The forthcoming Employment Rights Act, expected to come into force at the start of 2026 will mark the most radical changes to English employment law in a generation. The Labour Government has promised to reshape work and make it pay. With implementation staggered through 2026 and 2027, employers must act now to prepare for the most comprehensive reform in decades.
1) Day-One Employment Rights
The CBI and others have been vocal about the “chilling effect” on the economy of the prospect of employees gaining the right to claim unfair dismissal from day one of employment. There is likely to be a probationary period (Initial Period of Employment (IPE)), of six-nine months, during which a “light touch” dismissal procedure will apply but this will not apply to redundancy so a full redundancy process will need to be followed.
2) Zero-hours contracts and shift rights
This has been diluted from a ban on zero hours contracts to a ban on their “exploitative use”. From 2027, workers (including agency staff) are expected to gain:
3) Harassment prevention duties
This follows on from the employer’s current duty to prevent harassment which was introduced in October 2024. Employers will in future be required to take all reasonable steps to prevent:
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