Four consultations published on the Employment Rights Bill

The Government published four consultations on 23 October 2025 seeking views on proposed changes under the Employment Rights Bill (“ERB”) about family friendly and bereavement rights and trade union rights. Once introduced, these changes have the potential to affect all employers and so businesses may consider responding to the consultations in order to help influence and shape them. Further consultations on other aspects of the ERB are expected in the next year.

In this Law-Now, we take a look at the matters under consultation and consider the likely impact for employers. We also provide an update on the legislative progress of the ERB, with more information available on our Employment Rights Bill Hub, alongside an update on ACAS Early Conciliation processes.

Consultation #1 – Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers

The Government has committed to providing enhanced protection against dismissal for pregnant women and new mothers who return to work for six months after maternity leave, except in specific circumstances. Its consultation paper on enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers examines the potential “specific circumstances” under which a lawful dismissal may be possible, while building upon current rights and protections.

Currently it is automatically unfair to dismiss a pregnant woman or select her for redundancy because of her pregnancy or for taking maternity leave. In addition, an enhanced protection applies to pregnant women and new mothers who have the right to be offered any suitable alternative roles available ahead of other employees at risk of redundancy.

Among other things, the consultation seeks views on when a pregnant employee or new mother can be lawfully dismissed, the length of the period of protection, whether the protection should be extended to other new parents (for example, those who have taken another type of statutory leave such as adoption or shared parental) and how to support businesses.

Two key policy options are being considered: (i) introducing a new, stricter fairness test requiring employers to prove both a fair reason for dismissal and another requirement including where it was necessary to avoid “serious harm to the business or other staff”; or (ii) narrowing or removing existing fair dismissal reasons. This may involve limiting a fair reason for conduct dismissals to cases of gross misconduct only, excluding capability or “some other substantial reason” as a potentially fair reason, or restricting redundancy dismissals to situations of pressing need such as a business closure.

The consultation also explores when the new rights should start and end and whether they should be day one rights.

The consultation closes on 15 January 2026.

Employer impact

According to the Government’s Implementation Roadmap, these new rights are anticipated to take effect in 2027. In the run up to that, managers should receive training on the protections afforded to pregnant or new mothers and how this may affect disciplinary, capability or redundancy situations. Policies and procedures may also need to be adapted in due course to reflect the changes.

Consultation #2 – Leave for bereavement including pregnancy loss

Unpaid bereavement leave is proposed for employees from day one of employment, including situations of pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. The Government’s consultation on leave for bereavement including pregnancy loss seeks views on which relationships should qualify for bereavement leave, whether and how pregnancy loss (including failed IVF) should be covered and for whom, the length of leave (one week, two weeks or more), how and when the leave may be taken, notice requirements and any evidence needed to qualify for leave.

The Government is proposing a minimum of one week’s leave that can be taken within 56 days of the loss. The ERB will also provide protection against related detriment and dismissal for those taking bereavement leave.

The consultation closes on 15 January 2026.

Employer impact

This right is not due to come into force until 2027. In advance of that, family leave policies may in due course need to be updated to reflect the extended right to bereavement leave and training provided for managers on the leave entitlement. Although the right is unpaid, employers may also consider enhancing this and offering paid time off.

Consultation #3 – Duty to inform workers of right to join a trade union

The ERB will introduce a new duty on employers to give a written statement to their workers at the start of their employment and at other times, informing them of their right to join a trade union. The Government’s consultation on the duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union seeks views on how this duty should work in practice – in particular, what the statement should say, how it should be delivered, and how often the statement should be reissued after the start of employment. The Government’s preferred approach is to introduce a standard template statement that employers would issue adding only workplace specific details.

The Government has suggested that the following information should be included in the statement:

• A brief overview of the functions of a trade union.
• A summary of the statutory rights in relation to union membership.
• A list of any trade unions that the employer recognises.
• A signpost to a gov.uk page with a list of current trade unions.

The consultation looks at direct or indirect ways of providing the information to new and existing workers such as together with the written statement of employment particulars (direct) or via an employer’s intranet (indirect).  In relation to the frequency of delivery, the Government’s preferred approach is for reminders to be sent annually although the option of sending it every six months and a frequency requirement that is sector-specific are also being considered.

