Employment Rights Bill Checker: What the Act 2025 Means for You
The Employment Rights Bill became the Employment Rights Act 2025 on 18 December 2025. Answer five questions to see which of its changes apply to you, which are already in force and which start later, with the date and official source for each. Dates follow the GOV.UK timeline of 25 September 2026. All data stays in your browser.
Your Employment Situation
The Employment Rights Bill is the UK government bill, introduced to Parliament on 10 October 2024, that reformed workplace rights on unfair dismissal, sick pay, zero-hours contracts, fire and rehire and family leave. It received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 and is now the Employment Rights Act 2025, with changes starting in phases through 2026 and 2027.
Employment Rights Bill Timeline: What Is in Force and What Is Still to Come
Royal Assent did not switch everything on at once. Each measure has its own start date. The table follows the government’s timeline update of 25 September 2026, which says that all future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes and may change.
| Date | What changed or will change | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 18 December 2025 | Royal Assent. Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 repealed. | In force |
| 18 February 2026 | Protection against dismissal for taking industrial action. Most of the Trade Union Act 2016 repealed. | In force |
| 6 April 2026 | Day-one paternity leave and unpaid parental leave. Statutory Sick Pay from the first day of illness with no lower earnings limit. Collective redundancy protective award doubled to 180 days. Whistleblowing protection for sexual harassment disclosures. Simpler union recognition. | In force |
| 7 April 2026 | Fair Work Agency established. | In force |
| 1 October 2026 | Time limit for employment tribunal claims increased from 3 to 6 months. | In force |
| 30 October 2026 | Employers must take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment and must not permit harassment by third parties. Stronger union right of access. | Upcoming |
| January 2027 | Unfair dismissal qualifying period cut to 6 months for dismissals from 1 January 2027, and compensatory award uncapped. Fire and rehire protections. Duty to inform workers of their right to join a union. | Upcoming |
| During 2027 | Guaranteed hours, reasonable shift notice and short-notice payments. Flexible working reasonableness test. Bereavement leave. Enhanced dismissal protection for pregnant women and new mothers. Regulation of umbrella companies. | Upcoming, dates not set |
Unfair Dismissal: Six Months, Not Day One
Protection from unfair dismissal was expected to become a right from the first day of employment. The government changed this before the Bill became law. Section 25 of the Act instead cuts the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal from two years to six months, and the government intends to start it on 1 January 2027 (GOV.UK unfair dismissal factsheet). Until then the two-year rule still applies.
| Dismissed on or before 31 December 2026 | Dismissed from 1 January 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| Service needed for ordinary unfair dismissal | 2 years | 6 months |
| Service needed to request written reasons | 2 years | 6 months |
| Cap on the compensatory award | Lower of £123,543 or 52 weeks’ gross pay (from 6 April 2026) | Removed |
| Discrimination and automatically unfair reasons | Protected from day one | Protected from day one (unchanged) |
Worked examples, using the government’s stated approach that employees who already have six months of service are protected from 1 January 2027 and others gain protection when they reach six months:
| Started job | Dismissed | Service | Ordinary unfair dismissal claim? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 March 2026 | 15 December 2026 | About 9 months | No — two-year rule still applies |
| 2 March 2026 | 15 January 2027 | About 10 months | Yes — more than six months |
| 5 October 2026 | 15 January 2027 | About 3 months | No — under six months |
| 5 October 2026 | 15 April 2027 | Just over 6 months | Yes |
Zero-Hours Contracts, Fire and Rehire and Sick Pay
Zero-hours and low-hours contracts. The Act creates three rights: an offer of guaranteed hours reflecting the hours regularly worked over a reference period, reasonable notice of shifts, and payment for shifts cancelled, cut short or moved at short notice. The length of the reference period and the hours threshold are not fixed yet; they will be set in regulations after consultation, and the government expects the rights to start in 2027. Workers can decline an offer and stay as they are. Agency workers are covered, with the hirer responsible by default for making the offer.
