Employment Rights Act 2025 implementation timeline update

Back in July 2025 the government issued its roadmap for implementing the Employment Rights Bill (the Bill). On 18 December 2025 the Bill became the Employment Rights Act 2025 and since then there have been a couple of updates to the timeline, the last of which was on 22 October.

The updated implementation timeline sets out the measures that have taken effect so far, as well as setting out the changes being introduced in 2027. The government stresses that all future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes and may change with longer-term timings remaining under review as it continues to consult on and develop the detail of the measures being introduced.

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: removal of likely majority test on application and removal of the 40% support threshold in recognition ballots.
Voluntary publication of gender pay and menopause action plans.
Menopause guidance.

7 April 2026

Establishment of the Fair Work Agency.

25 August 2026

Electronic and workplace balloting for statutory trade union ballots.

1 October 2026

Employment tribunal time limits will be extended from three to six months.

30 October 2026

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.

1 January 2027

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.
The duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union.
The tipping law will be tightened to impose additional obligations on employers when it comes to their written tip allocation policies.

March 2027

Fire and rehire protections will be introduced.

April 2027

Mandatory publication of gender pay and menopause action plans (voluntary from April 2026).
Statutory right to bereavement leave including pregnancy loss.
New collective consultation thresholds
Extending blacklisting protections.

August 2027

Electronic balloting for statutory recognition and derecognition ballots.

September 2027

Regulations to prevent the misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in cases of workplace harassment or discrimination.

October 2027

Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers
"Day 1" right to flexible working.

December 2027

Regulation of umbrella companies

What has happened to the government's zero hours measures?

The introduction of the right to guaranteed hours, the right to reasonable notice and payment for shifts cancelled or changed at short notice has not been assigned a spot on the implementation timeline. Originally these measures were slated for 2027 but it seems that this may no longer be the case.

The government has stated that timings will be updated following the consultation process (the consultation closed on 12 August 2026) so watch this space!

Time to take stock

While the timeline provides a useful planning framework, the reality is that detailed preparation remains challenging when much of the 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.