Recent Changes

Collective Redundancy Protective Award​
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If an organisation fails to consult correctly in line with collective consultation requirements (i.e. where there are more than 20 redundancies proposed), employees can be awarded compensation of up to 90 days' pay.  This will be doubled to a maximum of 180 days.  
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Establishment of the Fair Work Agency​

A new enforcement body, the Fair Work Agency, will be established to consolidate existing enforcement functions and ensure compliance with employment rights such as statutory sick pay, national minimum wage, holiday pay, agency worker rights and modern slaver.
 
This agency will have the authority to investigate, take action against non-compliant businesses and bring Employment Tribunal proceedings on behalf of a worker. This will provide a robust mechanism for enforcing new rights and protections introduced by the Act (and other areas of employment law).

Statutory Sick Pay​
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Significant changes are proposed for statutory sick pay (SSP). The Act will remove the waiting period of 3 days before SSP is paid, making it available from the first day of absence.
 
It will also remove the lower earnings limit for SSP, bringing all employees within the scope of SSP payments, meaning worked would be entitled to either the SSP rate or 80% of their normal wages (whichever is lower). It is estimated that this will affect up to 1.3 million working people.

Family Leave​
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A day one right  for paternity leave and unpaid parental leave, will be introduced, providing support for employees facing family-related challenges. Eligibility for statutory paternity pay will remain unchanged.
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A new legal entitlement to Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave gives employed, bereaved fathers and partners (including same-sex partners and civil partners and extending to surrogacy/parental order situations) a day-one right to up to 52 weeks unpaid leave in the first year of a child’s life if they are in the tragic circumstance of losing the child’s mother or primary adopter. 

Change to Trade Union recognition rules​

The Act will make changes to holding a ballot for recognition, workers in a proposed bargaining and enhancing other protections. ​
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Wider protection for Whistleblowers​

The Act strengthens whistleblowing protections by clarifying that disclosures of sexual harassment can be covered by whistleblowing legislation and by extending protection to a wider range of workers (self-employed contractors, sub-postmasters, judiciary, non-execs, trustees, trade union reps, and job applicants).​
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Trade Union Rights

​The Employment Rights Act 2025 enhances trade union rights, simplifying the recognition process and allowing electronic balloting. The purpose of these changes were to strengthen workers' collective bargaining power and ensure fair treatment during redundancies.​

ACAS Early Conciliation​
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When an individual wants to bring a claim in the employment tribunal, they normally have three months less one day from the date of the issue they are disputing. This is known as the limitation period. For example, an ex-employee alleging unfair dismissal must submit their claim within three months less one day from their dismissal date.
Before a tribunal claim can be lodged, the individual must first take part in ACAS Early Conciliation. This process aims to resolve disputes without a formal tribunal hearing. An independent ACAS conciliator speaks with both parties to clarify issues, explore their positions, and encourage a mutually agreed settlement—often financial.
Under the Employment Tribunals (Early Conciliation: Exemptions and Rules of Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, the ACAS Early Conciliation period increased from six weeks to twelve weeks for all cases where conciliation begins on or after 1 December 2025.
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Statutory Rates
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In April each year, there is generally an increase in statutory rates. These include:

• National minimum wage

• Statutory maternity pay and payments relating to other family friendly rights

• Statutory sick pay

• Compensation for unfair dismissal

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Neo Natal Care Leave​
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The overall intention of this Act is for a parent whose child is admitted to neonatal care (within 28 days from the day after birth) to have a new statutory right, from the outset of their employment, to take neonatal care leave. The maximum length of the leave is set at 12 weeks.
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In addition, parents taking neonatal care leave who have at least 26 weeks’ continuous service are entitled to neonatal care pay, subject to eligibility conditions, paid at a similar rate to Statutory Paternity Pay. 
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Allocation of Tips​
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100% of tips are to be allocated to staff and tips are to be shared fairly between staff.
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Duty to prevent Sexual Harassment ​
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A preventative duty for employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers have to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, and failure to do so can incur an uplift in compensation awarded by a tribunal by 25%.
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Fire & Rehire Code of Practice​
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A new code of practice on fire and re-hire was introduced setting out the employer’s responsibilities when seeking to change an employee’s terms and conditions by way of dismissal and re-engagement (or “fire and re-hire” as it is often termed). It recommends that the practice should be used as a last resort. Failure to comply with the Code does not give rise to a standalone claim. However, where an employer fails to take the Code into account, an employment tribunal will have the power to apply an uplift of up to 25% to compensation awarded in a relevant claim such as unfair dismissal.
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TUPE​
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This was an amendment to the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) 2006, extending an exemption relating to consultation whereby if there is no existing trade union or elected representation is in place employers may consult directly with employees where: 
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• the business employs fewer than 50 employees, or,

• for businesses of any size, where fewer than 10 employees are affected. 

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Flexible Working​
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This introduced the right to make a flexible working request from day one of employment. Previously, employees needed to have 26 weeks continuous service to exercise this right.
 

In addition to this, an employee can now make 2 requests in any 12-month period.
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Carer's Leave​
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This introduced an entitlement to request up to 1 weeks unpaid leave to care for and/or arrange care for a dependent with long-term care needs. This is a day one right.
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Paternity Leave​
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Allows eligible employees to request paternity leave as either 2 weeks together or 2 separate blocks of one week.
 
In addition to this, the time employees have to take this leave has been increased from 56 days to 52 weeks from the actual birth of the child or placement.

Maternity and Redundancy Protection​
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Before you can make employees who are pregnant or returning from maternity, adoption or shared parental redundant, redundancy protection regulations will require an employer to give that employee first refusal on a suitable alternative vacancy where one exists.
 
This gives employees on these types of leave priority access to redeployment opportunities over other redundant employees.

Holidays for irregular hours and part-year workers ​
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Various changes to calculating holiday for irregular and part-time workers. These included re-introducing the use of rolled up holiday in certain situations.