Employment Rights Bill – roadmap for implementation

Since the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) was first published on 10 October 2024, in line with the government’s commitment to introduce legislation to “Make Work Pay” within their first 100 days in office, the ERB has been creeping closer to implementation ever since. With employers looking over their shoulders whilst trying to plan ahead and with the ERB expected to receive Royal Assent and become law within a matter of weeks, on 1 July 2025, the government published its roadmap for implementation with the stated intention of ensuring that there is a “proper business readiness period”, before some of the most significant changes take effect, to allow businesses to prepare.

As Heidi Cooper set out in ‘The Employment Rights Bill – implications for employers’, some of the most significant changes to employment law under the ERB will be as follows:

• Unfair dismissal rights from day one
• The apparent end of “fire and rehire”
• An obligation to offer zero-hour and low-hour workers guaranteed hours, together with protection and compensation for shift changes
• Flexible working rights from day one.

Thanks to the recently published roadmap for implementation, we now know when some of those changes will come into effect, with only two changes mentioned in the ERB, namely changes to the notice periods for industrial action and added protection from dismissal for taking industrial action, being implemented on Royal Assent or shortly thereafter.

Employees will continue to need two years’ continuous service to bring an unfair dismissal claim until 2027, with changes with regard to menopause action policies, flexible working, protection for pregnant workers and zero hours contracts also being delayed until 2027.

However, changes to “fire and rehire” (or, to give the practice its official name, termination and re-engagement), statutory sick pay, the duty to take all reasonable steps prevent sexual harassment, and protective awards in respect of collective consultation being delayed until either April or October 2026, depending upon the provision. For further detail on these changes and how they will affect employers, please see the May 2025 edition of our Hereford newsletter.

In addition to the headline grabbing changes of the ERB, and setting aside the new flurry of excitement amongst employment lawyers and HR professionals thanks to the publication of the Implementation Roadmap, there are plenty more employment law changes in the offing which have largely flown under the radar, but which remain important for employers to be aware of.

For example, during the Committee Stage of the ERB debate, the House of Lords debated a potential new clause in the Bill, named the ‘Employment Law Compliance Code of Practice’. This Code of Practice, if introduced, will be produced by the Secretary of State and will include guidance on compliance with the provisions within the ERB, aimed at businesses of all sizes including charities and non-profit organisations. The code would detail guidance on enforcement mechanisms and potential penalties for non-compliance.

Whilst it has long been possible for enforcement action to be taken in respect of certain employment rights – for example by HMRC with regard to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) or the ICO in respect of data protection – to date, when it came to Employment Tribunal claims, employers have, in most cases, only had to worry about claims being brought against it by its employees. Under the ERB, however, from April 2026, according to the new Implementation Roadmap, the Fair Work Agency (FWA) body will be established.

The FWA will bring together existing state enforcement of issues such as the NMW or agency worker protections and, under the ERB, will have the power to bring claims on behalf of individuals (even if the employee doesn’t intend to bring a claim themselves) on an increasing number of issues, including sick pay and holiday pay. The FWA will also have the power to investigate and take action against businesses that are non-compliant with employment law, including by accessing an employer’s premises to carry out inspections, issuing civil penalties, and recovering the costs of enforcement action.