Employment Rights Act 2025: What's Changing for UK Employers

The Employment Rights Act 2025 is not a single change with one effective date — it is a staged programme of reforms rolling out over roughly two years, with different provisions taking effect at different points through 2026 and into 2027. That staged structure is itself the main thing UK employers need to understand: there is no single "go live" date to prepare for and then move on from. Compliance here means an ongoing calendar, not a one-off review.

What is already in force

As of September 2026, several provisions are already live. From December 2025 and February 2026, changes to industrial action rules took effect, including automatic unfair dismissal protection for employees taking part in lawfully organised industrial action, a shorter notice period for action, and simplified trade union ballot and recognition rules. From April 2026, statutory sick pay became payable from the first day of sickness absence rather than the fourth, with the lower earnings limit removed, and paternity leave and unpaid parental leave both became available from an employee’s first day, rather than requiring a minimum length of service. Holiday records must now be kept for a minimum of six years. Sexual harassment reports also became capable of qualifying as a protected disclosure under whistleblowing law from that point, which is relevant to how employers handle related complaints — see our guide on handling whistleblowing disclosures for how that process should work in practice.

What is coming later in 2026

Further changes are due around 1 October 2026: the time limit for bringing most employment tribunal claims is set to increase from three months to six, giving employees substantially longer to bring a claim after the event complained of. Around the same point, the duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment strengthens from taking "reasonable steps" to taking "all reasonable steps," with employers becoming liable for harassment of their staff by third parties — customers, clients, contractors — unless they can show they took reasonable preventative measures. Trade unions are also gaining expanded workplace access and facility rights around this time.

What is due in 2027

The largest structural changes land from 1 January 2027: unfair dismissal becomes a day-one right, available after six months’ service rather than the current two years, the compensation cap for unfair dismissal is removed, and dismissing and re-engaging staff on worse terms ("fire and rehire") becomes automatically unfair in most circumstances. Through 2027, zero-hours and low-hours workers gain rights to guaranteed hours reflecting the hours they actually work and compensation for shifts cancelled at short notice, statutory bereavement leave is introduced, and gender pay gap and menopause equality action plans — voluntary from April 2026 — become mandatory for large employers, a topic covered in more detail in our guide to gender pay gap reporting and action planning.

Because implementation dates have already shifted once since the Act received Royal Assent, employers should treat any date in this timetable as the current best confirmation rather than fixed permanently, and check Acas or gov.uk guidance again as each milestone approaches.

Why a rolling compliance calendar beats a one-off review

The temptation with a piece of legislation this size is to do one large review, update the handbook, brief managers, and consider it done. That approach works for a single change with one effective date. It does not work here, because provisions are landing on a rolling basis over roughly two years, several of them require operational changes — not just policy wording — well before they take effect, and guidance from Acas and the government continues to be published and updated as each stage approaches.

A rolling calendar means assigning each upcoming milestone an owner and a lead time, rather than waiting for the effective date to arrive. The tribunal time limit change and the strengthened harassment duty, for instance, both benefit from action well before October 2026 — reviewing harassment policies and third-party risk now leaves time to actually change practice, not just paperwork, before the duty tightens.

Practical steps for HR and people teams

Build a simple tracker mapped against the dates above, with an owner for each item and a lead time built in, since most of these changes need operational, not just policy, preparation. Prioritise the harassment duty and third-party liability changes ahead of October 2026, since risk assessment and preventative measures take longer to put in place than a policy rewrite. Start scoping the day-one unfair dismissal right now, even though it does not land until January 2027, because probation and performance management processes for new starters may need to change well before then. And treat equality action plans as an opportunity to get ahead of a 2027 mandatory requirement while they are still voluntary, rather than scrambling once they become compulsory.

Structured, dated CPD is one of the most efficient ways to keep a people team current as each stage of the Act takes effect — see our CPD courses for options covering UK employment law updates.

FAQ

Is the Employment Rights Act 2025 fully in force yet?

No. As of September 2026, several provisions are in force — including changes to industrial action rules, statutory sick pay, and day-one paternity and parental leave rights — but major changes, including the day-one right to claim unfair dismissal and mandatory equality action plans, are not due until 2027.

When does unfair dismissal become a day-one right?

Current guidance points to 1 January 2027 for unfair dismissal to become available after six months’ service rather than the current two years, alongside removal of the compensation cap. Confirm the date against current Acas or gov.uk guidance as it approaches, since implementation dates in this Act have shifted before.

What should employers prioritise first?

The changes with the shortest remaining lead time and the biggest operational impact — currently the tribunal time-limit extension and the strengthened sexual harassment duty, both expected around October 2026.

Do these changes apply to Northern Ireland and Scotland the same way?

Employment law is largely reserved in Scotland but devolved in Northern Ireland, which has its own separate framework. Employers operating across the UK should check jurisdiction-specific guidance rather than assume the Act’s provisions apply identically everywhere.