{"id":14198,"date":"2025-11-20T09:07:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T09:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/?post_type=resources&p=14198"},"modified":"2026-03-19T09:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T09:50:08","slug":"employment-rights-act-implementation-timetable","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/hr-compliance\/employment-law-updates\/employment-rights-act-implementation-timetable\/","title":{"rendered":"Employment Rights Act 2025 implementation timetable: What Royal Assent means for HR"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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by Stephen Simpson<\/strong>, Brightmine Principle editor – Employment Law and Compliance<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The progress of the Employment Rights Bill through Parliament to get Royal Assent and become the Employment Rights Act 2025 took longer than expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Upcoming webinar<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employment Rights Act 2025 \u2013 a user\u2019s guide<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When:<\/strong> Thursday, 22 January 2026, 11AM GMT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this webinar, employment law specialist Darren Newman sets out a road map to guide you safely through the implementation of the Act\u2019s many different strands \u2013 including what to look out for, and what not to forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Save your spot now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Parliamentary “ping-pong” delays Royal Assent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Employment Rights Bill took more than a year to reach its 12th and final parliamentary stage: Royal Assent. This is where the Bill finally became an Act of Parliament<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bill was first published on 10 October 2024 and received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year is an unusually long time for a Bill to become an Act of Parliament, reflecting the scope and complexity – and the controversial nature – of elements of the legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The penultimate “consideration of amendments” stage was particularly tortuous, as the Bill entered what is known as Parliamentary “ping-pong”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Ping-pong” is the process whereby a Bill goes back and forth between the House of Lords and the House of Commons, to iron out any remaining points of disagreement between the Houses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“The Employment Rights Act represents the most significant overhaul of UK employment law in decades, with significant implications for HR. The reforms aim to create fairer, more secure workplaces, but they also introduce compliance complexity and cost pressures, particularly for organisations that have historically operated at the statutory minimum. HR teams will need to rewrite policies, ensure managers are trained, and reconfigure payroll systems and budgets. Preparing now is essential to avoid disruption and ensure a smooth transition.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Victoria Burrow, Brightmine HR & Compliance Centre Head of Content<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What are the sticking points?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The three remaining controversial elements of the legislation were settled on 10 December 2025, when the Employment Rights Bill was back in the House of Lords during the “consideration of amendments” stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The changes to the qualifying period for unfair dismissal<\/a>, introduction of the right to guaranteed hours for zero and low hours workers<\/a>, and removal of the 50% turnout threshold for industrial action ballots<\/a> proved to be the most divisive issues during the ping-pong between the House of Lords and the House of Commons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the Government’s surprise late addition of a proposal to remove the cap on unfair dismissal compensation<\/a> proved to be a final sticking point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Change to qualifying period for unfair dismissal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Government originally proposed the removal of the two-year qualifying service period for claiming unfair dismissal and the introduction of an “initial period of employment” (often referred to as the “statutory probation period”).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, protection against unfair dismissal would become a day-one right but employers would be allowed to follow a less onerous procedure to dismiss an employee during this statutory probation period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the Government accepted the House of Lords’ counter-proposal of a reduction in the qualifying service period to claim unfair dismissal from two years to six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(According to Brightmine’s Probationary period research 2025<\/a>, most employers – six in 10 – use a six-month probationary period.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Government announced in the House of Commons a 1 January 2027 implementation date for the move to a six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims. This means that anyone who is employed from 1 July 2026 onwards would benefit, since they will have the required six months’ service by 1 January 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“The new duty to take all<\/em> reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment raises the bar from the previous standard, which was introduced only very recently – the duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment. Many employers have to date managed to take only one or two steps to prevent sexual harassment due to other competing demands. It will be interesting to see how much room the Government gives employers to interpret what ‘all reasonable steps’ will look like in their context, given the diverse industries and employer sizes where risk and operational capacity vary widely.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Bar Huberman, Brightmine, HR & Compliance Centre Content Manager<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Introduction of right to guaranteed hours for zero and low hours workers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Government proposed that workers on zero hours contracts, or contracts providing for a low number of guaranteed hours, be given the right to receive an offer to move to a guaranteed hours contract that reflects the hours they have regularly worked over a particular reference period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The House of Lords initially sought to dilute this proposal by suggesting that, instead of being required to offer guaranteed hours after the reference period, employers would have to notify workers of their right to receive that offer and provide a “right to request” process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the House of Lords ultimately accepted the Government’s original proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Removal of 50% turnout threshold for industrial action ballots<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Among the raft of reforms to industrial relations law, the Government proposed the removal of the 50% turnout threshold of union members for industrial action ballots to be valid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The House of Lords’ counter-proposal was that this 50% turnout threshold for industrial action would be maintained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the House of Lords ultimately accepted the Government’s original proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Removal of unfair dismissal compensation cap<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As part of the behind-the-scenes negotiations when a reduction in the unfair dismissal qualifying service period to six months<\/a> was agreed, the Government inserted a surprise late proposal: the removal of the cap on compensation in unfair dismissal claims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside the smaller basic award, <\/a>the current maximum compensatory award<\/a> for unfair dismissal is \u00a3118,223 (from 6 April 2025), or 52 times the claimant’s weekly pay if this is lower than \u00a3118,223.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Government’s proposal was the complete removal of the cap on the compensatory award in employment tribunals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compensation is already uncapped in discrimination claims and in some claims for automatic unfair dismissal, including in relation to whistleblowing dismissals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 10 December 2025, the Government’s proposal was narrowly defeated in the House of Lords, by 244 votes to 220.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the House of Lords ultimately accepted the Government’s original proposal, following a letter from business leaders to the Government<\/a> urging it to see the Bill through without further delays, while still expressing concerns over certain aspects of the legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the Government stated that it would carry out an impact assessment on the proposal to remove the unfair dismissal compensation cap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“The late addition of a proposal to make compensation for unfair dismissal uncapped has the potential for major unintended consequences for employers, not least the increased financial risk of taking on new hires. If unfair dismissal compensation is completely uncapped, employers really need to make their recruitment, induction and – most importantly – their probation processes watertight in quick order. That is especially the case if the uncapping of unfair dismissal compensation is aligned with the proposed 1 January 2027 implementation date for the move to a six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims. That may sound a long way off but it would mean that anyone who is employed from July 2026 onwards would benefit from both changes, since they will have the required six months’ service by 1 January 2027.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Stephen Simpson, Brightmine HR & Compliance Centre Principal Editor<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What happens next?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Royal Assent for Employment Rights Act 2025<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Following a return to the House of Commons on 15 December 2025 and a final session in the House of Lords on 16 December 2025, all points of contention between the Commons and Lords have been ironed out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Employment Rights Bill received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 to become the Employment Rights Act 2025, completing its passage through Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, employers need to bear in mind that no major changes take effect on Royal Assent, with many of the provisions needing further consultation and secondary legislation before they are implemented – see Government consultations well underway<\/a> and Timetable for implementation of individual measures<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Government consultations well underway<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It is estimated that the Employment Rights Act 2025 will introduce more than 30 major employment law changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, many of these measures will need public consultation followed by secondary legislation to flesh out the details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Government has previously consulted on proposals to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n