| I have previously reported some details of the Employment Rights Bill, which is going to have a significant impact on employment law. Government consultations will commence this summer and will continue on a staggered basis through until early 2026. This will give you and other stakeholders the chance to comment on proposals.
The anticipated timetable for the new measures to take effect under the Bill (focusing on those that are most relevant to smaller employers) is:
April 2026
- Statutory Sick Pay – removing the Lower Earnings Limit and waiting period
- Making Paternity Leave and unpaid Parental Leave entitlements from the first day of employment (currently an employee needs 26 weeks’ service and one year’s service, respectively)
October 2026
- Restricting the ability for employers to “fire and rehire” (i.e. to make changes en masse to contractual terms)
- Introducing an obligation on employers not to permit the harassment of their staff by third parties (e.g. customers, suppliers, etc.)
- Increasing the time limit to lodge a tribunal claim from 3 to 6 months
2027 (Whether in April or October has not yet been stated)
- Removing the requirement for an employee to have two years’ service to be able to claim unfair dismissal, making it a right from day one of employment (This is the big one!)
- Introducing a legal right to bereavement leave
- Introducing new protections against dismissal for pregnant women, mothers on maternity leave, and mothers who return to work for a six-month period after they return to work
- Introducing the requirement for employers to explain the grounds on which they’ve denied a flexible working request and adding the requirement that a rejection of a request be reasonable
We still await a lot of detail in relation to these changes, particularly with respect to the day one right to unfair dismissal. The Government has indicated that there will be some sort of lighter touch approach during probationary periods of up to 9 months’ service. That is one of the measures that will be part of the consultation process, so we can anticipate that will be firmed up during 2026. |
