1. Right to claim unfair dismissal will apply after six months of Service

The Employment Rights Bill (ERB) is finally moving forward after the government agreed to forego a manifesto pledge that employees would be given a day one right to claim for unfair dismissal.

Having faced opposition from the House of Lords and employer groups - the government has amended the bill so that the new legislation which will now grant employees the right to bring a claim for unfair dismissal after six months service. Also, the previous suggestion of a “light touch” dismissal process in the first nine months will not be proceeding.

This means employers can apply their probation review processes and dismiss a new starter within six months if they are not meeting the requirements of their role.

However, there will still be new day one rights coming into effect.

Statutory Sick Pay

From April 2026 - employees will be entitled to statutory sick pay from day one of employment and from day one of a sickness absence with the three “waiting days” being removed.

Paternity Leave

From April 2026 - employees will be able to give notice and take paternity leave from their first day in a new role.

2. New employer to notify employees of right to join a union

The ERB will introduce a new duty on employers to provide employees with a written statement setting out their right to join a trade union.

Under the legislation employers will be required to write to existing employees and state they have the right to join a union.

We understand that the government will be providing a “standardised statement” which employers can include when writing to their employees to explain their right.

New employees must be issued with a “statement” at the same time as they receive their written statement of employment particulars. This means that the “statement” needs to be issued by no later than day one of employment thereby aligning with when employment contracts must also be issued to new starters.

There will be an ongoing requirement to inform existing employees of their right to join a union.

Consultation for how and what this will look like are ongoing.

We expect employers to be required to issue annual reminders to employees (e.g. letters, emails, etc). In addition, employers can communicate details of the right to join a union on their intranets, notice boards, newsletters, etc., so they can evidence that they are fulfilling their duty.

This new duty is expected to be brought into force by October 2026.

You might be wondering why this is necessary?

Well, the rationale is that the Government considers that a lack of awareness amongst employees of their right to join a trade union is contributing to a decline in trade union membership.

In 2024, union membership was at 22% of UK employees which is the lowest level on record. The new duty is intended to address this issue. The aim being that increased employee awareness will lead to increased trade union membership “and establish a more level playing field for workers.”

Consequences of failing to notify employees of their right to join a Union?

Employees will not be able to bring a standalone claim at an Employment Tribunal. However, if an employee succeeds with another claim, any failure to notify (i.e. of the right to join a union) may result in an award of between two and four weeks’ pay.

We will be sending further updates via e-bulletins as we receive further details on the ERB.

Sourced by: Gavin Parrott