The latest version of the Employment Rights Bill has been published (which you can access here) and it incorporates several amendments submitted by MPs as part of the Parliament Committee Stage.
We wrote previously about how the majority of the reforms will not take effect before 2026, providing employers the necessary time to plan and prepare for the changes. This is because many of the reforms will require either secondary legislation, new Codes of Practices drafted or consultations to take place first.
However, there are some reforms, that could be ready to be implemented once the Bill gets given Royal Assent, which could be before Parliament’s summer recess. So, we must prepare for these as a priority.
We have summarised in the table below potential time frames and what further steps are required before the reform can be implemented:
| Area of reform | Further consultation / regulation required? | Indication of when |
| Remove the three-day waiting period for Statutory Sick Pay | No | Potential for 2025 – could be as soon as the Bill is given Royal Assent |
| Any refusal by an employer to a flexible working request must be ‘reasonable’ (i.e. not just meet one of the statutory decline reasons) | No | Potential for 2025 – could be as soon as the Bill is given Royal Assent |
| Enhance the current duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment by requiring the employer to take ‘all reasonable steps’ | No | Potential for 2025 – could be as soon as the Bill is given Royal Assent |
| Employers to become liable for third party harassment | No | Potential for 2025 – could be as soon as the Bill is given Royal Assent |
| Widen the scope of what is a public interest disclosure, to include the category of sexual harassment allegations | No | Potential for 2025 – could be as soon as the Bill is given Royal Assent |
| Remove the ‘at one establishment’ test in collective redundancy consultation threshold | No | Potential for 2025 – could be as soon as the Bill is given Royal Assent |
| Introduce a requirement for employers to consult with any recognised trade union about the allocation of tips and gratuities | No | Potential for 2025 – could be as soon as the Bill is given Royal Assent |
| Dismissal for failing to agree a variation of contract to be unlawful | No | Potential for 2025 – could be as soon as the Bill is given Royal Assent |
| Right to a statement of trade union rights | No | Potential for 2025 – could be as soon as the Bill is given Royal Assent |
| The right to paid time off for trade union Equality Representatives | No | Potential for 2025 – could be as soon as the Bill is given Royal Assent |
| Increase Employment Tribunal time limits from three to six months | No | Potential for 2025 – could be as soon as the Bill is given Royal Assent |
| Reform the statutory union recognition procedure | No | Potential for 2025 – could be as soon as the Bill is given Royal Assent |
| Repealing most of the measures in the Trade Union Act 2016 | No | Potential for 2025 – could be as soon as the Bill is given Royal Assent |
| Repeal the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023 (which although became an Act of law in 2024, has never been given a commencement date) | No | Potential for 2025 – could be as soon as the Bill is given Royal Assent |
| Ship operators to notify the Secretary of State of collective redundancies affecting a ship’s crew. | No | Potential for 2025 – could be as soon as the Bill is given Royal Assent |
| Government enforcement of employment rights related to agency workers, sick pay, holiday pay, the NMW Gangmasters licencing and modern slavery | No | Potential for 2025 – could be as soon as the Bill is given Royal Assent |
| The Right to Guaranteed Hours | Yes | Not before 2026 – consultation required |
| Reasonable Notice of Shifts / Cancellation of Shifts / Payment for Cancelled Shifts | Yes | Not before 2026 – consultation required |
| Statutory Sick Pay (removal of lower earnings limit) | Yes | Not before 2026 – consultation required |
| Parental Leave (qualifying period) | Yes | Not before 2026 – further Regulations required |
| Paternity Leave (qualifying period / leave following shared parental leave) | Yes | Not before 2026 – further Regulations required |
| Bereavement Leave | Yes | Not before 2026 – further Regulations required |
| Dismissal During Pregnancy or Following Family Leave | Yes | Not before 2026 – further Regulations required |
| Public Sector Outsourcing: protection of workers | Yes | Not before 2026 – further Regulations needed along with a new Statutory Code of Practice |
| Equality Action Plans | Yes | Not before 2026 – further Regulations required |
| Information Relating to Outsourced Workers | Yes | Not before 2026 – further Regulations needed along with a new Statutory Code of Practice |
| School Support Staff Negotiating Body / Adult Social Care Negotiating Body | Yes | Not before 2026 – further Regulations required |
| Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces | Yes | Not before 2026 – further Regulations required |
| Blacklists | Yes | Not before 2026 – further Regulations required |
| Electronic Balloting for Industrial Action | Yes | Not before 2026 – Working group to be launched and further Regulations will be required |
| Detriment on Grounds of Industrial Action | Yes | Not before 2026 – further Regulations required |
As you’d expect, the Employments Right Bill will be a big feature of our Virtual Employment Law Seminar, taking place on 6 March 2025. Please do join us for this free event, as it is essential that employers remain up to date on all the developments taking place so that businesses can be prepared.
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