ERA 2025: what you need to know

1. Unfair dismissal (from 1 January 2027)

Qualifying period cut (from 1 January 2027)

From two years down to six months of service to claim unfair dismissal. The two-year rule applies until then, but anyone with six months' service on 1 January 2027 is protected immediately, so staff hired from around July 2026 are already in scope

Day-one rights dropped

Plans for day-one unfair dismissal rights were dropped during parliamentary debate; six months will be the standard

Compensation cap removal (1 January 2027)

The cap on unfair dismissal compensation (£123,543 after the April 2026 uprating) is removed on the same date, so awards will reflect actual loss with no ceiling, significantly increasing exposure on high-salary dismissals

2. Statutory Sick Pay and leave rights (in force since 6 April 2026)

Day-one SSP

Statutory Sick Pay is now payable from day one of sickness. The three waiting days are gone

Lower earnings limit removed

SSP is now available without the lower earnings limit, extending entitlement to more workers (including part-time and low-paid staff)

Day-one parental and paternity leave

Qualifying service requirements removed for parental and paternity leave. These are now day-one rights

Bereaved partner's paternity leave

Up to 52 weeks of leave for a father or partner if the mother or primary adopter dies within the first year of the child’s life

3. Harassment and tribunal access (1 and 30 October 2026)

"All reasonable steps" duty (30 October 2026)

The duty to prevent sexual harassment rises from "reasonable steps" to "all reasonable steps". You will need a documented risk assessment, current training, and evidence of both

Third-party harassment liability (30 October 2026)

Employers become liable for harassment of staff by customers, clients, and other third parties unless all reasonable steps were taken to prevent it. This covers harassment related to any protected characteristic, not only sexual harassment

Tribunal time limits extended (1 October 2026)

Claimants get six months rather than three to bring most claims, so contemporaneous notes and retained records matter for twice as long

4. Worker protections and conditions

"Fire and rehire" restrictions (1 January 2027)

Dismissing staff for refusing changes to pay, hours, pensions, shift patterns or time off becomes automatically unfair unless the business was facing financial collapse and had no alternative. Dismissing and replacing them to get the same result is treated the same way

Consultation on other contract changes (1 January 2027)

Dismissals for refusing changes to other terms stay under ordinary unfair dismissal, and the tribunal must consider whether the employer consulted staff and any recognised union before making the change

Zero-hours protections (expected 2027)

Employers will have to offer guaranteed hours to zero- and low-hours workers reflecting the hours they actually worked, give reasonable notice of shifts and pay for shifts cancelled or cut at short notice. The government consulted on the detail over summer 2026 and the regulations are still to come

5. Flexible working and family-friendly rights (expected 2027)

Flexible working refusals must be reasonable

Employers will only be able to refuse a request where it is reasonable to do so, and must set out in writing the ground relied on and why refusal is reasonable. Regulations may add consultation steps. The day-one right to request, two requests a year and the two-month decision window are April 2024 law and already apply

Bereavement leave as a general right

A day-one right to at least a week of unpaid bereavement leave, including for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks. Who qualifies and how long the leave lasts will be set in regulations after the 2026 consultation

Dismissal protection for pregnant women and new mothers

Regulations will restrict dismissal during pregnancy, maternity leave and for six months after return, with similar protection for other family leave

6. Trade union and collective rights (from 18 February 2026)

Restrictions repealed (18 February 2026)

The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 and most of the Trade Union Act 2016 were repealed, and protection against dismissal for taking lawful industrial action was extended

Written particulars (30 October 2026)

Employers must tell workers of their right to join a trade union in the written statement of particulars

Access and detriment protections (30 October 2026)

Unions gain rights of access to workplaces, workers gain protection against detriment short of dismissal for taking protected industrial action, and protections for union representatives are strengthened

The April 2026 measures are already law, so start with anything your handbook has not caught up on, then prepare for the October 2026 and January 2027 waves:

1. 1

   Review contracts, handbooks and policies

   Check all documentation against what is already in force and what is still coming. Regulyn can help identify gaps.
2. 2

   Update dismissal and performance procedures

   Prepare for the six-month qualifying period and uncapped compensation arriving 1 January 2027. Staff hired from July 2026 are already in scope.
3. 3

   Train managers on the new rights

   Day-one SSP and parental leave (already in force), the 30 October 2026 harassment duty, and the January 2027 dismissal rules.
4. 4

   Plan for zero-hours contract changes

   Review scheduling and pay arrangements for zero-hours and shift workers.
5. 5

   Communicate changes to staff

   Keep employees informed to manage expectations and ensure smooth compliance.

Regulyn is built to help you stay compliant with ERA 2025 and beyond:

Legal change alerts

We monitor UK legislation and flag when your policies are affected by law changes.

Gap analysis

Regulyn checks your handbook against current law, including ERA 2025 requirements.

Redrafting

One-click policy updates that incorporate the latest legal requirements.

Policy generation

Draft new policies from scratch that reflect the ERA 2025 requirements.

Regulyn helps with the routine work of checking, explaining and updating your policies for each ERA 2025 wave, so you can reserve professional legal advice for the decisions that genuinely require it.