When labour came into power last summer, they promised employment law reform as a priority. Dubbed the biggest shake-up of employment rights for a generation, the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) is now reaching the tail end of the parliamentary process and is anticipated to be on the statute book by autumn.

Once the ERB is passed, most provisions will not come into effect straight away. Instead, it provides a framework for the updated legal position, and there will be a need for consultation and further law to deliver much of the detail required and to bring the new measures into effect. 

On 1 July 2025, the government published its roadmap, giving an indication of what we can expect to happen and when. Employers will not be hit with everything all at once, or quickly, with a phased approach instead. Although the roadmap provides a helpful insight into planned timeframes, the future employment law landscape remains uncertain. Where proposals remain subject to further consultation, it remains unclear what direction they will take, with businesses and trade unions in disagreement about a workable way forward. It remains possible that some of the provisions never do become law, either being dropped along the way or never implemented.

In the meantime, employers should plan in accordance with the timelines anticipated in the roadmap, a summary of which is set out at the end, with dates for planned consultation and implementation of some of the key issues as follows:

Picking out a few particular points:

• Day one unfair dismissal protection: Plans to remove the qualifying service requirement to claim unfair dismissal look to be pushed back to 2027. One of the more controversial proposals, this significant change would enable employees to claim unfair dismissal from the outset of employment, requiring employers to have a fair reason and a fair process to terminate from the get-go. This is subject to a yet-to-be clarified concept of an ‘initial period of employment’ (IPE) where for certain types of dismissal a lighter-touch process can be followed. Quite how this IPE will work, and how it sits alongside existing unfair dismissal laws, needs careful thought. Accordingly, although this is one of the later provisions to be implemented, consultation on the provisions is expected shortly, allowing interested parties a chance to have their say on how this might work.
• Fire and rehire: Perceived by the government as inherently unfair, the reforms essentially make the ‘fire’ of fire and rehire or fire and replace an unfair dismissal if it is for the purposes of changing terms and conditions, except where the changes are necessary due to the business being in dire financial straits. This is a significant change for employers and, in reality, has the effect of prohibiting the lawful use of fire and rehire/replace for many employers who want to make changes but are not at the point of going under, putting more emphasis on having effective variation clauses and finding alternative solutions. Interestingly, though, the government is not prioritising these changes and instead intends to consult on their proposals this Autumn, with a view to any changes not taking effect until October 2026.  
• Preventing sexual harassment: Employers have been under a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment since October 2024. The proposals are to extend this duty to taking “all” reasonable steps, and to reintroduce liability for third-party harassment, likely from October 2026. The government proposes introducing powers in 2027 to make regulations to help employers understand what “reasonable steps” actually are.  
• Collective redundancy: The protective award for failing to comply with collective consultation requirements is set to double (to 180 days’ gross, uncapped pay) from April 2026, increasing the financial risks associated with falling foul of the rules. The thresholds for collective consultation are also set to change, although not until 2027.
• Employment Tribunal (ET) time limits: The limitation period for aggrieved employees to bring a claim in the ET is set to double from three to six months, from October 2026. This change seems likely to put more pressure on an already overburdened system, and lengthen the time taken to get a judicial outcome.

The roadmap in full