Employment Rights Act 2025 — The Roadmap Ahead
22 July 2026 · By Oliver Tasker
Introduction
On 16 July 2026, the Department for Business and Trade updated its implementation timetable for the Plan to Make Work Pay and the Employment Rights Act 2025. Several measures have already landed in 2026, for example day 1 paternity and parental leave, Statutory Sick Pay reform and the launch of the Fair Work Agency.
But the next phase, running from August 2026 through 2027, brings some of the most significant changes yet: extended Employment Tribunal deadlines, a major expansion of trade union rights, tougher sexual harassment duties and the headline reform in 2027: unfair dismissal protection from six months (not day 1 as initially billed).
This Impact Insight breaks down exactly what's coming, when and what it means for your organisation.
Why this timeline update matters
All dates remain subject to parliamentary process and could shift again. But this is the latest update from government and it gives employers a genuine timetable rather than a last minute scramble. Getting ahead of these changes now, rather than reacting when they land (or after), is the difference between smooth compliance and costly disruption.
Timeline: changes from August 2026 onwards
31 August 2026 — Electronic and workplace balloting for trade union ballots
Trade unions will be able to use electronic and workplace balloting for statutory ballots, replacing the current postal only requirement. This is expected to make it faster and easier for unions to secure a mandate for industrial action, so employers with unionised workforces should factor shorter mobilisation timelines into contingency planning.
1 October 2026 — Employment Tribunal time limits double
The time limit for bringing most Employment Tribunal claims increases from 3 to 6 months.
Impact for employers: This is a significant one. Employees, and former employees, will have twice as long to bring claims relating to dismissal, discrimination and other workplace disputes. Expect a corresponding rise in claim volumes and longer "look-back" exposure which makes robust documentation, exit processes, and HR record-keeping more important than ever. Don't shred any documents after 3 months!
30 October 2026 — Trade union rights and harassment duties strengthen
Trade union measures:
A new duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union
Strengthened union right of access to workplaces
Reforms to the recognition and derecognition process, including freezing the bargaining unit once an application is received
New rights and protections for union representatives
Extended protection against detriment for taking industrial action
Sexual harassment measures:
A duty on employers to take "all reasonable steps" to prevent sexual harassment of employees (a stronger test than the current "reasonable steps")
A new obligation not to permit harassment of employees by third parties (customers, clients, contractors)
Powers for ministers to later specify evidence-based preventative steps employers must take
Impact for employers: The shift from "reasonable steps" to "all reasonable steps" raises the bar considerably. Combined with third-party harassment liability, this means anti-harassment policies, training, complaint procedures, and risk assessments need a fresh look well before October.
October 2026 — Other measures
Regulations establishing the Fair Pay Agreement Adult Social Care Negotiating Body in England
Reinstatement of the Two-Tier Code in procurement, requiring outsourced staff to receive terms no less favourable than transferred public sector employees
December 2026 — Seafarer Protection Regulations
New protections specifically for seafarers come into force.
By end of 2026 — Strengthened tipping law
Further reform to ensure fair and transparent distribution of tips.
January 2027 — Unfair dismissal and fire-and-rehire reform
This is the headline change of the entire programme:
Unfair dismissal becomes a right after 6 months. The qualifying period drops from two years to just six months, for dismissals from 1 January 2027, and the cap on compensatory awards is removed.
Fire-and-rehire practices face new legal restrictions.
Impact for employers: This fundamentally changes dismissal risk. Every recruit becomes a potential unfair dismissal claim within six months, not two years, and awards are no longer capped. Probationary processes, performance management and dismissal procedures need to be watertight well before January 2027, this is not something to leave until the end of this year.
2027 — Further measures expected
Mandatory (rather than voluntary) gender equality and menopause action plans
Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers
Extended blacklisting protections
A new industrial relations framework
Regulation of umbrella companies
Lower collective redundancy consultation thresholds
Flexible working reform
Bereavement leave, including for pregnancy loss
The right to guaranteed hours and reasonable/short notice payments (timing to be confirmed after consultation)
Electronic and workplace balloting extended to recognition and derecognition ballots
New regulations to prevent misuse of NDAs in harassment or discrimination cases
What employers should do now
Audit dismissal and probation processes ahead of the January 2027 unfair dismissal right shift. This is the single biggest change on the horizon.
Refresh anti-harassment policies and training before the "all reasonable steps" duty and third-party liability land in October 2026. When did you last do training on the topic?
Review HR record retention in light of the doubled Employment Tribunal time limit from October 2026.
Prepare for faster union mobilisation once electronic balloting is available from August 2026.
Build a 2026–2027 compliance calendar so each measure has an owner, a deadline, and a readiness check well ahead of its in-force date.
The bottom line
The Plan to Make Work Pay is the most substantial overhaul of UK employment law in a generation, and the next 18 months are where the real impact lands for employers. The measures taking effect from August 2026 tighten tribunal exposure and union rights; those due in 2027 including unfair dismissal changes, reshape how organisations recruit, manage, and, if necessary, part ways with staff.
Organisations that start preparing now, rather than waiting for each measure to come into force, will be far better placed to manage risk and cost.
If you need advice then get in touch with Oliver Tasker today:
📞 Call: 01522 776270
✉️ Email: oliver@impactemploymentlaw.co.uk
Impact Employment Law Limited - Advice. Protection. Impact.