Employers now need to know how new rights for staff will work in practice

LAST Tuesday was a busy day for the UK Government with regards to employment legislation.

- BETHAN DARWIN

The Employment Rights Bill (ERB) was introduced within the first 100 days of the current UK Government.

It passed its House of Lords committee stage at the end of June and last week the Westminster Government released its implementation roadmap for the ERB.

Some measures involving trade unions will be implemented almost immediately and are just waiting for Royal Assent.

The Strikes Minimum Service Levels Act, which enabled employers to mandate certain minimum service levels during strikes in sectors such as health, fire and rescue and transport will be repealed.

Large sections of the Trade Union Act 2016, which was deeply unpopular with unions and imposed higher thresholds on industrial action ballots, will also be repealed.

It will be April 2026 before the protective award for collective redundancies is doubled, day one paternity and unpaid parental leave come in, and the lower earnings limit and three-day waiting period for statutory sick pay are scrapped.

The ban on fire and rehire and the imposing of a duty on employers to take all reasonable steps to avoid sexual harassment don’t come in till October 2026.