
Employment Rights Bill update
Published Jul 14, 2025
The government has now published a timeline for their proposed changes to employment law under the Employment Rights Bill.
Here is a summary of the anticipated changes and most likely dates for implementation:
April 2026
A day one employment right to Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave.
The three waiting days for Statutory Sick Pay to be removed.
The Lower Earnings Limit for Statutory Sick Pay to be removed (currently to qualify for SSP an employee must earn an average of £125 per week).
The Fair Work Agency to be established as a new enforcement body.
Enhanced whistleblowing protections relating to disclosure about sexual harassment.
October 2026
Existing fire and rehire practices to be prohibited.
Employment tribunal time limits to be extended from three months to six months.
A new requirement for employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent the sexual harassment of their employees.
A new obligation on employers to not permit the harassment of their employees by third parties.
The government has also set out its plan for new legislation in 2027 which is set to include the following:
A day one right to protection from unfair dismissal. We expect there to be less protection in the first nine months to enable a “lighter tough” dismissal process aligned to probation periods.
Changes regarding the use of zero-hour contracts (the amended legislation will give workers the right to request guaranteed hours if they have worked an average of at least eight hours a week over a rolling 26 week period).
Changes to collective consultation thresholds for redundancies.
Flexible working to be amended.
New right to paid bereavement leave.
Gender pay gap and menopause action plans (although these will be introduced on a voluntary basis in April 2026).
Regulation of umbrella companies.
Additional rights for pregnant workers.
A completely new element announced by the government (in July 2025) as part of the ER Bill will be a ban on NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) which cover harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
This change means any contract (or similar provision) that attempts to prevent an employee from raising allegations of harassment or discrimination will be unlawful. This change will apply to Settlement Agreements.
We will keep members updated as the legislation passes through the various stages of parliamentary approval.
Source: Gavin Parrot