The government has, as promised, published its hotly anticipated Employment Rights Bill (the Bill) within the first 100 days of the new Parliament. Our table sets out the key measures the Bill contains, the likely impact these measures will have on employers and some suggestions for actions that businesses should consider taking now. Unsurprisingly, the Bill and associated publications do not contain any indication of timescales at this stage, but we will update you through our PRM hub on important developments. Many measures will need secondary legislation, meaning it is likely to take longer to bring them into force. The government has indicated that the majority of the reforms will not take effect before 2026 and the unfair dismissal reforms will take effect no sooner than autumn 2026.
| Topic | What does the Bill say? | What is the likely impact? What should we do now? |
|---|---|---|
| Bereavement leave | Will make bereavement leave available to all workers by adapting the existing parental bereavement leave regime to cover all eligible bereaved people. The government will set out in secondary legislation the types of relationship to a deceased person that will qualify for bereavement leave. | Nothing to do yet. In due course, you will need to update any policy covering bereavement leave, or consider introducing one, and ensure managers are aware of the new entitlement. |
| Day one rights | Will make certain "basic" rights available from day one of employment, including:
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