Employment Rights Act 2025: what's changing and when

The Employment Rights Act 2025 became law in December 2025, but it comes into force in stages between then and 2027. By 16 October 2026 the main changes in force are day-one Statutory Sick Pay, day-one paternity and unpaid parental leave, the repeal of most strike restrictions, a new Fair Work Agency and a six-month time limit for tribunal claims. The biggest change still to come is the cut in the unfair dismissal qualifying period from two years to six months, for dismissals from 1 January 2027.

The dates below come from the Department for Business and Trade’s implementation timeline, last updated on 14 October 2026. The government says every future date is subject to parliamentary process and may change.

Already in force

Date	What changed
Royal Assent (December 2025)	Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 repealed
18 February 2026	Most of the Trade Union Act 2016 repealed; notice can be given for day-one paternity leave and unpaid parental leave
1 April 2026	Certification Officer levy repealed
6 April 2026	Day-one paternity leave and unpaid parental leave; SSP from the first day of sickness with no Lower Earnings Limit; maximum collective redundancy protective award doubled; whistleblowing protection for sexual harassment disclosures; Bereaved Partners’ Paternity Leave; voluntary gender and menopause action plans; simpler union recognition
7 April 2026	Fair Work Agency established
25 August 2026	Electronic and workplace balloting for statutory union ballots
1 October 2026	Employment tribunal time limit raised from 3 to 6 months (9 November 2026 for contract claims in Scotland)

The changes most people will notice so far

Sick pay is the one that reaches most payslips. Since 6 April 2026, Statutory Sick Pay is paid from the first day of sickness, with no waiting days and no minimum earnings test. It is the lower of £123.25 a week or 80 per cent of your average weekly earnings. That matters most to people without good occupational sick pay: bank staff, casual workers, new starters and some part-timers. NHS, council and school staff with contractual sick pay are usually paid more than SSP anyway. Our Statutory Sick Pay guide has the detail.

Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day-one rights on the same date, so you no longer need a qualifying period of service to take them. Pay for paternity leave still has its own eligibility rules.

The longer tribunal time limit from 1 October 2026 gives you six months, instead of three, to bring most employment claims. You still have to go through ACAS early conciliation first. See employment tribunal time limits.

The Fair Work Agency, set up on 7 April 2026, brings several enforcement bodies together, including those dealing with the minimum wage and agency workers. It can take enforcement action itself, so workers are less dependent on bringing their own tribunal claim for some breaches.

Coming on 30 October 2026

Three sets of changes are scheduled for the end of October:

• Employers must take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their staff, a stronger duty than the “reasonable steps” one that applied before.
• Employers must not permit harassment of their staff by third parties, such as patients, pupils’ parents or members of the public.
• Trade unions get rights of access to workplaces and new rights for union representatives.

The third-party harassment duty is likely to matter in the public sector, where a lot of abuse comes from service users. It sits alongside the existing work on violence and aggression against NHS staff.

January 2027: dismissal and fire and rehire

For dismissals on or after 1 January 2027, the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal claims drops from two years to six months. The cap on the compensatory award is removed at the same time. Until then, the two-year rule still applies, so the date of dismissal decides which rule covers you.

Also scheduled for January 2027 are new protections against fire and rehire, where an employer dismisses staff and offers to re-employ them on worse terms, and a duty on employers to tell workers they have the right to join a union.

Later in 2027

A group of changes is planned for 2027 without fixed dates yet:

• changes to flexible working, building on the day-one right that has applied since April 2024
• guaranteed hours, and pay for shifts cancelled or changed at short notice, for zero-hours and low-hours workers (timing to be updated after consultation)
• a change to the threshold for collective redundancy consultation
• mandatory gender pay and menopause action plans for larger employers
• enhanced protection against dismissal for pregnant women and new mothers
• bereavement leave, including for pregnancy loss
• regulation of umbrella companies
• restrictions on non-disclosure agreements and changes on blacklisting

The zero-hours changes will affect bank and casual workers in the NHS, councils and schools. Our zero-hours contracts guide covers the rules that apply now.

What it means for school support staff

The Act also provides for a School Support Staff Negotiating Body for England. It still needs secondary legislation before it can be set up. The government is aiming for 2026, and the first pay outcomes would come in 2027/28 at the earliest. Until then, teaching assistants and other support staff stay on the NJC pay arrangements described in our NJC pay spine guide.

Checking where things stand

Because so much depends on regulations, the reliable way to check a date is the government’s timeline page, which is updated as each measure moves. ACAS publishes guidance as each change takes effect, and unions brief members on anything that affects collective rights. If you have a dispute that may fall either side of a change date, ACAS or your union can tell you which version of the rules applies.