Employment Rights Act: Is the phased approach helping or hindering HR?

by Caroline Green, Career Development Expert

The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA) is reshaping UK employment law, but it is not happening overnight – the first major cluster of changes have now taken effect, with further implementation phases announced – and that presents an opportunity.

I talked to a group of HR professionals about the pros and cons of the Government’s lengthy implementation timeline, who offered useful tips on making the most of the phased approach to legislative reform.

HR will need to manage a multi-year sequence of changes, requiring ongoing policy reviews, contract updates, manager training and communication cycles. If handled reactively, this could become a constant drain on capacity.

How phasing supports HR

The phased approach offers something rare in employment law reform for HR: breathing space.

Instead of having to change contracts, policies, processes and manager training all at once, HR has been given a structured runway. This means you can stagger the work: from auditing and reviewing in advance of the changes, to updating individual policies as measures come into force, training managers and communicating with all staff as you move through each phase. Charlotte Yallop, an employment solicitor, agrees: “A phased approach makes sense legally and commercially. Use the window before implementation to map risks, budget for costs and prepare draft policies.”

Amanda Jenkins, a senior people officer, says: “Early planning is key to success, and informing other areas of the business is included in this.” This mirrors the value HR consultancies are placing on early communication. As Tracey Salisbury, director of an HR consultancy, notes: “We inform our clients directly through emails, blogs and handouts, and webinars.”

HR teams inside organisations should adopt a similar philosophy: regular updates, multi-format communication and accessible guidance to ensure understanding of this phased approach.

The challenges for HR with this approach

Despite its benefits, a staggered rollout also risks creating ongoing complexity and confusion.

HR will need to manage a multi-year sequence of changes, requiring ongoing policy reviews, contract updates, manager training and communication cycles. If handled reactively, this could become a constant drain on capacity. With reforms going live in batches in 2026, 2027 and potentially beyond, employees may also become confused about what applies when. Without clear messaging, HR could face:

• inconsistent treatment of employees by line managers;
• avoidable grievances; and
• increased risk of tribunal claims.

This is particularly the case in areas where reforms may have unintended consequences. Adrian Tomsa, a chief people officer, points to the zero and low hours contracts legislation, due to be implemented at some point in 2027: “The challenge is how to cement good practice and negate opportunities for exploitation, whilst allowing businesses and employees to navigate the ever-changing economic landscape.”

Nicola Lyons, a strategic HR leader, highlights that many “proposed changes are subject to Government consultations. The details might change.” Amanda also has concerns over the clarity of when parts of the ERA will become legally enforceable – the precise implementation dates for many of the 2027 changes have not yet been announced – and feels that “more time is needed to support business with the change”.

The phased approach can be an opportunity so long as HR treats it as a structured programme of change rather than as a series of isolated updates. If you plan ahead, involve your wider organisation and map internal timelines to the Government’s timeline, you can spread the workload, manage risk and minimise disruption.

Phased implementation: Help or hindrance?

The group is divided. Amanda says: “I sometimes think it is easier to implement completely new laws than to have small changes to what already exists. I’m thinking about the introduction of the Working Time Regulations or the Data Protection Act as examples. When you have a large-scale change the tripartite of the employment relation tends to sit up and take notice and provide the resources required to make these changes and embed them into everyday practice.”

However, the phased approach can be an opportunity so long as HR treats it as a structured programme of change rather than as a series of isolated updates. If you plan ahead, involve your wider organisation and map internal timelines to the Government’s timeline, you can spread the workload, manage risk and minimise disruption. If you wait until each phase arrives, the cumulative effort will feel like constant firefighting.

What HR teams should be doing to prepare

1. Run a high-level impact audit

Identify which parts of your organisation will be most affected by the announced but as yet unimplemented measures – working patterns, dismissal processes, union relations etc. As Charlotte puts it, “Think of this as the groundwork stage: audit your contracts, review your policies, and identify where change will bite. You don’t need to train yet, but you do need to plan.”

2. Maintain a simple roadmap

Create and update a tracking document to map:

• what changes are expected;
• when they’re likely to go live (and any key dates like publicised consultations that could impact details and timelines, so you can be as up to date as possible);
• what needs to be done – from reviewing and updating policies to training line managers; and
• who in your organisation will own each part (remember it’s not all down to HR, but keep senior leaders informed and engaged in the process).

3. Communicate early and often

Take inspiration from Tracey’s multi-format approach. Use:

• FAQs;
• short video explainers;
• manager briefings; and
• drop-in sessions.

A mix of formats supports different learning styles and reduces uncertainty. As part of your communication, be clear to highlight that this is governmental reform, not organisational choice, and that there are likely to be further twists and turns as the secondary legislation is published.

4. Involve your leaders and workforce

Amanda highlights the importance of treating this as a partnership exercise. Share the business impact early so leaders can plan resourcing, budgets and operational shifts.

5. Sense-check any practices with risk

Zero hours contracts, probation terms, flexible working processes, dismissal procedures – all may require redesign. Adrian’s warning is timely: avoid unintended consequences.

6. Stay ahead of the game

The ERA may include a lot of measures, but many are tweaks rather than revolutionary changes. This means that, even where consultations are yet to happen and some detail is still missing, you can prepare by upskilling teams in areas that will be useful regardless. For example, training managers on difficult conversations and performance management is never wasted effort, and will make the specifics of any ERA reforms much easier to implement later.

Tracey notes: “Each section will require more planning and training behind the scenes, for example the changes to SSP require further training about absence management, supporting employees etc – in turn requiring management training and upskills, documentation and process. The unfair dismissal changes will require better performance management, probationary procedures and confidence/ability to provide feedback.”

Melanie Folkes-Mayers, an award-winning people and culture expert, is taking a similar approach, explaining: “As I’m reviewing policies and processes, I’m updating them with a mind to the new regulations being implemented.” She also cautions: “Each area of legislation will take a different amount of time to prepare for, depending on where my client currently is, so it’s difficult to say how long it will take.” Again, early planning is key.

However, Adrian reminds us that many of the changes are less a matter of major overhaul than of careful refinement. As he puts it: “Overall, much of what is being mentioned won’t make a huge difference to the running of our organisation. Elements such as flexible working rights, harassment prevention etc, we largely already have in place. However, certain elements will need to be prepared for or re-emphasised either through policy tweaks or training.”

Final thoughts

HR teams that start preparing for the future changes now, even at a high level, will experience the transition as manageable and orderly. Those that wait may find themselves navigating years of rolling change without a clear plan. Charlotte agrees, adding a final warning that, “The legal duties will come fast, and tribunals won’t have much sympathy for employers who say they didn’t see it coming.”