Employment Rights Act tracker

The Act will shorten the current two-year qualifying period of employment for unfair dismissal claims to six months. The Government previously proposed to remove the two-year qualifying period subject to a limited exception but announced this concession of shortening the qualifying period in the face of pressure from business and the House of Lords.

The aim behind this change is to strengthen employment rights and extend employee protections against unfair dismissal. This change will affect dismissals from 1 January 2027. 

This change will affect probationary periods from July 2026 onwards. Employers should ensure that probationary periods are less than 6 months, and no more than 25 weeks to take account of the statutory rules on the effective date of termination. For further information on the impact of the unfair dismissal changes, see our Legal Update Hiring and Firing in the new ERA.

The cap on compensatory awards for unfair dismissal, which is currently the lower of £123,543 or 52 weeks’ gross pay, will be removed. This is a significant change and will have a particular impact on senior exits where bonus and equity arguments are likely to be included. 

This change will affect dismissals from 1 January 2027.  

Collective redundancy obligations will be triggered where: (i) 20 or more redundancies are proposed at one establishment (which is the case under the existing law); or (ii) a threshold number of employees are proposed to be made redundant across an employer’s business. A consultation published in February 2026 contained details of the proposals for the organisation-wide second trigger. Two options are being considered: (i) a single fixed number where there are between 250 to 1,000 proposed redundancies, or (ii) tiering the obligation based on the number of employees. The Act does not remove the ‘at one establishment’ test. 

The aim with this change is to strengthen collective redundancy rights and protections by ensuring the right to consultation is determined by the number of people impacted across the business, as well as proposed redundancies taking place at one establishment. For further information, see our Legal Update Collective redundancies under the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA): consultation launched on organisation-wide threshold.

This change will take effect in April 2027.
 

Employers will not be required to consult all appropriate representatives together, nor to consult with a view to reaching the same agreement with all representatives. 

This means that employers will not be required to consult with disparate groups of employee representatives about unrelated redundancy situations. 

This change will take effect in 2027.
 

Following the Government’s response to its consultation on strengthening remedies against abuse of rules on collective redundancy and fire and rehire, the maximum protective award available for failing to comply with collective consultation requirements doubled from 90 to 180 days’ actual pay. 

This change took take effect on 6 April 2026. 

Following the Government’s response to its consultation on strengthening remedies against abuse of rules on collective redundancy and fire and rehire, the Act will introduce a new category of automatic unfair dismissal where the reason for their dismissal is either that (i) the employer sought to vary the employee’s employment contract to make a ‘restricted variation’ and the employee did not agree to that variation, or (ii) the employer sought to make more than one variation and the employee did not agree to several variations that included the restricted variation. A limited exception will apply where an employer can show that the reason for the variation was to address financial difficulties and that it could not reasonably have avoided the need to make the variation.  A ‘restricted variation’ will include a reduction in pay, variation of any term or condition relating to pensions, changes to hours, shift changes, changes to time off, and other changes to be specified in regulations.  It also covers the inclusion in an employment contract of a contractual term enabling any restricted variation without the employee’s consent. 

This change aims to deliver on the Government’s commitment to “end unscrupulous fire and rehire tactics”.

On 4 February 2026, the Government launched a further consultation, Make Work Pay: fire and rehire – changes to expenses, benefits, and shift patterns on regulations that will exclude/include some expenses, benefits and shift patterns from the list of restricted variations. The Government’s response, published on 22 October 2026, confirms its view that including certain expenses and benefits in kind (specifically, travel expenses (including mileage), accommodation expenses and accommodation) within scope of restricted variations is a proportionate approach. It also confirms that changes to share schemes will not be in scope. 

The Government has published a separate consultation, Make Work Pay: revised code of practice on dismissal and re-engagement, seeking views on a revised code of practice on dismissal and re-engagement which closes on 17 December 2026. 

According to the Government’s timeline update, the fire and rehire changes will now take effect in March 2027. 

The Act will introduce a new duty on employers to offer guaranteed hours to eligible workers reflecting the hours they regularly work over a reference period, which will be specified in regulations. On 2 June 2026, the Government published a consultation containing proposals for the secondary regulations containing the details on how the right will work. The preferred option for the initial reference period is 12 weeks, but longer periods are also being considered. A worker will be able to reject an offer of guaranteed hours and stay on a zero hours or low hours contract. An offer will need to be made at the end of subsequent reference periods while the worker remains eligible. 

