Know exactly which Employment Rights Act changes hit your business, and when
The Act phases in from 2026 to 2027. Tell us your headcount and the contracts you use, and get a dated timeline of what changes for you, what to do before each date, and which parts are still being finalised.
Dates accurate as at 12 July 2026. Confirmed dates and indicative 2027 items are marked separately below.
The rollout, as a dated changelog
Every measure by date · IN FORCE / CONFIRMED / AWAITING REGULATIONSRoyal Assent
The Employment Rights Act 2025 passed into law.
- Act passed. The Bill received Royal Assent and became the Employment Rights Act 2025.
- Minimum service levels for strikes removed. The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 was repealed.
Trade unions and industrial action
The first commencement wave, focused on collective rights.
- Protection from dismissal for taking industrial action.
- Most of the Trade Union Act 2016 repealed: strike notice cut to 10 days, mandates last 12 months, the picket supervisor requirement removed, and the ballot support threshold removed.
The main April tranche
The largest single wave of day-one and payroll changes. This is the tranche most employers feel first.
- Statutory Sick Pay from day one, no earnings floor. The three waiting days are gone and the Lower Earnings Limit no longer applies, extending SSP to the lowest-paid staff.
- Day-one paternity leave and day-one unpaid parental leave. The old service qualifying periods for these leaves are removed.
- Bereaved partner’s paternity leave. A new entitlement for bereaved partners.
- Collective redundancy protective award doubled from 90 to 180 days’ pay.
- Whistleblowing covers sexual harassment. A disclosure about sexual harassment becomes a qualifying protected disclosure.
- Gender pay gap and menopause action plans permitted on a voluntary basis (mandatory version to follow, see 2027).
- Simplified trade union recognition and holiday records kept for six years.
Fair Work Agency established
A single enforcement body is stood up, with its powers phased in by regulations.
- The Fair Work Agency exists as the new single labour-market enforcement body.
Electronic and workplace balloting
e-voting for industrial and recognition ballots, within a confirmed 2026 window.
- Electronic and workplace balloting for union ballots. Exact timing and detail follow via regulations.
Tribunals and harassment
Two changes that touch every employer.
- Tribunal time limits extended from three to six months for most claims.
- Third-party harassment liability reinstated and the duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment strengthened. You can be liable for harassment of your staff by customers or suppliers.
Unfair dismissal and fire-and-rehire
The headline dismissal changes. Note the correction: this is a six-month qualifying period, not a day-one right.
- Unfair dismissal qualifying period cut from two years to six months. The day-one proposal was defeated in the Lords and abandoned. Anyone hired by roughly 1 July 2026 has six months’ service on this date.
- Cap on the unfair dismissal compensatory award removed.
- Fire and rehire largely ends. Dismissal to force through restricted contract variations (pay, pensions, hours, holiday) becomes automatically unfair. The July 2025 roadmap first indicated October 2026; the revised timeline moved it to 1 January 2027.
Indicative for 2027, detail still landing
The government has named 2027 for these, but the precise dates and detail depend on further regulations and consultation. Prepare, but treat the dates as movable.
- Ban on exploitative zero-hours contracts: a duty to offer guaranteed hours to zero-hours and qualifying low-hours workers, based on hours worked in a reference period. Consultation closes 25 August 2026; the government preference is an 8 to 20 hours-a-week threshold and a 12-week reference period.
- Reasonable notice of shifts and payment for shifts changed or cancelled at short notice; protections extended to agency workers.
- Gender pay gap and menopause action plans become mandatory for larger employers, threshold to be set.
- Day-one bereavement leave, stronger pregnancy and maternity dismissal protection, a duty to give reasonable grounds when refusing flexible working, restrictions on NDAs that silence harassment complaints, and extended blacklisting protections.
Which changes actually apply to you?
Answer two questions. We filter the whole rollout to the measures that touch your headcount and your contract mix, with the dates and the top actions. It runs in your browser, and it highlights the relevant nodes on the timeline above.
From a general timeline to your action list.
Tell us your shape
Your headcount band, the contract types you use, and whether you recognise a union. No account, no long form.
