If you thought we’d finished talking about the Employment Rights Act, think again! The government updated its implementation timetable again in October, and there are some important dates employers need to have on their radar.
Here’s the latest position as we head into November.
Already in force
April 2026
- Day-one family leave: employees are entitled to Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave from the first day in a new job.
- Statutory Sick Pay changes, including removal of the Lower Earnings Limit and waiting period.
- Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave: new right to time off following the death of a child’s mother or primary adopter.
- Increased collective redundancy protective awards.
- Strengthened whistleblowing protections relating to sexual harassment.
- Holiday pay records: employers are required to keep adequate records to show they have complied with holiday pay and entitlement rules. These records need to be retained for 6 years from the date they were made.
- Action plans: employers with 250 or more employees are encouraged to publish the steps they are taking to reduce their gender pay gap and support employees experiencing menopause.
October 2026
- Employment Tribunal claim time limits extended from three to six months.
Trade union reforms:
- Right of access into workplaces: independent trade unions have a new legal right to access workplaces and engage with workers, either in-person or virtually.
- Further changes to trade union law, including earlier union access to workers during the recognition process, strengthened rights for workplace representatives to paid time off and facility access, and protection from detriments for industrial action
Harassment protections:
- Workplace sexual harassment: employers are required to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their employees.
- Third-party harassment: employers must not permit the harassment of their employees by third parties.
What’s coming next?
1 January 2027
- Unfair dismissal qualifying period reduces to six months.
- Compensatory awards for ordinary unfair dismissal become uncapped.
- New duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union.
- Strengthened tipping law.
March 2027
- Fire and rehire protections.
- Mandatory gender equality and menopause action plans for public authorities.
During 2027
Further changes are expected covering:
- Guaranteed hours and reasonable notice of shifts.
- Flexible working.
- Bereavement leave, including pregnancy loss.
- Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers.
- Non-disclosure agreements in harassment and discrimination cases.
- Further collective redundancy and trade union changes.
Some of the later measures are still subject to consultation and further implementation detail, so dates may change.
So, what should employers be doing?
Don’t wait until the legislation comes into force to start thinking about it, it is the time to:
✔ Review contracts and policies.
✔ Look at recruitment, probation and dismissal processes.
✔ Check sickness absence and family leave arrangements.
✔ Make sure managers understand the changes.
✔ Review how you manage working hours and shift arrangements.
✔ Prepare for the changes to unfair dismissal rights.
The Employment Rights Act isn’t just an HR project. It affects the way organisations recruit, manage, develop and retain their people.
And that’s why we’re dedicating our next webinar to it, to book your space go back to the beginning of this newsletter.