Those eligible for this right will include workers on zero hours and ‘low hours’ contracts. The Government favours a low hours threshold between 8 to 20 hours but longer periods are included in the consultation.

The Act allows for this right to be disapplied under the terms of a collective agreement (known as “contracting out”).  For more information on the proposals in the consultation, see our Legal Update Government consultation on reforms to zero hours contracts.

The Government’s consultation closed on 25 August 2026, and the feedback is being analysed. 

Although this change was previously expected to take effect in 2027, the Government’s most recent timeline update states that timings for the guaranteed hours right will be updated following the consultation process.  

The Act will introduce a right for eligible workers to be given reasonable notice of a shift, including the start and end time, date and number of hours to be worked, that the employer requests or requires them to work. 

The aim is to make it easier for workers to organise transport and childcare, and to meet other family commitments and caring responsibilities. It is expected that the change will encourage employers to plan ahead more, so that workers do not bear so much of the financial risk. 

Regulations will set a period of notice that is "presumed reasonable". The Government’s consultation on ending one-sided flexibility, which was published in June 2026 and closed in August 2026, proposes options ranging from one to four weeks.  If shorter notice is given than the amount presumed reasonable, the employer will need to establish that it was reasonable in the circumstances. The Government is analysing the feedback. 

A worker may present a complaint to an Employment Tribunal where reasonable notice has not been given, which, if successful, would result in the worker being awarded compensation of an amount considered just and equitable to compensate the worker for any financial loss, subject to a specified capped amount.

Although the right to reasonable notice of a shift was previously expected to come into effect in 2027, the Government’s most recent timeline update states that timings for the right will be updated following the consultation process. 

The Act will require employers to make a payment to  workers if their shift is cancelled, moved or curtailed at ‘short notice’ and the Government’s consultation on ending one-sided flexibility introduces a second category of ‘very short notice.’ 

The Act caps the short notice period at a maximum of seven days. The payment will be a percentage of what the worker would have earned had they worked the shift or the relevant hours. The consultation seeks views on the percentage, with options ranging from 10% to 80% for short notice payments and from 30% to 80% for any very short notice payment, and also whether the percentage should be calculated based on the worker's actual rate of pay, or the National Living/Minimum Wage rate. 

The Government also proposes that the Fair Work Agency could enforce short notice payments. The Government's preferred penalty for non-compliance with short notice payments is 50% of arrears owed, with a minimum penalty of £100 per case and a maximum of £5,000 per worker, with unpaid sums owed to a worker recoverable for a period of up to 6 years from when the payment became due.

Although the right to payment for shifts cancelled, curtailed or moved was previously expected to come into effect in 2027, the Government’s most recent timeline update states that timings for the right will be updated following the consultation process.

Following the Government’s response to its consultation on the application of zero hours contracts measures to agency workers, the Act was amended to extend the zero hours contracts measures to agency workers. It will be the responsibility of the end hirer to make any guaranteed hours offer. Liability for other aspects of the application of zero hours contracts measures to agency workers will vary between the agency and/or the end hirer. 

The consultation contained separate questions on the applicability of the zero hours provisions to agency workers, with the result that the agency worker regime may operate with different thresholds and exemptions from directly engaged workers. For example, in relation to the hours threshold for guaranteed hours offers, regulations could establish that in certain circumstances agency workers would be excluded if they already have a contract with the agency guaranteeing hours above the threshold.

The Act introduces a requirement for employers to take reasonable steps to ensure that workers are given specified information about their rights to guaranteed hours during an ‘initial information period’. The information to be provided will be set out in regulations, and the information must be provided to any worker who it is reasonable to consider could potentially be a qualifying worker in any reference period. 

The Act will introduce a new category of automatic unfair dismissal relating to guaranteed hours. This will render it automatically unfair to dismiss an employee if the reason (or principal reason) for the dismissal is one of a number of specified reasons including that (i) the employee accepted or rejected a guaranteed hours offer, (ii) the employer believes that the employee is entitled to a guaranteed hours offer, and (iii) the employee (acting in good faith) brought proceedings under the zero hours provisions or made an allegation of a breach of those provisions. There will be no qualifying period of employment to bring this type of automatic unfair dismissal claim. 