We filter the rollout
Every measure is matched against your inputs, so you see only what touches you, on the exact date it lands, with confirmed and indicative items marked apart.
Get the dated PDF
A printable action timeline: what is already in force, what is coming and when, and one to three concrete actions to take before each date.
Your Employment Rights Act 2025 action timeline.
A dated, personalised PDF, generated the moment you pay, designed to be printed and handed to an owner or office manager. Every date in it is absolute, never "next April".
What is already in force for you
The April 2026 tranche filtered to your inputs, each with the exact date it took effect and the one action to confirm you are compliant now.
Your dated timeline of what is coming
A vertical list from today forward showing only the measures that touch your contract mix and headcount, each as a dated entry.
Actions to take before each date
One to three concrete, sequenced actions per entry, written from your inputs, for example a 12-week hours log if you use zero-hours staff.
Contract and policy changes
A checklist mapped to your inputs: contract clauses, sickness-absence, family-leave and anti-harassment policies, and action-plan duties where they apply.
Confirmed vs awaiting regulations
An honest split so you know which of your items are locked and which are indicative for 2027 and can still move.
Sources and an "as at" date
Every date cited to legislation.gov.uk, gov.uk and Acas, with a clear freshness stamp and a note to re-check indicative dates.
Build my dated action timeline
Same questions as the free checker, plus your email so we can send the PDF. One payment, no subscription.
The questions employers actually ask
Is unfair dismissal becoming a day-one right?
No. This is the single biggest misconception. The day-one proposal was defeated in the House of Lords and abandoned. From 1 January 2027 the qualifying period drops from two years to six months. Competitors' older pages still say "day one"; getting this right matters because your process changes with it.
Does the six-month unfair dismissal change apply to staff I hired this year?
Yes, once they reach six months' service. Because the change lands on 1 January 2027, anyone hired on or before roughly 1 July 2026 will already have six months' service on that date. Contractual probation periods are legally separate and do not delay statutory rights.
I use zero-hours contracts. Do I have to offer guaranteed hours, and when?
The duty to offer guaranteed hours to zero-hours and qualifying low-hours workers is expected in 2027, but it is indicative, not fixed. The detail is under consultation, closing 25 August 2026. The government's stated preference is a low-hours threshold of 8 to 20 hours a week and a 12-week reference period. Start a rolling 12-week log of hours worked per worker now so you can calculate any offer once the figures are set.
What is the reference period for guaranteed hours, and has it been decided?
Not yet. The government's preference is a 12-week reference period, but that and the low-hours threshold are subject to the consultation that closes 25 August 2026. Treat any figure as indicative until the regulations land.
Did Statutory Sick Pay really change, and from when?
Yes. Since 6 April 2026, SSP is payable from the first day of illness (the three waiting days are removed) and the Lower Earnings Limit no longer applies, so the lowest-paid staff now qualify. Confirm your payroll reflects both.
What do I have to do about harassment by customers or suppliers?
From 1 October 2026 you can be liable for harassment of your staff by third parties such as customers, clients or suppliers, and the duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment is strengthened. Put an anti-harassment policy and a documented reasonable-steps record in place before that date.
Does my probation period still protect me from unfair dismissal claims?
A contractual probation period is separate from statutory employment rights and does not delay the six-month qualifying period. Review your probation and performance process so fair-dismissal decisions for under-six-month staff are documented before 1 January 2027, not after.
Which changes are confirmed and which could still move?
The April 2026 tranche is in force. Tribunal time limits and third-party harassment (1 October 2026) and the six-month unfair dismissal period, uncapped awards and the end of fire and rehire (1 January 2027) are confirmed. The guaranteed-hours regime and mandatory action plans are indicative for 2027 and depend on further regulations and consultation. Your report marks each item accordingly.
Do small businesses get an exemption?
Generally no. Most measures apply regardless of size. Where headcount matters, it is about thresholds rather than exemptions, for example the mandatory action plans that are aimed at larger employers. The checker and report flag where your headcount band changes what applies.
When exactly does each change take effect?
The full dated list is the timeline above, and the master index is in the timeline guide. Confirmed dates are shown as confirmed; indicative 2027 items are labelled as awaiting regulations.