After over 12 months of debate, refinement and amendment, on 16 December 2025, it was finally confirmed that the Employment Rights Bill had passed to the final stage of becoming law and it can no longer be changed. Subsequently, the Bill received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025, when it became the Employment Rights Act 2025.
This is a monumental development — the Employment Rights Act 2025 is the biggest piece of employment law in a generation and will bring in over 28 changes over the next two years.
Now, the earnest preparations must begin but there is time to do this.
Only one legal change happened immediately on Royal Assent and this only affects key public sector services such as health services, education, fire and rescue, border security and transport. The rules on minimum service levels during a strike no longer apply from 18 December 2025; this will have little impact because the rules were never fully utilised.
Within two months of Royal Assent (actual date yet to be confirmed), the administration rules around industrial action will change.
The most significant changes that will affect all employers apply from April 2026, so it’s time to get policies and processes in order and organise training for managers and leaders who will be key in delivering them successfully
It’s time to meet this new challenge head on.
We have outlined some of these changes below.
What are the first laws to change in the Employment Rights Act 2025?
Unfair dismissal
From 1 January 2027, qualifying service for unfair dismissal will be reduced from two years to six months.
Any employee who has six months’ service by 1 January 2027 will be able to make a claim of unfair dismissal, instead of having to wait for two years. The implementation of this is unusual as it is retrospective and so employees who began their employment after early 2025 will get unfair dismissal protection sooner than was expected when their employment started.
Employers now need to:
ensure their recruitment processes are robust, as making the right choice on who to employ will be more important than ever
refine their probationary processes to give new starters the best start in the organisation and quickly identify those employees who are not suitable
review the length of their probationary period — a six-month probation period will give little room to end employment via a failed probation.
Statutory Sick Pay
Employees will be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from the first day of absence from April 2026 (instead of day four) and from then even those earning below the lower earnings limit will be entitled to some form of SSP. Employers will need to:
increase their efforts to prevent sickness absence
ensure their absence management processes are as robust as possible in dealing with both short and long-term absences, as absences will become more costly to the business.
What is the best way to manage high levels of sickness absence?
