The Government has this week published its Roadmap for implementation of the Employment Rights Bill. Perhaps most notable for employers is that the day one right to claim unfair dismissal is not now proposed to come into effect until 2027. Full details of the proposed timeline are set out below, but note that this remains subject to change, and of course we still do not know the final details of how the legislation will look in most cases.
Consultation
The Roadmap commences with consultations on a number of areas, including:
- Giving all employees day one protection from unfair dismissal;
- Fire and rehire protections;
- Rights for pregnant workers;
- Collective redundancy; and
- Trade union protections against detriment for taking industrial action.
The final position on policy will be taken following these consultations, and employers are therefore urged to get involved when appropriate.
Implementation
Whilst the final timeline and content of the changes will be determined following consultation, the Government has also set out its initial proposals for the timeline for implementation, as follows:
At Royal Assent, or soon afterwards
- Repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023
- Repeal of the great majority of the Trade Union Act 2016 (some provisions will be repealed via commencement order at a later date)
- Removing the 10 year ballot requirement for trade union political funds
- Simplifying industrial action notices and industrial action ballot notices
- Protections against dismissal for taking industrial action
April 2026
- Collective redundancy protective award – doubling the maximum period of the protective award
- ‘Day 1’ Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave
- Whistleblowing protections
- Fair Work Agency body established
- Statutory Sick Pay – remove the Lower Earnings Limit and waiting period
- Simplifying trade union recognition process
- Electronic and workplace balloting
October 2026
- Fire and rehire
- Bringing forward regulations to establish the Fair Pay Agreement Adult Social Care Negotiating Body
- Procurement – two-tier code
- Tightening tipping law
- Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union
- Strengthen trade unions’ right of access
- Requiring employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees
- Introducing an obligation on employers not to permit the harassment of their employees by third parties
- New rights and protections for trade union reps
- Employment tribunal time limits
- Extending protections against detriments for taking industrial action
2027
- Gender pay gap and menopause action plans (introduced on a voluntary basis in April 2026)
- Rights for pregnant workers
- Introducing a power to enable regulations to specify steps that are to be regarded as “reasonable”, to determine whether an employer has taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment
- Blacklisting
- Industrial relations framework
- Regulation of umbrella companies
- Collective redundancy – collective consultation threshold
- Flexible working
- Bereavement leave
- Ending the exploitative use of zero hours contracts and applying zero hours contracts measures to agency workers
- ‘Day 1’ right – protection from unfair dismissal
As ever, it remains the case that employers need to ‘watch this space’, and when we know further details, we will of course update you.
Contact details
Gemma.Sherbourne@tyrlaw.co.uk +44 (0)7535 652758 +44 (0)113 521 7556
