Employment Rights Act 2025

[edit] Overview

The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA) is a central component of the Government’s Plan to Make Work Pay. It modernises employment law to support economic growth, raise wages, and reduce insecure work. Developed in close partnership with businesses and trade unions, the Act updates employment protections for the modern labour market and extends key rights to millions of workers.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025), received Royal Assent in December 2025, the 1996 Act remains the foundational act and many aspects still apply but the new act will phase in significant changes over the following years, starting on 6 April 2026, the changes include day-one paternity rights and new rules for zero-hours contracts, and will build upon the existing framework.

[edit] Key Measures in the Act

[edit] Tackling Insecure and Unfair Work

The Act addresses one-sided flexibility by establishing a baseline of security at work:

• Zero-hours contracts: New rights to guaranteed hours, reasonable notice of shifts, and compensation for short-notice cancellations, including equivalent protections for agency workers.
• Fire and rehire / fire and replace: Dismissals for refusing changes to core contractual terms will be automatically unfair, except where employers face severe financial distress and have no viable alternative.
• Unfair dismissal: The qualifying period is reduced from two years to six months and can only be changed by primary legislation. The cap on compensatory awards is removed.
• Collective redundancies: Consultation and government notification duties apply when 20 or more redundancies are proposed at one establishment, or when a new organisation-wide threshold (to be set in secondary legislation) is met. The maximum protective award for failure to consult doubles from 90 to 180 days’ pay.
• Maritime sector: Closure of the redundancy notification loophole for operators providing regular services to British ports.

[edit] Fair Pay for a Fair Day’s Work

The Act strengthens pay protections across sectors:

• Statutory Sick Pay: Removal of the Lower Earnings Limit and waiting period.
• School support staff: Establishment of a School Support Staff Negotiating Body in England, with sector-wide minimum terms.
• Social care: Introduction of Fair Pay Agreements in adult social care in England, and in social care sectors in Scotland and Wales.
• Tipping practices: Mandatory consultation with workers on tipping policies and increased transparency.
• Outsourcing: Reintroduction of the two-tier code to ensure fair terms for private-sector workers on outsourced public contracts.
• Seafarers: Provision for a mandatory Seafarers’ Charter and powers to ensure compliance with international maritime law.

[edit] Family-Friendly Rights

The Act improves flexibility and security for working families:

• Day-one rights to Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave.
• Paternity leave sequencing: Parents may take paternity leave and pay after shared parental leave.
• Bereavement leave: New right to unpaid bereavement leave, including for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.
• Pregnancy and maternity protections: Enhanced dismissal protections during pregnancy, maternity leave, and for at least six months after return to work (with limited exceptions).
• Flexible working: Strengthened day-one right, including a clearer decision-making process and a requirement that refusals are reasonable and explained.
• Public duties: Review of Time Off for Public Duties, with specific consideration of Special Constables.

[edit] Fairness, Equality, and Wellbeing

The Act strengthens workplace protections and equality measures:

• Sexual harassment: Employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment, including by third parties. Regulations may specify what constitutes reasonable steps.
• Whistleblowing: Explicit protection for workers who report sexual harassment.
• Gender equality: Large employers must publish action plans addressing the gender pay gap and menopause support.
• Non-Disclosure Agreements: Any NDA clause preventing workers from speaking about harassment or discrimination is void.

[edit] Modernising Trade Union Law

The Act enhances trade union rights and simplifies processes: in the repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 and repeal of most provisions of the Trade Union Act 2016.

• Ballot mandates extended to 12 months; notice of industrial action reduced to 10 days.
• New framework for union access to workplaces, including enforceable routes via the Central Arbitration Committee.
• Simplified recognition procedures and industrial action notices.
• New rights and protections for union representatives.
• Employer duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union.
• Expanded blacklisting protections.
• Protection from detriment and unfair dismissal for taking part in industrial action.

[edit] Stronger Enforcement

The Act significantly improves enforcement of employment rights:

• Fair Work Agency (FWA):
  • Brings together enforcement of minimum wage, agency work rules, gangmasters licensing, and serious labour exploitation.
  • Takes on new functions such as holiday pay enforcement.
  • Equipped with expanded civil penalties, information-sharing powers, and the ability to bring tribunal claims on behalf of workers.
  • Governed by a social partnership model with business, trade union, and independent expertise.
• Tribunal claims:
  • Time limit to bring an Employment Tribunal claim extended from three to six months.
• Umbrella companies:
  • Brought within the scope of the Employment Agencies Act 1973 and subject to regulation and enforcement.
• Young people and safety:
  • Requirement for guidance on voluntary work by 14–16-year-olds in heritage railway settings.

[edit] Implementation and Next Steps

The Act will be implemented in phases over two years, using common commencement dates (6 April and 1 October). Some provisions take effect at Royal Assent, including repeal of restrictive trade union legislation. April 2026: Introduction of day-one rights to Statutory Sick Pay and Paternity Leave, and launch of the Fair Work Agency. Implementation follows the previously published Roadmap, with ongoing consultations on detailed measures. Continued engagement with employers, workers, and trade unions will support effective delivery through 2026 and beyond.

This article is based on the Government Factsheet: Employment Rights Act 2025-Overview.

[edit] ECA Guidance notes to prepare for April 26 ERA changes

The Electrical Contractors' Association (ECA) Employee Relations team is producing a series of guidance notes in the run-up to 6 April 2026, following changes that will come into effect as part of the Employment Rights Act.

The guidance notes are essential for employers to digest. They go into detail about each of the following changes and what employers must do as a result:

• Family leave: paternity leave and unpaid parental leave become day-one rights; restriction on taking paternity leave after SPL is removed.
• Statutory Sick Pay reform: payable from day one; Lower Earnings Limit removed.
• Electronic and workplace balloting introduced (enabling simple majority without the 50% turnout threshold).
• Trade union recognition process simplified.
• Collective redundancy: maximum protective award doubled to 180 days’ pay.
• Whistle blowing: sexual harassment becomes a qualifying disclosure (protection from detriment/unfair dismissal).
• Fair Work Agency (FWA) established to consolidate/enforce multiple employment rights.
• Gender pay gap & menopause action plans: voluntary plans expected from April 2026; mandatory from 2027, subject to regulations.

Here are the ‘Employer Essentials’ guidance notes that have been published so far, more will be added when available:

• Paternity & Parental Leave
• Statutory Sick Pay

Support is available via the ECA Employee Relations team. There will also be upcoming Growth Hub courses on employment law changes. Watch this space for availability.

This section appears on the ECA news and blog site as "ECA Employer Essentials guidance notes available to prepare for April Employment Rights Act changes" dated 3 February, 2026.

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