The consultation closes on 18 December 2025.

Employer impact

The new right is due to come into force by October 2026. Responding to the new duty to provide trade union information will largely be an administrative exercise. However, the  requirement for the employer to provide reminders means that it is not a “one and done” task. Processes will need to be put in place to ensure the necessary information is given to new joiners, existing staff and at the prescribed intervals.

Consultation #4 – Right of trade unions to access workplaces

Currently trade unions do not have a general right of access to a workplace. The ERB will introduce a new statutory right for qualifying trade unions to request physical and digital access to any workplace to enable their officials to meet, recruit, organise, represent and support workers and facilitate collective bargaining (although not for industrial action purposes). The Government’s consultation on trade union right of access sets out several specific policy options and practical rules for this new statutory right. The consultation seeks views on the Government’s proposals that, in order to exercise the right of access, trade unions would need to make an access request in writing using a standard template.  The Government also proposes that the request for access must include specific information including the purpose of the requested access.

If agreement around access cannot be reached between the employer and trade union, the ERB provides that one of the parties can request that the Central Arbitration Committee (“CAC”) take a decision on whether access is granted or not. Where access is granted, the CAC will specify the terms on which the union is to have that access, guided by the access principles. The consultation seeks views on the factors that the CAC should consider when making decisions, such as size of employer, whether an employer already recognises another trade union and whether granting the request would require the employer to make significant structural changes to their workplace.

The consultation seeks views on the Government’s various time-based requirements in relation to the response, negotiation and referral to the CAC. The Government proposes the employers would have five working days to respond to a request for access, followed by fifteen working days to negotiate the request, and twenty five days to refer the request to the CAC.

The ERB provides for an enforcement mechanism with financial penalties where statutory access agreements are breached, managed by the CAC. The consultation seeks views on the Government’s proposals for either (1) a maximum fine of £75,000 or (2) a two-stage maximum linked to repeated breaches where a first breach would attract a fine of £75,000 and a higher maximum of £150,000 would apply for repeated breaches.

This consultation closes on 18 December 2025.

Employer impact

The right of access is due to come into force in October 2026. This new right is significant, particularly for employers that do not recognise a union and may not have experience of working with unions. Access can be both physical and digital, although we have still to see the full extent of what digital access will involve. The Government is envisaging that weekly access by a trade union would be considered reasonable. The Government intends to launch a separate consultation on a Code of Practice on Trade Union Right of Access in Spring 2026.

Employers will in due course need to upskill their Legal, HR and Compliance teams on the final trade union access rules and be prepared to respond to an access request within a tight timeframe (potentially as short as five working days). The penalties for getting this wrong are not trivial.

For employers looking to be proactive, you may wish to consider entering voluntary arrangements on trade union access or consider other ways in which to improve worker representation and worker voice.

And finally…

The ERB is still awaiting Royal Assent. At present, it is in the so-called “ping pong” phase, during which the House of Lords and the House of Commons debate specific amendments. The most recent parliamentary session was 17 November 2025, where the House of Lords continued to insist on several amendments. The ERB will now return to the House of Commons. You can stay up to date with the latest developments via our Employment Rights Bill Hub.

The Government has also separately announced changes to the ACAS Early Conciliation process.  The mandatory pre-claim conciliation process requires claimants to notify ACAS of their claims and, if the parties agree, enter into a conciliation period before the individual can file their claim with the Employment Tribunal.  From 1 December 2025, claims notified to ACAS on or after that date will be subject to a maximum 12-week conciliation period, increased from 6 weeks.  This is intended to help deal with a backlog of conciliation notifications received by ACAS.  Whilst it may well assist parties to resolve disputes before formal proceedings are started, in practice it also extends the “stop the clock” time limit provisions for individuals filing their claims. This will in turn extend time periods for claims starting even further, as the formal limitation periods are expected to increase from three to six months, once the ERB is finally enacted.

This article was co-authored by Emily Munro, a trainee solicitor in the CMS UK Employment team.