Fire and rehire. From January 2027 it will be automatically unfair to dismiss an employee for refusing a “restricted variation” — a reduction in pay, a change to total hours, reduced leave, a pension change or a specified shift pattern change — unless the employer can show financial difficulties that threaten its viability and that the change could not reasonably have been avoided.
Statutory Sick Pay. Since 6 April 2026 SSP is paid from the first full day of sickness absence rather than the fourth, and the lower earnings limit has gone. The rate is £123.25 a week or 80% of normal weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for up to 28 weeks (GOV.UK).
Who the Employment Rights Act 2025 Covers
Your employment status decides which changes reach you, which is why the checker asks for it first.
| Change | Who gets it |
|---|---|
| Six-month unfair dismissal qualifying period | Employees only |
| Fire and rehire protection | Employees only |
| Day-one paternity leave and unpaid parental leave | Employees |
| Statutory Sick Pay from day one | People classed as employees for SSP; agency workers may be entitled |
| Guaranteed hours and shift notice | Zero-hours and low-hours workers, including agency workers |
For free, impartial advice on a workplace problem, contact Acas. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Last updated: October 2026 · Sources: GOV.UK timeline update (25 September 2026), GOV.UK Employment Rights Act 2025 factsheets, Acas.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Employment Rights Bill?
The Employment Rights Bill was the UK government bill introduced to Parliament on 10 October 2024 as the first phase of its Plan to Make Work Pay. It received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 and is now the Employment Rights Act 2025. It changes the law on unfair dismissal, statutory sick pay, zero-hours contracts, fire and rehire, family leave, harassment and trade unions, with the changes starting in phases through 2026 and 2027.
When does the Employment Rights Bill come into effect?
In phases. The Act received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025. Day-one paternity and unpaid parental leave and the statutory sick pay changes started on 6 April 2026. The employment tribunal time limit rose to 6 months on 1 October 2026. The stronger sexual harassment duty starts on 30 October 2026. The six-month unfair dismissal qualifying period and the fire and rehire protections start in January 2027, and guaranteed hours, flexible working and bereavement leave changes are expected during 2027. The government says future dates may change.
Does the Employment Rights Bill apply to agency workers?
Partly. The Act extends the right to guaranteed hours, reasonable notice of shifts and payment for shifts cancelled at short notice to agency workers, and by default the hirer must make the guaranteed hours offer. These rights are expected in 2027, after consultation. Protection against ordinary unfair dismissal, including the new six-month qualifying period and the fire and rehire protections, applies only to employees.
What is the new probationary period under the Employment Rights Bill?
There is no statutory probationary period in the Act as passed. Earlier plans for unfair dismissal protection from day one were changed, and instead the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal falls from two years to six months for dismissals from 1 January 2027. Employers can still run their own probation periods, and protection against discrimination and automatically unfair dismissal continues to apply from day one.
What does the Employment Rights Bill say about flexible working?
Employees can already request flexible working from their first day in a job, can make 2 requests in any 12-month period, and must get a decision within 2 months. The Employment Rights Act 2025 adds a reasonableness test, expected to start in 2027: an employer who wants to refuse a request must consult the employee first, name one of the 8 business reasons set out in legislation and explain why refusing is reasonable.
Has the Employment Rights Bill become law?
Yes. The Employment Rights Bill received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 and became the Employment Rights Act 2025. Becoming law did not switch every change on at once: each measure starts on its own date, and several of the best-known ones, including the six-month unfair dismissal rule and guaranteed hours for zero-hours workers, do not start until 2027.
Is unfair dismissal a day-one right under the Employment Rights Act 2025?
No. Protection from unfair dismissal was expected to become a day-one right, but the government changed this to a six-month qualifying period. Employees will be able to claim ordinary unfair dismissal after six months in a job, instead of two years, for dismissals from 1 January 2027. Until then the two-year qualifying period still applies. The cap on the compensatory award is removed at the same time. Dismissal for an automatically unfair reason, such as pregnancy, has no qualifying period.