Top Tips To Prepare For The Employment Rights Bill Becoming Law
The government has set out the first round of amendments to the Employment Rights Bill following receipt of responses during the consultation process. We thought it would be helpful to provide our top tips to prepare for the Employment Rights Bill becoming law.
When the Employment Rights Bill forms new employment law it will be one of the most significant changes to new employment legislation in recent times. We know this can be daunting, so this article sets out to simplify things and to help employers by taking the load.
You have time. The majority of the changes will not take effect before 2026.
Key Takeaways from the Employment Rights Bill
DAY ONE RIGHTS
Day-one right to unfair dismissal
Currently, as at 7 April 2025, there is a two-year qualifying period for protection against unfair dismissal. One of the most significant reforms in the Employment Rights Bill is workers will have protection from unfair dismissal from day one of employment.
The Government has, however, said it will consult on a new statutory probation period. it is likely that the probationary period will be nine months, which will allow for an employee’s suitability to a role to be assessed.
Statutory Probation Period, likely to be nine months – we have nothing as yet that indicates what this will look like – watch this space!
This is also likely to be stronger protection against dismissal during pregnancy, maternity leave and within six months of returning to work following maternity leave.
Sick pay from first day of illness
This will be a significant change and may increase short term absences. The Employment Rights Bill aims to transform statutory sick pay (SSP). This is aimed to provide stronger protection for employees. This will remove the current three-day unpaid sickness, making SSP payable or 80% of their weekly pay, whichever is lower, from day one of sickness absence. At this present time employees are not entitled to SSP until their fourth day of absence, and they must earn “at least £125 per week” to qualify. The new reform will take away barriers for part-time employee, ensuring sick pay is available from day one, regardless of earnings.
OTHER CHANGES
Flexible Working Rights
The proposed changes to flexible working rights is likely to be an extension of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 by assuming flexible working is a given for all employees from day one. The aim being for flexible working to be the “default” from day one, and employers can only refuse if, for example:
- the burden of additional costs cannot be sustained;
- there is a detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand;
- work cannot be reorganised among existing staff or recruit additional staff; and
- a detrimental effect on quality or performance is evident.
Abolition of Zero-hours Contracts
The abolition of zero hours contracts was expected to be introduced in 2025. When we expected a requirement for “predictable” work patterns. The bill includes reforms to stop “one-sided flexibility” by ending “exploitative” zero-hours contracts.
It is important for employers to note workers can choose to remain on their original zero hours contract, however, they and new employees will have a right to be offered a contract with guaranteed hours if they work regular hours over a defined period, which was originally proposed to be 12 weeks. The legislation will also apply to workers on low-hours contracts.
Agency workers will be included in this plan to prevent any loopholes occurring.
‘Fire and Re-Hire’
There will be greater employee protection from being ‘fired and rehired’. Currently where an employer changes or harmonises terms and conditions of employment, and an employee chooses not to accept the change, an employer may terminate the contract and re-engage on a contract with the new terms. 
The Government sets out to restrict employers’ ability to use fire and rehire by amending the law on unfair dismissal so that, where employees are dismissed for failing to agree to a change in their contract of employment, those dismissals will be treated as automatically unfair unless the employer can show evidence of financial difficulties and demonstrate that need to make the change in contractual terms was unavoidable.
In redundancy situations collective consultation and notification requirements apply when an employer is proposing to make 20 or more redundancies at one establishment. The bill will seek to strengthen protection for employees against collective redundancy by amending legislation to ensure that these obligations apply regardless of whether the redundancies are taking place at one establishment or not.
Furthermore, an employer proposing to make 20 or more people redundant at one establishment in a 90-day period must provide notification at least 30 days before the first redundancy takes effect.
As a deterrent to avoidance of appropriate consultation, the Government plans to double the maximum period of the protective award for collective redundancies from 90 to 180 days, meaning employment tribunals will be able to grant larger awards to employees for failures to meet consultation requirements.
Bereavement leave for miscarriage will be offered
There has been much lobbying of the Government on this point, and although it has not confirmed by the government, ministers appear sympathetic to the issue. This is another “watch this space”. Any amendment to the bill is likely to give two weeks’ bereavement leave to parents who experience a loss before 24 weeks’ of pregnancy. Current provisions refer to the loss of a baby or stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy.
