The Employment Rights Act 2025 is law, but most of its changes do not apply yet. The Act received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 and is being brought into force in stages until the end of 2027. Some rights, including day-one paternity leave and day-one statutory sick pay, are already in force. The biggest change still to come is on 1 January 2027, when the qualifying period for unfair dismissal falls from two years to six months and the cap on compensation is removed. This explainer sets out what the Act is, what has already changed, and the dates workers and employers need to know.

The Act is the centrepiece of the government's Plan to Make Work Pay, and it has been described as the biggest upgrade to workers' rights for a generation. It contains 28 employment reforms, according to law firm Eversheds Sutherland, and its scale is significant for employers as well as workers. Because the changes arrive in waves, the date a right starts matters as much as the right itself.

What is the Employment Rights Act 2025?

The Employment Rights Bill was introduced in October 2024. After a long exchange between the House of Commons and the House of Lords, it received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 and became the Employment Rights Act 2025. Royal Assent did not switch everything on at once. Only a small number of measures took effect that day, most importantly the repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, whose provisions had never been fully implemented.

The Act covers Great Britain; employment law is devolved in Northern Ireland. The government published an implementation roadmap in July 2025 and has updated it several times since. The latest GOV.UK timeline update was revised on 22 October 2026, and a ministerial statement to Parliament on 2 November 2026 set out further progress, including consultations and government responses published that day. The dates below come from that timeline and the parliamentary record. Future dates are the government's targets and can still move, so readers should check the official GOV.UK pages.

What has already changed?

By 1 November 2026, the following changes had taken effect, according to the GOV.UK timeline and Acas guidance.

The April 2026 wave was the first one most workers would have felt directly. Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became available from the first day of employment rather than after a qualifying period, and statutory sick pay became payable from the first day of sickness. The Fair Work Agency, the new enforcement body, also launched in April 2026. The October changes mattered more to people bringing claims: tribunal time limits doubled, and the duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment was strengthened to require all reasonable steps, including steps against harassment by third parties.

What changes on 1 January 2027?

The most significant single date in the whole timetable is 1 January 2027. From that day, employees need six months' service, not two years, to claim ordinary unfair dismissal, and the cap on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal goes. In practice, that means far more workers will be able to bring a claim, and successful claims will no longer be limited by the current cap.

The same date brings a new duty on every employer in Great Britain to give workers a written statement telling them they have the right to join a trade union, and stronger tipping law. The government confirmed the 1 January 2027 date for the unfair dismissal changes in its updated timetable of 22 October 2026, and it was restated in the ministerial statement to Parliament on 2 November 2026.

What comes later in 2027?

The remaining measures are spread across 2027. In March 2027, restrictions on fire and rehire are expected to come into force, making it automatically unfair in most cases to dismiss an employee in order to impose worse core contract terms. The government published its response to the consultation on fire and rehire on 22 October 2026, and a consultation on a new code of practice on dismissal and re-engagement runs until 17 December 2026.

In April 2027, bereavement leave and changes to the collective redundancy rules are expected. In September 2027, limits on certain non-disclosure agreement provisions are expected to take effect. In October 2027, further flexible working reforms and enhanced dismissal protection for pregnant workers and new mothers are expected. The government published its response to the consultation on flexible working on 15 September 2026, and Acas is separately consulting on a revised Code of Practice until 17 December 2026.

One part of the Act still has no date. Rights for zero-hours workers, including guaranteed hours, have no commencement date yet, and the government has not published one.

What does the Act mean for workers?

For workers, the practical effect depends on the date. Someone starting a job now already has day-one paternity and parental leave rights and day-one sick pay, and has six months rather than three to bring most tribunal claims. From 1 January 2027, a worker with six months' service will have unfair dismissal protection that previously required two years. The strengthened harassment duty means employers must be able to show they took all reasonable steps to prevent harassment, not simply that they had a policy on paper.

For employers, the same dates are deadlines. Contracts, handbooks and dismissal procedures need to reflect the six-month qualifying period before January 2027, and the written statement on the right to join a trade union must be ready to issue to new joiners and to existing workers. The fire and rehire rules arriving in March 2027 will require a different approach to changing contract terms, with consultation and agreement rather than dismissal and re-engagement.

Employment Rights Act 2025: frequently asked questions

Is the Employment Rights Act already law? Yes. It received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025. But most of its provisions are being commenced in phases during 2026 and 2027, so the date each measure takes effect matters.

Do I get unfair dismissal protection from day one? No. The qualifying period falls from two years to six months on 1 January 2027. It does not fall to zero, and the change applies to dismissals from that date.

Has fire and rehire been banned? Not yet. Restrictions making dismissal to impose worse core terms automatically unfair in most cases are expected in March 2027, subject to regulations being approved by Parliament.

Does the Act apply in Northern Ireland? No. The Act covers Great Britain. Employment law is devolved in Northern Ireland, which has its own arrangements.

Where can I check the current dates? The GOV.UK publication Implementing the Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act, last updated on 22 October 2026, is the official timetable. Dates are government targets and can move, so check the official page and Acas guidance before acting.