually commences, so a slipping date is never your problem to catch.
