The Employment Rights Bill became law as the Employment Rights Act 2025 on 18 December 2025, and its provisions are being phased in through 2026 and beyond. Two implementation dates matter most for anyone dealing with a workplace issue right now: April and October 2026.
April 2026 — already in force
- Statutory Sick Pay from day one: the previous four-day waiting period has gone, and the lower earnings limit has been removed, bringing lower-paid workers into scope for SSP for the first time. The flat rate rose to £123.25 on 6 April 2026.
- Day-one paternity and unpaid parental leave: both are now available from the first day of employment rather than after a qualifying period.
- The Fair Work Agency: a new enforcement body with powers to investigate and act against employers who fall short of their obligations.
- Bigger protective awards: the maximum protective award for failing to properly consult on collective redundancies doubled, from 90 to 180 days’ pay per affected employee.
- Wider whistleblowing protection: disclosures about sexual harassment now count as protected disclosures.
October 2026 — on the way
- A stronger duty to prevent sexual harassment: employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their workers, not merely “reasonable” ones — a materially higher bar.
- Third-party harassment liability: employers become liable for harassment of their staff by customers, clients, or other third parties, extending across age, disability, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
- Longer tribunal time limits: the time limit to bring most employment tribunal claims doubles, from three months to six.
Why it matters
The tribunal time limit change is the one likely to be felt most widely, since it affects every prospective claimant’s basic ability to bring a claim at all, not just the substantive law. Combined with the higher prevention bar for harassment, employers who have treated their anti-harassment policy as a box-ticking exercise have materially more to lose from October.
Sources: Employment Rights Act 2025, Acas; Changes becoming effective 6 April 2026, ATT; Employment Rights Act: implementation timeline, Pinsent Masons.
This is a summary of publicly reported developments, not legal advice. MD Tanvir Shahriar is a Bar course graduate and student member of Lincoln’s Inn; he is not a solicitor or a practising barrister and this article does not create a professional relationship. If you have a live workplace dispute, take advice from a qualified, regulated solicitor, or contact Acas.