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The Employment Rights Act 2025 In December the Government passed new legislation which promised to have a fundamental impact on workers rights at work. When does this change? Changes are being phased in over the course of 2026 and 2027, with the first changes taking place in April. What is changing? The key changes this April are: Statutory sick pay will be payable from the first day of absence (prior to April it is payable from the fourth day of absence), and there will be no minimum earnings threshold; Employees with less than 26 weeks service will be eligible for statutory paternity leave and pay, ordinary and unpaid parental leave; Changes to the entitlement under unpaid bereaved partner paternity leave; Sexual harassment becomes a qualifying disclosure under whistleblowing law; Simplified rules regarding the recognition of trade unions within the workplace (a code of practice on this is expected in the Autumn); Employers are encouraged to voluntarily produce an action plan to support menopause and gender in the workplace. In 2027 this will become a legal requirement for businesses which employ more than 250 staff.
Further changes are expected in August, October and December 2026, including: Changes to the operation of trade unions, and additional protection against dismissal for staff who take strike action; Enhanced protection to employees against harassment at work, including by third parties. Whereas currently the legislation states that employers must take “reasonable steps” against harassment, from October, employers must take “all reasonable steps” against harassment. A small word represents a significant shift in employers’ responsibility; Employers in hospitality will need to update their policy on tipping at least every 3 years, and should consult with their employees during this process; The time limit to take a case to an employment tribunal will increase from 3 months to six months.
From 1 January 2027 additional changes will take place, including: The length of service an employee must have before they can take their employer to an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal will decrease from 2 years to six months. NB, discrimination claims remain a day one entitlement; Limits on the compensatory awards that a tribunal can make will be removed, meaning that costs awarded may increase on a case-by-case basis; Limits will be introduced on the circumstances by which an employer can engage in “fire and re-hire” processes; We expect that during 2026 further details will be announced about additional changes planned during 2027 to include enhancements to pregnancy and maternity rights, bereavement leave, guaranteed hours for those on zero hour contracts, notice to change shifts, flexible working, changes to umberella companies, trade union rights and other changes - we are still waiting for details on these potential changes.
What should I do to prepare for these new laws? In advance of the changes in April, review and, where necessary, update your Sickness Absence, Paternity Leave and Whistleblowing procedures and other documents such as template contract of employment to ensure that they are consistent with the legal updates; Those of you on my retainer contract don’t need to update your docs as I’ll do this for you - I’ll send you your updated docs in March before the changes take effect; Ensure that you are managing sickness and attendance issues proactively - see the box below for some guidance and resource on this! In readiness for the 2027 changes ensure that you have in place solid recruitment, induction and probation procedures - more on this in my next newsletter.
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