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The Employment Rights Act 2025 is a staged package of Great Britain workplace reforms.
Plain-English explainers, not legal advice. Use the linked official source for section-level detail, and get advice for your situation.
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SI 2026/1065 commenced the new harassment and listed trade-union measures on 30 October 2026. Employers should now use the live rules in workplace decisions and investigations.
Employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. They must also not permit third parties, such as customers and clients, to harass employees. The official guidance explains the protected-characteristic scope and exclusions.
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The union reforms include a statutory route for independent unions to seek physical or virtual workplace access. An employer that receives a request must respond within 15 working days. If it agrees to negotiate, the employer and union then have 25 working days to try to reach an access agreement.
The official trade-union guidance says the Central Arbitration Committee cannot impose an access agreement where the employer has fewer than 21 workers across all workplaces. That threshold limits the Committee's power to impose an agreement. It does not mean a smaller employer can ignore a request. Every employer should nominate a monitored contact and have a route for escalating a request promptly.
| Date | Current position |
|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | Union-rights statement for new workers, unfair-dismissal reforms and stronger tipping law are scheduled, subject to final parliamentary processes |
| March 2027 | Fire-and-rehire protections are scheduled separately |
| 5 April 2027 | Workers employed when the duty begins and still employed on this date must receive the union-rights statement or be directed to a continuously accessible copy |
Future dates can change. Prepare the process and templates early, but check the final commencement instruments and guidance before applying a new rule to a live dismissal, contract change or tipping arrangement.
No. The Act uses staged commencement. Check the legal start date and current official guidance for the particular reform before changing a live process.
Many Employment Tribunal claim time limits increased from three months to six months where the claim-specific relevant date falls on or after 1 October 2026. The official timetable lists 9 November 2026 for breach of employment contract claims in Scotland. The deadline still depends on the particular claim.
The Act strengthens the sexual-harassment prevention duty from reasonable steps to all reasonable steps and adds an obligation not to permit third-party harassment. It also commences substantial trade-union access, recognition, representative and industrial-action measures. Employers should read the commencement regulations and current official guidance for the measure that affects them.
No. An independent union may send an access request, but an employer can agree to negotiate or refuse it. The employer must respond within 15 working days. If it agrees to negotiate, the parties then have 25 working days to try to reach an agreement. The Central Arbitration Committee cannot impose an access agreement where the employer has fewer than 21 workers across all workplaces. That threshold limits the Committee's power, not the union's ability to make a request or the employer's response deadline.
From 1 January 2027, it is due to new workers with the written statement of employment particulars. By 5 April 2027, existing workers must receive it directly or be told where it is continuously available and reasonably accessible. The prescribed statement and detailed secondary legislation should be checked when published.
The official timetable schedules the six-month unfair-dismissal qualifying period and uncapped compensatory awards for dismissals from 1 January 2027. It schedules fire-and-rehire protections separately for March 2027. Future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes, so employers should confirm the final instruments and guidance.
Harassment and trade-union reforms took effect on 30 October 2026
The strengthened sexual-harassment duty, third-party harassment protection and listed trade-union access and representative measures are now in force under SI 2026/1065.
Draft consequential regulations support planned removal of the unfair dismissal compensation cap from 1 January 2027
A draft statutory instrument makes consequential amendments for the planned repeal of the statutory cap on most unfair dismissal compensatory awards. The explanatory memorandum says the uncapped regime is intended to apply to claims relating to dismissals from 1 January 2027. The draft instrument still requires parliamentary approval.
Six-month Employment Tribunal claim limits now apply
Many Employment Tribunal claim time limits were extended from three months to six months on 1 October 2026. For covered claims, transitional rules apply the new period where the claim-specific relevant date falls on or after the applicable commencement date.
Government updates the Employment Rights Act timetable
The official timetable now records electronic and workplace trade-union balloting from 25 August 2026, schedules a six-month Employment Tribunal claim limit from 1 October, and schedules further union, harassment and dismissal measures. Future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes and may change.
Employment Rights Act rollout reaches its 2026 implementation phase
The official implementation timetable now spans measures already introduced in April 2026 and further workplace reforms scheduled across October 2026 and 2027.