Employment Rights Act 1996

The Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) received Royal Assent on May 22, 1996, and came into force on August 22, 1996 it consolidated a wide range of individual employment rights into a single Act of Parliament to make the law more accessible and easier to understand for both employers and employees.

The ERA 1996 covered areas such as unfair dismissal, parental leave, time off for public duties, and protection in the event of employer insolvency, bringing different pieces of legislation together under one Act that included:

• The Contracts of Employment Act 1963, which established the right to a written statement of employment particulars and minimum notice periods for dismissal.
• The Redundancy Payments Act 1965, which introduced the right to statutory redundancy pay for qualifying employees.
• The Employment Protection Act 1975, which brought in a number of new rights, many of which were later consolidated.
• The Employment Protection (Consolidation) Act 1978, which was the main precursor to the 1996 Act and itself had been heavily amended over the years.
• The Employment Act 1980.
• The Wages Act 1986, which dealt with the protection of wages and unlawful deductions.
• The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992(certain sections).
• The Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993 (certain sections).

In December 2025 the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025), received Royal Assent. Although the ERA 1996 remains the foundational act with many aspects still in force the new ERA 2025 will gradually introduce a number if significant changes in the years to follow, such as day-one paternity rights and new rules for zero-hours contracts, throughout 2026 and 2027, building upon the existing framework. For more information see also Employment Rights Act, The Employment Rights Act; current and future changes, Employment Law, and Employment Rights Act 2025.

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