Employment Rights Act 2025
Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025
The Employment Rights Act received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025. The changes introduced by the legislation are being implemented gradually over a two year period in accordance with the Government’s Timeline.
Among some of the most significant changes, the Act will reduce the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal claims from two years to six months, remove the cap on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal, broaden the right to statutory sick pay and ban fire and rehire processes in most circumstances.
It will be essential for businesses to understand, plan for and implement these significant changes during 2026. CMS’ UK Employment team has produced numerous materials to help employers understand the nature and impact of the reform on their business operations and to support them with starting to prepare for the changes.
Employment Rights Act tracker
The Employment Rights Act has finally received Royal Assent after an extended parliamentary process and having been subject to extensive debate. The key changes for employers to be aware of are outlined in this tracker.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 webinar series
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Further information:
For further information about how the changes are likely to impact on your business and the ways in which we can help you to prepare, please get in touch via your usual CMS Employment team contact or CMSEmployment.Team@cms-cmno.com.
