Work in Progress: The Employment Rights Bill’s Path Forward

By Guest Writer | December 1, 2025 | Other

The Employment Rights Bill (“ERB”) was introduced to Parliament on 10th October 2024 as part of the Labour government’s “Plan to Make Work Pay”. It represents one of the most significant overhauls of UK employment law in decades. So, just over 12 months on, where are we now?

The Original Proposals

It may be helpful to start at the beginning. When first introduced, the proposed changes were sweeping; while many points remain, others have since been watered down. To begin with, the Employment Rights Bill originally proposed, among other things:

• Unfair Dismissal. Becoming a day-one right, subject to a statutory probationary period (originally suggested as nine months).
• Statutory Leave. Paternity, parental, and unpaid bereavement leave as day-one rights.
• Sick Pay. Statutory sick pay would be available from the first sick day, with the lower earnings limit removed and a new lower rate for low earners introduced.
• Fire and Rehire. Restrictions making it automatically unfair to dismiss employees for refusing to agree to a change in their contract of employment.
• Sexual Harassment. Employers required to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent harassment, strengthening the Equality Act changes effective from October 2024.
• Third Party Harassment. Employers also under a duty to prevent third-party harassment of their employees in respect of all protected characteristics.
• Flexible Working. Requests could only be refused on statutory grounds and where refusal was reasonable.
• Zero Hours Contracts. Employers required to offer guaranteed-hours contracts and give reasonable notice of changes or cancellations.

Amendments and Progress

Some amendments to the initial ERB proposals were made in March following a period of government consultation. For example, the zero-hours contract provisions were expanded to include agency workers in certain circumstances, and interim relief was confirmed as not being available for fire-and-rehire related unfair dismissals.

Following this round of amendments, the ERB passed through Parliament and progressed to the House of Lords in April; the next stage in a “bill” becoming an “act” (or a “law”). Several subsequent government amendments to the original ERB were approved by the Lords, most significantly the government’s rollback from all fire and rehire dismissals being automatically unfair to only dismissals where the employer sought to change key contractual terms (such as pay, pensions, working hours, time off, or to introduce unilateral variation clauses on those matters) being automatically unfair. In addition, several non-government amendments were introduced. These included:

• Retaining a six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims, effectively blocking the government’s proposal to make this a day-one right.
• Introducing new regulations to strengthen whistleblower protections, including a duty on employers to investigate protected disclosures.
• Expanding the right to be accompanied at disciplinary and grievance hearings to include a ‘certified professional companion’.

Current Position

So, where do things stand now? As is often the case with government-led reform, the answer is far from straightforward. The ERB is currently caught in a legislative “ping pong” between the House of Commons and the House of Lords. After the Commons rejected most of the Lords’ amendments, the Lords responded by reinstating many of them (most notably, the proposal to retain a six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims). It’s not complete gridlock, though.

On 23rd October 2025, the Department for Business and Trade launched a consultation on parts of the Bill and confirmed an implementation roadmap for key reforms:

• April 2026 – Day-one rights for paternity and parental leave; removal of waiting period and lower earnings limit for statutory sick pay.
• October 2026 – Restrictions on fire-and-rehire and enhanced harassment protections.
• During 2027 – Removal of qualifying period for unfair dismissal (with statutory probationary period), plus changes to flexible working, bereavement leave, and redundancy consultation thresholds.

What Employers Should Do

Uncertainty around timing and scope can create anxiety, but proactive planning is essential. Employers should act now: review existing policies, assess contractual flexibility, and start preparing for compliance with upcoming changes to leave entitlements, dismissal rights, and related obligations. Early action will help reduce risk and ensure a smooth transition when reforms take effect.

If you’d like tailored advice on preparing for these changes, please visit: www.fsp-law.com/employment or contact Head of Employment at Field Seymour Parkes Solicitors, Katie Burley, at katie.burley@fsp.com.

As TrustID is now part of the Citation Group, all TrustID customers have access to the Citation Advice Line. If you have any questions about the Employment Rights Bill or how the proposed reforms may affect your business, Citation’s free commercial advice line can provide practical support and guidance. Please get in touch to find out more.

This is a guest blog written by Field Seymour Parkes Solicitors.