Workers will have protection against any detriment by their employer on a number of specific grounds including that (i) they accepted or rejected (or proposed to accept or reject) a guaranteed hours offer, and (ii) brought proceedings against their employer in relation to failures relating to the right to guaranteed hours, or alleged the existence of any circumstances which would constitute a ground for bringing any such proceedings.
 

The Act will introduce a right to a statement of trade union rights to be given at the same time as the statement of employment particulars required by section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and “at other prescribed times”. Regulations will determine what information must be included in the statement, the form it must take and the frequency and manner of the communication. A consultation on the duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union closed on 18 December 2025 and the Government's response was published on 25 September 2026. This included details about the specific form, content, manner and frequency of the statements.

Failure to provide a statement will result in an uplift of between two to four weeks’ pay where another successful substantive claim (such as unfair dismissal and/or discrimination) is brought. 

The change is part of the Government’s objective to empower workers by ensuring they are fully informed of their rights. 

Although this change was due to come into force on 30 October 2026, the Government’s response stated that the duty is now intended to come into force on 1 January 2027.

The Act will introduce a new right of trade unions to access workplaces. The right will apply to any ‘qualifying trade union’ which is a trade union that has a certificate of independence. Access means both physical entry into a workplace and digital access.  The access purposes will be to meet, support, represent, recruit or organise workers and to facilitate collective bargaining. Organising industrial action is expressly excluded. 

The Act provides that the right will be contingent on a qualifying trade union and employer entering into an “access agreement” which sets out the terms on which a union will have access and may be varied by the parties in writing at any time. 

There will be recourse to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) in circumstances where either an employer fails to respond to a trade union’s access request or where an employer and trade union fail to agree access terms. The CAC will be able to determine whether or not officials of the union are to have access, taking account of the “access principles”.

A consultation, Make Work Pay: Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces, exploring the details of the new right closed on 18 December 2025. A further consultation was published in April 2026 containing the draft Code of Practice: Right of trade unions to access workplaces. On 6 July 2026, the Government published its response, a revised draft Code of Practice and the final impact assessment. The revised Code of Practice was laid before Parliament with secondary legislation setting out the operational and procedural details of the access framework. The revised Code of Practice contains additional information encouraging voluntary access agreements and information on digital access as well as timescales relating to access requests.

The aim behind this new right is to broaden the scope for collective bargaining and for trade unions to exercise their functions of negotiation and dispute resolution. It will also give unrecognised trade unions a better opportunity to gain recognition. 

The right of access took effect on 30 October 2026.

The Act will simplify the existing statutory trade union recognition process by: 

(a)    replacing the existing support threshold for the CAC to accept an application for recognition with a threshold of anywhere between 2% and 10% (this threshold has yet to be set);
(b)    removing the requirement for a trade union to demonstrate on application to the CAC that there is likely to be majority support for trade union recognition; and 
(c)    removing the 40% support threshold from recognition ballots so that only a majority of those voting will be required. 

The aim behind this simplification is to give workers a meaningful right to organise through trade unions. 

The Act will ensure that following the submission of a recognition application to the CAC, new recruits are not considered by the CAC for the purposes of the recognition process or entitled to vote in a recognition ballot. The aim here is to prevent mass recruitment into a bargaining unit in order to dilute union membership and block recognition. 

A consultation, Make Work Pay: recognition code of practice and e-balloting unfair practices - GOV.UK, on an updated version of the Code of Practice on access and unfair practices during the recognition and derecognition process was published on 4 February 2026. On 6 July 2026, the Government published its response to the consultation, together with a revised Code of Practice. The revised Code of Practice duing the recognition and derecognition process came into force on 30 October 2026.

The provisions relating to the simplification of the statutory trade union recognition process came into force in April 2026, although the percentage reduction in the support threshold has yet to be set. Measures relating to unfair practices during the recognition process came into force on 30 October 2026.

The Act will require employers to provide trade union officials and learning representatives with reasonable access to facilities, such as meeting rooms and internet access, when they take paid time off to carry out trade union duties. While there are existing rights to paid time off, the obligation to provide reasonable accommodation and facilities is new.  

The Act will also provide that where an employee complains about not having been permitted to take time off for trade union duties, it will be for the employer to show that the amount of time off requested was unreasonable. 

The revised Acas Code of Practice on time off for trade union duties and activities came into force on 30 October 2026.

