Back in July 2025 the government issued its roadmap for implementing the Employment Rights Bill (the Bill). Since then the Bill has received Royal Assent, becoming the Employment Rights Act 2025, and on 11 February 2026 the government issued an updated implementation timeline.
There has been a bit of slippage, as is perhaps inevitable given the Bill's extended Parliamentary passage before finally becoming an Act, but by and large most of the measures will be introduced on the timeframe initially anticipated.
The updated implementation timeline sets out the measures that have taken effect so far, as well as setting out the changes being introduced in 2026. The government states that it continues to work towards the timetable set out in the roadmap for the measures being introduced throughout 2027 and will continue to keep these timings under review as it consults and develops the details of the policies.
Royal Assent – 18 December 2025
- Repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023.
18 February 2026
- Repeal of the majority of the Trade Union Act 2016 simplifying requirements on trade unions.
- Removing the 10-year ballot requirement for trade union political funds.
- Simplifying industrial action notices and industrial ballot notices.
- Automatic protection from unfair dismissal for taking part in protected industrial action.
6 April 2026
- Changes to the collective redundancy protective award.
- "Day 1" right to paternity leave and unpaid parental leave.
- Removal of Lower Earnings Limit and waiting period for Statutory Sick Pay.
- New category of protected disclosure relating to sexual harassment introduced.
- Simplifying the trade union recognition process.
- Voluntary publication of gender pay and menopause action plans.
7 April 2026
- Establishment of the Fair Work Agency.
August 2026
- Changes to trade union balloting requirements for industrial action.
- Electronic and workplace balloting for statutory trade union ballots.
October 2026
- Regulations to establish the Fair Pay Agreement Adult Social Care Negotiating Body will be brought forward.
- Two-tier code for public sector contracts.
- The duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union will come into force and trade unions' rights of access will be strengthened.
- New rights and protections for trade union representatives will be introduced.
- Extended protection against detriments for taking industrial action.
- Mandatory requirement on employers to take "all reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.
- New obligation preventing employers from permitting harassment of their employees by third parties.
- The tipping law will be tightened to impose additional obligations on employers when it comes to their written tip allocation policies.
No earlier than October 2026
- Employment tribunal time limits will be extended from three to six months.
January 2027
- From 1 January the qualifying period for bringing a claim for unfair dismissal will reduce from two years to 6 months and the cap for compensatory awards will be lifted.
- Fire and rehire protections will be introduced.
2027
- "Day 1" right to flexible working.
- Mandatory publication of gender pay and menopause action plans (voluntary from April 2026).
- New enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers.
- Statutory right to bereavement leave including pregnancy loss.
- Power enabling regulations to specify "reasonable" steps when determining whether an employer has taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment will come into force.
- New collective consultation threshold.
- Regulation of umbrella companies will be introduced.
- New zero hours measures introduced – introduction of the right to guaranteed hours and the right to reasonable notice and short notice payments.
- Extending blacklisting protections.
- A new industrial relations framework.
- Electronic and workplace balloting for recognition and derecognition ballots.
Time to take stock
While the timeline provides a useful planning framework, the reality is that detailed preparation remains challenging when so much policy detail still requires development.
Thankfully the government has committed to producing comprehensive guidance supporting employers to adapt to the new reforms. In the meantime various consultations have been issued, with more to come, so we are gradually getting a sense of what the new measures under the Act will look like and what the implications of these are for employers.
We have written bulletins on various reforms under the Act, as well as on the content of many of the consultations that have been issued. Please look out for these on our HR Law hub. We are also regularly talking about the reforms and the practical measures that employers can take to ensure that they're legally compliant in our 'Navigating Change with the ERA' series of Trowers Tuesdays.
