Kendal Youngblood
- Solicitor
- Employment
The Employment Rights Act: what’s already in and what’s coming up first
The Employment Rights Act 2025 (“ERA 2025”) has now become law.
While most legislative changes are expected to take effect later in 2026 or 2027, the scope and significance of the reforms will substantially alter employment in the UK. With expanded day‑one rights, stricter consultation duties, and in many areas the possibility of much steeper financial penalties for getting it wrong, businesses should be reviewing their employment practices and policies to prepare for the upcoming changes. We have set out below a (non-exhaustive) summary of the key changes that are already in force, and those expected to be implemented by April 2026.
On Royal Assent – December 2025
The ERA 2025 repealed the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, which previously allowed the Secretary of State to set minimum service levels for strikes in “relevant services”, such as health, transport and education. Minimum service levels will now cease to apply.
January and February 2026
A number of provisions came into force on 6 January 2026 which allow the government to make further regulations in relation to a number of areas including zero hours work and flexible working. For now, though, these changes do not change the existing law – but will do so in the future.
Further changes are scheduled to come into force on 18 February 2026:
- Various rights relating to industrial action.
- Parents who do not yet have the right to paternity / parental leave will be able to give notice to their employers, in respect of leave they intend to take once the “day one” right comes into force from 6 April 2026 (see below).
- Employees will have the right to take paternity leave from day one of employment if the mother or adopter has died.
April 2026
Family Friendly Rights
As of 6 April 2026, from day one of employment employees will gain the right to take:
- Unpaid parental leave, removing the one-year service requirement. Parents who gain the right to take parental leave from 6 April 2026 will be able to provide notice to take that leave from 18 February 2026.
- Paternity leave, removing the 26-week service requirement for babies expected or born after 6 April 2026. Parents will be able to give notice of their intention to take paternity leave as early as 18 February 2026. However, employees will still need to have 26 weeks’ service to be eligible to receive statutory paternity pay.
Currently, employees are not able to take paternity leave or receive statutory paternity pay following a period of shared parental leave or shared parental pay. This restriction will be removed from 6 April 2026.
The government’s roadmap also indicates the following changes will be implemented in April 2026 (but this is subject to further regulation):
- Collective Consultation for Redundancy – Employers who propose to dismiss 20 or more employees at the same establishment within a 90-day period have an obligation to collectively consult with employees over a minimum period of 30-45 days (depending on the number of redundancies). Currently, if an employer fails to collectively consult, affected employees may be entitled to a protected award of up to 90 days’ pay. The ERA 2025 will increase the protective award to a maximum of 180 days’ pay.
- Sexual Harassment and Whistleblowing – The definition of qualifying disclosures will be expanded to include a disclosure that sexual harassment has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur, thereby attaching protections against suffering a detriment or dismissal which is connected to the protected disclosure, for anyone who makes these types of disclosures.
- Enforcement – A Fair Work Agency (FWA) is due to be established, bringing together the existing enforcement functions of HMRC (relating to national minimum wage), the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. Over time, the government envisages that the new FWA will take on wider enforcement powers, for instance in respect of holiday, SSP and possibly other areas. It is not yet clear when the new FWA will be fully operational or gain its own enforcement powers.
- Statutory Sick Pay from day one of sickness – For the time being, employees have to wait until the fourth day of sickness absence before claiming statutory sick pay (SSP). Currently, SSP is set at £118.75 per week of absence (increased every April), for up to 28 weeks of absence, and employees must earn £125 a week to be eligible. The ERA removes the 3-day waiting period, making this available from the first day of absence, and removes the lower earnings limit. Following the change, the rate of SSP will be the lower of the prescribed weekly rate, or 80% of the employee’s normal weekly earnings.
Conclusion
After the changes due in April 2026, the next big deadline is October 2026, when we will see further changes such as legislation relating to “fire and rehire”, enhancements to harassment laws, trade union access to workplace rights and extending tribunal time limits. Although many of the headline reforms under the ERA 2025 will not take full effect until later in 2026 and beyond, the direction of travel is already clear. The ERA 2025 signals a decisive expansion of employee protections, earlier access to statutory rights, and a far more interventionist enforcement framework, with significantly increased financial exposure for non‑compliance. For employers, the risk landscape is shifting; practices that may previously have been regarded as low‑risk or procedural are likely to attract closer scrutiny and, in some cases, much more serious consequences.
Against that backdrop, businesses should resist the temptation to view the ERA 2025 as a distant compliance issue. Employers should be looking beyond these initial changes, with more changes expected in 2027, such as the lowering of the continuous service requirement and removal of the compensation cap in respect of unfair dismissal claims. Those that begin early—by reviewing policies, auditing contractual arrangements, stress‑testing redundancy and consultation processes, and training managers on expanded day‑one rights and whistleblowing protections—will be best placed to manage risk and adapt to the new regime. As further regulations and guidance emerge over the coming months, keeping the ERA 2025 firmly on the strategic agenda will be essential. We are closely tracking developments and are on hand to support employers in navigating these changes and preparing for implementation. Please contact our employment team for more information.
This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or a comprehensive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should always be sought in relation to individual circumstances.
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