The Act will allow trade union equality representatives to take paid time off during working hours for various purposes including carrying out activities for the purpose of promoting the value of equality in the workplace and arranging learning or training on matters relating to equality in the workplace. This is a new right. Where a union equality representative is permitted to take time off for any of these specified purposes, the employer must provide them with reasonable access to facilities (for example, meeting rooms and internet access) where requested by the employee, having regard to any relevant provisions of the revised Acas Code of Practice on time off for trade union duties and activities. 

The new rights and protections for trade union representatives are expected took effect on 30 October 2026.

The Act will broaden the scope of the blacklisting legislation to protect a wider range of people and to prohibit third parties - not just employers and employment agencies - from compiling blacklists. The Act also enables the Secretary of State to make regulations prohibiting the use of lists which contain details of trade union members or those who have taken part in trade union activities for the purposes of discrimination in relation to recruitment or in relation to the treatment of workers. The Government intends to use secondary legislation to extend the prohibition on blacklists prepared for the purposes of discrimination to lists not prepared for those purposes (e.g. lists complied using AI) but subsequently used in that way. 

The aim is to update and broaden the scope of the blacklisting legislation to provide greater protection against blacklisting due to trade union membership or activity.

The extended blacklisting protections are due to take effect in April 2027.

The Act will remove the requirement for at least 50% of those who were entitled to vote in the ballot before industrial action to have done so (the “turnout threshold”).  

The Act will remove the requirement for at least 50% of those who were entitled to vote in a ballot for industrial action to have done so (the “turnout threshold”).  

The Act removes the requirement in important public services for at least 40% of those who were entitled to vote in the ballot to have voted in favour of industrial action (the “support threshold”) to a majority of those actually voting. 

The removal of the support threshold took effect on 18 February 2026 subject to transitional arrangements, which are explained in more detail in the Government’s guidance, Trade union law: transition to Employment Rights Act 2025.

It was previously expected that the turnout threshold would be removed later, in August 2026, but that did not happen and no date has yet been confirmed. 

On 22 June 2026, the Government published its response to the consultation on electronic and workplace balloting for statutory union ballots, and a final revised Code of Practice on electronic and workplace balloting for statutory trade union ballots came into force on 25 August 2026.

The Act simplifies the existing information requirements in relation to industrial action ballots by removing additional requirements for the provision of information on ballot voting papers, to union members and in annual returns to the Certification Officer. Information unions are required to provide to employers in the notice of ballot has also been simplified, in particular trade unions are no longer required to specify (i) the number of workers in each category being balloted, (ii) the number of workers concerned at each workplace, and (iii) an explanation of how the given numbers were arrived at. 

The final revised Code of Practice on Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers was published and came into force in March 2026. It includes the simplified ballot paper requirements, the longer 12-month ballot mandate period and the reduced notice period for industrial action.

The changes to the ballot notices and voting papers came into force on 18 February 2026.

The Act also extends the mandate for industrial action following a successful ballot for industrial action from six months (with the opportunity to extend this to nine months by agreement) to twelve months (without the possibility of extension). 

The provisions relating to the shorter notice period and the longer mandate came into force on 18 February 2026.
 

The Act provides that a worker has the right not to be subjected to any detriment by their employer where the sole or main purpose is to prevent  or deter the worker from taking protected industrial action or penalising the worker for doing so.

The Act provides that a worker has the right not to be subjected to any detriment by their employer where the sole or main purpose is to prevent or deter the worker from taking protected industrial action or penalising the worker for doing so. 

The Act removes the 12-week limit on bringing an unfair dismissal claim where the reason, or principal reason, for the dismissal is that the employee took part in official industrial action. This means employees will be protected against unfair dismissal when taking protected strike action regardless of the length of the strike action.  

The additional protections for unfair dismissal took effect on 18 February 2026.

A consultation,  Make Work Pay: protection from detriments for taking industrial action, was published in February 2026 on detriment for taking lawful industrial action. The Government's response, published in June 2026, confirmed that it would introduce regulations prohibiting all detriments imposed for the sole or main purpose of penalising, preventing or deterring a worker from taking official industrial action.  The Protection Against Detriment (Industrial Action) Regulations 2026 came into force on 30 October 2026.

The Act repeals the minimum service levels legislation which mandated minimum staffing levels in key sectors such as health, fire rescue, education and transport during strike action. 

