The Government has published its Implementing the Employment Rights Bill: Our Roadmap for Delivering Change as part of its Plan to Make Work Pay, set out in the Government’s pre-election manifesto and central to its Plan for Change. It is intended to give employers, workers, trade unions and other stakeholders time to prepare for the Make Work Pay reforms and “familiarise themselves with the new requirements and expectations.”
In the ministerial foreword to the roadmap, Rt Hon, Angela Rayner MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Rt Hon, Jonathan Reynolds MP, Secretary of State for Business and Trade said:
“This is how we will deliver a new deal for working people – fixing our broken labour market and tackling poor pay, poor working conditions and poor job security so that people across the country feel the benefits.
“Taken together, these measures will deliver tangible benefits to working people across the country, and our timeline demonstrates our determination to go further and faster to raise living standards and put more money in people’s pockets.”
Providing clarity for workers and organisations, the roadmap sets out how and when the Government will engage and consult on the provisions of the Bill that will require regulations and secondary legislation.
Which are the first laws to change when the Employment Rights Bill is introduced?
The roadmap also lays out anticipated phased commencement dates for different parts of the Bill — providing clarity on when we can expect to see the changes take place “on the ground.” It stretches from the time when, or soon after, the Bill receives Royal Assent (expected to be Autumn 2025) to 2027. It is made clear in the roadmap that this is an initial view which may change in line with the insights gained from further consultations and considering the need for employers and other relevant stakeholders time to prepare for the changes to be introduced.
Highlights from the plan include:
- Statutory Sick Pay reforms (removal of the lower earnings limit and waiting period) and a day-one right to paternity leave and unpaid parental leave will come into effect from April 2026
How is SSP going to change when the Employment Rights Bill is introduced?
- fire and re-hire restrictions, third party and sexual harassment enhancements and the extension of tribunal time limits from three to six months will come into effect from October 2026
- day-one unfair dismissal rights and zero-hour contract reforms will come into effect from 2027.
