Employment Rights Act 2025: what has changed and what is still coming
7 minute read · 2026-10-08
The Employment Rights Act 2025 became law in December 2025, but it does not all start at once. As at 8 October 2026, statutory sick pay from the first day of sickness, day one paternity and unpaid parental leave, the Fair Work Agency and a six month time limit for most tribunal claims are already in force. The big changes to unfair dismissal and fire and rehire are due in January 2027, and the new rights for zero hours workers do not yet have a date. Here is the detail, taken from the government's published timeline (last updated 25 September 2026).
Already in force
| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| 18 February 2026 | Most of the Trade Union Act 2016 repealed; stronger protection against dismissal for taking part in lawful industrial action. |
| 6 April 2026 | Statutory sick pay from the first day of sickness, with the lower earnings limit removed. Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave from day one of the job. Reporting sexual harassment expressly protected as whistleblowing. Longer protective awards in collective redundancies. |
| 7 April 2026 | The Fair Work Agency set up, bringing together minimum wage enforcement, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. |
| 1 October 2026 | Time limit for most employment tribunal claims raised from three months to six (for breach of contract claims in Scotland, 9 November 2026). |
Sick pay in practice
Statutory sick pay is now £123.25 a week or 80% of your normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower, paid from the first day you are off, for up to 28 weeks (GOV.UK). Before April 2026 the first three days were unpaid, and people earning under the lower earnings limit got nothing. Part time and low paid workers gain the most.
Tribunal time limits in practice
The longer limit applies where the thing you are complaining about happened on or after 1 October 2026. Something that happened before then is usually still on the old three month clock. We explain how to count it in tribunal time limits and early conciliation.
Still to come, with the dates published so far
| When | What is planned |
|---|---|
| 30 October 2026 | Stronger duties on employers to prevent harassment, including harassment by third parties such as customers. New trade union access rights. |
| End of 2026 | Tipping law strengthened. |
| January 2027 | Unfair dismissal qualifying period cut from two years to six months, for dismissals from 1 January 2027, and the cap on the compensatory award removed. Restrictions on fire and rehire. A duty to tell workers of their right to join a trade union. |
| 2027 (dates to be confirmed) | Flexible working refusals must be reasonable. Bereavement leave, including for pregnancy loss. Stronger protection for pregnant workers. Mandatory gender equality and menopause action plans for large employers. Limits on non disclosure agreements. |
| No date yet | Guaranteed hours, reasonable notice of shifts and pay for cancelled shifts, for zero and low hours workers. The government says timings will be updated after consultation. |
The Fair Work Agency will also take on enforcement of statutory holiday pay, but GOV.UK says that will not start before April 2027.
What has not changed (yet)
- Unfair dismissal still needs two years' service for most dismissals before 1 January 2027. Some reasons, such as whistleblowing or asserting a statutory right, never needed any.
- Zero hours contracts are still lawful. The ban on exclusivity clauses (since 2015) is the main protection today. See zero hours contracts: your rights now.
- Fire and rehire is restricted by a code of practice, not yet by the new law. See fire and rehire.
- Flexible working has been a day one right to request since April 2024, but the stronger "reasonableness" test is still to come. See flexible working requests.
Where this applies
Employment law is largely devolved in Northern Ireland, which has its own legislation, its own tribunals and the Labour Relations Agency instead of ACAS. Most of the Act applies in England, Wales and Scotland only. A few parts reach Northern Ireland, including sick pay changes. If you work in Northern Ireland, check with the Labour Relations Agency before relying on a change described here.
What to do next
- Read the Act itself on legislation.gov.uk. Each section shows whether it is in force.
- Check your own paperwork against today's rights: reading the small print and what the words mean.
- See how we write our own documents: our paperwork.
- Off sick and not paid from day one? Ask your employer in writing why. If you still disagree, HMRC can make a formal decision on statutory sick pay (GOV.UK). For other missing pay, see unlawful deductions from wages.
This is general information, not legal advice. For your own situation, ACAS (0300 123 1100) is free.
Every contract we would ask anybody to sign is published in full before they sign it: our paperwork. And for the words in any contract, ours or anybody else's: reading the small print and what the words mean.
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