The repeal of the minimum service levels took effect on Royal Assent on 18 December 2025.

The Act introduces a day one right to paternity and unpaid parental leave by removing the existing qualifying service requirements which are 26 weeks and one year respectively. 

The Act removes the restriction on taking paternity leave after a period of shared parental leave.  

These changes came into force on 6 April 2026. 

The Act will introduce a day one right to take unpaid bereavement leave. This is separate to the right available to parents to take paid bereavement leave after the loss of a child.  

A consultation, Make Work Pay: Consultation on Leave for Bereavement including Pregnancy Loss, closed on 15 January 2026. 

On 22 September 2026, the Government published its response to the consultation which confirmed that the new right will come into force in April 2027 through secondary legislation. The entitlement will be for up to two weeks’ leave, based on the employee’s usual working pattern, for the death of a qualifying loved one or a pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. Pregnancy loss will include miscarriage, termination and unsuccessful IVF embryo transfer, and eligible people will include the person who was pregnant, the other parent or partner, an intended co-parent and intended parents in a surrogacy arrangement. Leave may be taken as separate days within 56 weeks. Notice will be possible as soon as reasonably practicable during the first eight weeks, with one week’s notice thereafter. No evidence of the loss will be required.

These changes are due to take effect in April 2027.

Pregnant women and new mothers have enhanced protection against redundancy dismissals with the right to be offered any suitable alternative roles available ahead of other at risk employees. The Act will give the Secretary of State the power to make regulations about protection against dismissal (for any reason, not just redundancy) for women during or after a protected period of pregnancy. The Act also allows for the extension of those enhanced dismissal protections after a period of leave to other types of statutory family leave such as adoption leave and shared parental leave. 

A consultation, Make Work Pay: enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers, explored different options for protection and closed on 15 January 2026. The Government’s response, published on 22 October 2026, confirms that the Government has decided to strengthen the legal framework governing dismissal during the protected period including replacing the “band of reasonable responses” test for unfair dismissal with a proportionality test.

These changes are now due to take effect in October 2027.

On 9 June 2026, the Government published a consultation on employment rights for unpaid carers and parents of seriously ill children. Consultation closed on 1 September 2026 and the Government is analysing the feedback. 

The Government is exploring whether a short statutory paid leave entitlement would help unpaid carers stay in work and is consulting on what level of pay would be appropriate. Options range from SSP rates (£123.25 per week) to 90% of pay. The consultation also seeks views on whether the existing right to up to 5 days’ unpaid leave per year should increase to up to 10 days or more. A further option being considered is protected longer-term unpaid leave, similar to maternity-style job protection, for carers facing intensive or prolonged caring periods with a right to return. The consultation also covers “Hugh’s Law”, a potential new paid leave entitlement for parents/primary caregivers after a child is diagnosed with a serious illness.

The Act strengthens the duty to prevent sexual harassment at work by requiring employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. This mirrors the “all reasonable steps” defence against an employer’s vicarious liability for an employee’s discriminatory act which the Government considers has the advantage of being well-established and familiar to employers and employment tribunals. 

The Act provides that regulations may be made specifying steps that an employer must take and matters to which they must have regard to meet the enhanced preventative duty. The regulations may prescribe steps that are to be regarded as reasonable for the purpose of determining whether an employer has complied with the duty, such as carrying out risk assessments and following prescribed complaints handling procedures. 

The aim is to ensure that specific steps are taken by employers where empirical evidence demonstrates that they are needed to prevent sexual harassment at work. 

The duty to take all reasonable steps came into force on 30 October 2026 although details of the steps that are to be regarded as ‘reasonable’, to determine whether an employer has taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, are not expected until 2027.

On 26 August 2026, Acas published guidance for employers on all reasonable steps,  Sexual harassment - Harassment law changes and on 30 October 2026, the EHRC updated its technical guidance on sexual harassment and harassment at work and employer 8-step guide to reflect this change.

The Act reintroduces employer liability for third party harassment in relation to all relevant protected characteristics. A worker will be able to bring a claim against their employer if a third party (such as a customer or supplier) harasses them in the course of their employment and the employer has failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the third party from doing so.  

The aim is to ensure that those who are subjected to workplace harassment by third parties have recourse to legal redress if their employer has not taken all reasonable steps to protect them from it.   

The new obligation on employers not to permit the harassment of their employees by third parties came into force on 30 October 2026. On 26 August 2026,  Acas published guidance for employers, Third party harassment - Harassment law changes and on 30 October 2026, the EHRC updated its technical guidance on sexual harassment and harassment at work and employer 8-step guide to reflect this change.

The Act makes sexual harassment a new category of protected disclosure under the statutory whistleblowing regime. An employee who makes a protected disclosure relating to sexual harassment is protected from detriment and dismissal where the reason (or principal reason) for it is their protected disclosure. 

The aim is to encourage workers to speak up about sexual harassment using whistleblower reporting channels, and to make clear to employers that workers who make protected disclosures about sexual harassment must be treated fairly. 

This change took effect on 6 April 2026.
 

The Act will render confidentiality clauses void where they prevent a worker from making an allegation or disclosing information relating to (a) workplace harassment or discrimination, or (b) their employer’s response to workplace harassment or discrimination or the making of an allegation or disclosure about workplace harassment or discrimination. The prohibition will apply to discrimination and harassment by a worker’s employer and by their colleagues and be broad enough to cover settlement agreements and contracts of employment.  Confidentiality clauses in an ‘excepted agreement’ will be excluded.  

On 15 April 2026, the Government published a consultation on regulations to prevent the misuse of NDAs in cases of workplace harassment or discrimination. The consultation proposes that, in order to qualify as an “excepted agreement”, a worker must receive independent advice on the fact, terms and limitations of the advice, initiate the request for an NDA and confirm in writing that they wish to enter into the agreement after receiving that advice, be provided with a written copy; the consultation also proposes a mandatory cooling off period, limits NDAs to past (and not future) conduct, and explores time limits on confidentiality. Even an excepted agreement will not prevent certain “permitted disclosures”, such as to regulators, lawyers, law enforcement, victim support services or close family, and the definition of NDAs is broad, covering non disclosure, non derogatory and non disparagement clauses. Existing agreements will not be affected retrospectively, but employers are encouraged to audit current documentation and prepare for substantial drafting and process changes.

The NDA reforms are expected to take effect in September 2027.
 

Employers with 250 or more employees will be required under future regulations to develop and publish an equality action plan on steps they are taking to (i) address the gender pay gap, and (ii) support employees going through the menopause. The regulations may make provision about how frequently the plan should be updated and the form and manner in which it must be published. 

The Government is encouraging employers to publish their equality action plans in April 2026 on a voluntary basis, before there is a legal obligation for private companies to publish the equality action plans from April 2027 (for public companies this will apply from March 2027). On 4 March 2026 the Government published guidance to assist employers develop and publish their action plans - Creating an action plan: guidance for employers.

The Government had previously indicated that a draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill would be published in the current parliamentary session. On 28 January 2026, the Equalities Minister confirmed that there was no date for implementation of the Bill, and it was not included in the King's Speech in May 2026.

In March 2026, the Government published its response to the consultation on mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting, confirming that it intends to introduce legislation and expects the system to be in place and operational by 2029.  The proposals are similar to the gender pay gap reporting regime, requiring large employers (those with 250 or more employees) to report the difference in mean and median hourly pay and bonus and quarter information for employees in the respective groups. For further information, see our Legal Update, UK Government confirms mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers. 

On 29 October 2026, the Government published the response to its call for evidence on equality law, which closed in June 2025. The response states that the call for evidence demonstrated the need for comprehensive reform of the equal pay framework and referred to the related consultation, launched on14 July 2026 on reforming equal pay and pay discrimination. The consultation – which closed on 27 October 2026 - considers a two-phase reform of the UK's equal pay framework.   Phase 1 proposes measures to fix the system, including statutory pay transparency requirements in job adverts, reduced exceptions to mandatory equal pay audits, mandatory job evaluation schemes, reinstatement of a standard questionnaire in pay discrimination disputes, and the creation of a new Equal Pay Regulatory and Enforcement Unit.  Phase 2 proposes levelling-up protections against pay discrimination on the grounds of race and disability to the sex-based equal pay scheme alongside a new duty on employers and outsourcing chains to take reasonable steps to uphold pay equality in contractual arrangements. For further information, see our Legal Update Government Consultation on Equal Pay and Discrimination Reform.

The Act will strengthen the right to request flexible working by providing that a request may only be refused where one or more of the statutory grounds for refusal (e.g. the burden of additional costs and planned structural changes) apply and it is reasonable for the employer to refuse the request on that ground or grounds.  

The Act will also require an employer, before rejecting a request, to follow a consultation process to be specified in regulations and explain to the employee why their decision is reasonable. 

The aim behind these changes is to support access to flexible working, ensuring that employers accept reasonable and feasible requests. 

Under the existing framework employers are obliged to consult with an employee and hold a meeting and communicate the outcome and appeal within a 2-month period from the date of the request. However, the current framework does not specify what should be discussed at the meeting.

On 5 February 2026, the Government published a consultation, Make Work Pay: consultation on improving access to flexible working, exploring changes to the statutory right to request process and what should be discussed during the meeting to discuss the request. This includes a requirement that the decision-maker must clarify whether the employee would like their request to be considered as a reasonable adjustment, that a meeting note must be kept, that alternatives should be considered at the meeting, that challenges should be discussed and there will be rules relating to the content of the outcome letter.

On 15 September 2026, the Government published its response to the consultation which confirmed that it will proceed with reforms to strengthen the statutory right to request. The key changes are the introduction of a mandatory consultation process that employers must follow before rejecting a request and the introduction of the new reasonableness test, meaning employers will only be able to refuse a request where it is reasonable to do so. Before rejecting a request, employers will be required to meet with the employee to discuss the feasibility of the proposed arrangement, consider ways to overcome any difficulties and, where necessary, explore alternative forms of flexibility with a view to reaching agreement. The Government sees the use of trial periods, temporary arrangements and review points as examples of good practice that can help employers and employees test flexibility in practice, although these will not be mandatory requirements.  

The response also notes concerns raised about the interaction between flexible working requests and the new restrictions on dismissal and re-engagement (fire and rehire) and says that guidance will be provided to employers on setting timeframes for flexible working arrangements. In addition, Acas will consult on an updated flexible working Code of Practice which will provide statutory guidance on the reforms.

On 1 October 2026, Acas published a draft revised statutory Code of Practice on requests for flexible working together with a consultation in anticipation of the changes to the statutory flexible working regime. The consultation closes on 17 December 2026. 

The changes to flexible working are due to take effect in October 2027.

The Act removes the previous three-day waiting period for SSP which means that an employee is now eligible to be paid from the first day of sickness absence. 

The aim behind the changes in relation to SSP is to support all employees to take the time off they need to recover by providing better financial security, while also limiting the costs to businesses and reducing the spread of infectious diseases. 

This change took  place on 6 April 2026.
 

The Act removes the lower earnings limit (currently £129 per week) as a condition of eligibility for SSP. A new rate of SSP set at the lower of 80% of average weekly earnings or the flat rate (£123.25) has been introduced. 

The rate was set at 80% following the Government’s response to its consultation on strengthening statutory sick pay which sought views on what the percentage rate should be for those earning up to the flat rate of SSP.

This change took place on 6 April 2026. 
 

The Act provides for the regulation of umbrella companies by expanding the legal definition of “employment business” within the existing legal and regulatory framework for employment businesses and employment agencies to include umbrella companies. This follows the Government’s response to the previous Government’s consultation on tackling non-compliance in the umbrella company market, and aims to ensure that workers engaged by umbrella companies enjoy the same rights and protections as those engaged by employment businesses.

On 6 February 2026, the Government published a consultation, Make Work Pay: Modernising the Agency Work Regulatory Framework, to bring umbrella companies into scope of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003. The consultation closed on 1 May 2026 and the Government is analysing the feedback. 

The consultation sought views on (i) strengthening security for agency workers, (ii) providing greater transparency regarding information on pay, contracts, and employment rights, (iii) empowering workers with greater choice in how they are engaged and paid, and (iv) updating regulations to reflect current working practices.

The measures to regulate umbrella companies are due to take effect in December 2027. Separate tax liability changes affecting umbrella companies came into force in April 2026.

Employers will be required to keep adequate records of compliance with holiday entitlement and holiday pay for six years.
The records should demonstrate that the employer has complied with their obligations under the Working Time Regulations 1998 to provide 5.6 weeks’ leave, the payment for the leave and records of any payment in lieu of leave on termination. This new record keeping requirement will eventually be enforced by the Fair Work Agency. Failure to comply will be a criminal offence punishable by a fine.  

The duty to keep holiday records came into force on 6 April 2026.

On 30 June 2026, the Government launched a consultation on holiday pay compliance and enforcement. The consultation closed on 22 September 2026 and the Government is analysing the feedback. It sought views on the Fair Work Agency’s proposed enforcement approach, key design features and the guidance and support needed to help employers comply. The consultation considered enforcement of statutory holiday pay in future and does not alter the record-keeping duty that took effect on 6 April 2026.
 

The Act increases the time limit for bringing most employment related claims from three months to six months.  Draft regulations, The Employment Tribunal (Extension of Time Limits) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2026, have been published to implement this change. 

The aim behind this change is to reduce pressure on the employment tribunal system, by allowing parties more time to try to resolve their differences before resorting to formal litigation. 

The extended time limit will only apply where the act or failure to act complained of occurs on or after 1 October 2026; an act occurring before that date remains subject to the existing three-month time limit.
 

Under the Act, the Fair Work Agency (FWA) brings together existing state enforcement functions and take on enforcement of a wider range of employment rights. 

The Act gives the FWA powers to investigate and take action against businesses that do not comply with employment law. These will include powers to inspect workplaces and require employers to produce relevant documents and evidence to demonstrate compliance, issue notices of underpayment to employers who have underpaid their workers, and to bring proceedings in the employment tribunals on a worker’s behalf. 

The aim is to improve the current system of state enforcement which the Government considers to be fragmented and inefficient, and to provide for strong enforcement powers in respect of a wider range of employment rights (including holiday pay and statutory sick pay) so that action can be taken in relation to breaches and to level the playing field for compliant businesses. However, in the initial period of operating, holiday pay and SSP is not included in its remit. 
The establishment of the Fair Work Agency took place on 7 April 2026.

The Government’s consultation on holiday pay compliance and enforcement confirms that the Fair Work Agency is intended to enforce statutory holiday pay in 2027. The detailed compliance and enforcement model remains subject to consultation and further implementation measures.
 

The Act will reinstate and strengthen the Code of Practice on Workforce Matters in Public Sector Service Contracts (known as the ‘two-tier Code’) through Regulations and a statutory code of practice (yet to be published). The two-tier Code will apply to procurements where transferred public sector and private sector employees will be working together to deliver an outsourced public sector services contract. It empowers an appropriate authority (which includes a Minister of the Crown and the Scottish Ministers) to specify a contractual provision to be included in public sector services contracts to ensure that private sector workers are treated no less favourably than public sector workers (and vice versa) in that situation. The contracting authority will then be required to take all reasonable steps to ensure (i) that that provision is included in the contract, and (ii) where it is included, that it is complied with. 

The aim is to prevent the emergence of a two-tier workforce where private sector employees working on an outsourced public sector services contract have worse terms and conditions than those working on it from the public sector by reinstating the two-tier Code which applied between 2005 and 2010 when it was withdrawn.

The two-tier Code was due to come into force in October 2026 although has been removed from the Government’s updated timeline and so the timing of this change is currently unclear.
 

The Government’s Call for Evidence on Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, published on 8 April 2026, aims to assess how TUPE operates in practice and gather evidence to inform possible reforms. The Government is committed to strengthening the rights and protections of workers who are subject to the TUPE regulations. The Call for Evidence contains a list of questions including whether the current employee protections under TUPE strike the right balance, the process of a TUPE transfer, the rules around variations to terms and conditions, and the adequacy of Government and Acas guidance. The call for evidence closed on 1 July 2026.

On 8 July 2026 the Government launched a consultation on Workplace Monitoring Technologies. It considers options to improve clarity, transparency, worker voice and wider industrial relations where technology is used to monitor, manage or make decisions about workers. The consultation closed on 30 September 2026. This is a Make Work Pay policy development rather than a provision already contained in the Employment Rights Act 2025.

On 14 October 2026, the Government launched a consultation on employment status reform and protections for the self-employed. It includes proposals to modify the current ‘limb (b) worker’ test to limit the emphasis on personal service and increase the importance of control and to change the burden of proof for establishing worker status before an employment tribunal. The consultation closes on 8 January 2027. This is a Make Work Pay policy development rather than a provision already contained in the Employment Rights Act 2025.