Already In Effect

18 December 2025 – The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent. This landmark legislation represents the most significant overhaul of UK employment law in a generation. While Royal Assent has been granted, most provisions will be implemented in phases throughout 2026 and 2027, with detailed secondary legislation and consultations still to follow.

1 December 2025 – The Acas Early Conciliation period extended from six weeks to twelve weeks. This change doubles the time available for parties to attempt to resolve employment disputes before proceeding to an employment tribunal. The extension aims to provide more opportunity for successful settlement and reduce the burden on the tribunal system.

6 April 2025 – Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023 came into force. Parents of babies admitted to neonatal care within 28 days of birth and staying for at least seven consecutive days can take up to 12 weeks of leave (one week for each week the baby is in care). This is a day one right available in addition to other parental leave entitlements. Statutory Neonatal Care Pay is available to eligible employees with at least 26 weeks’ service and minimum earnings, paid at £187.18 per week or 90% of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower.

26 October 2024 – The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 introduced a new duty for employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of employees in the course of employment. This proactive duty requires employers to anticipate scenarios where sexual harassment could occur and take preventative action, including addressing risks from third parties such as customers or clients. Employment tribunals can increase compensation by up to 25% where an employer has breached this duty.

1 October 2024 – The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 and its supporting Statutory Code of Practice came into force. This legislation requires employers to pass on all tips, gratuities and service charges to workers in full, without deductions (except for tax), and to allocate them in a fair and transparent manner. Employers must maintain a written tipping policy and provide it to workers, and workers have the right to request information about their employer’s tipping record.

18 July 2024 – The Statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement (fire and rehire) came into force. The Code sets out expectations that fire and rehire practices should only be used as a last resort after meaningful consultation with employees or their representatives and exploration of alternatives. While there is no standalone claim for breach of the Code, employment tribunals can increase compensation by up to 25% for employees whose employers fail to follow its provisions.

1 July 2024 – TUPE amendments came into force under the Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023. These changes include allowing businesses with fewer than 50 employees, or transfers involving fewer than 10 employees, to consult directly with affected employees rather than requiring elected employee representatives, provided no representatives are already in place.

6 April 2024 – Multiple employment law changes came into force:

• Flexible working became a day one right under the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 and Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023. Employees can now request flexible working from their first day of employment (previously 26 weeks), make two requests per year (previously one), and employers must respond within two months (previously three) and consult before refusing.
• Carer’s Leave Act 2023 introduced one week of unpaid carer’s leave per year as a day one right. Employees can take this leave to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need, with no qualifying service period required. The leave can be taken in full or half-day blocks.
• Protection from redundancy for pregnant employees and those on family leave extended to 18 months under the Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Act 2023. The protection now begins when an employer is notified of pregnancy and extends to 18 months after birth, adoption placement, or for those taking at least six weeks of shared parental leave.
• Changes to paternity leave allowing fathers to take leave flexibly within the first 52 weeks (rather than 56 days) and reducing the notice period from 15 weeks to 28 days. Paternity leave can now be taken as either one continuous two-week period or two separate one-week blocks, providing greater flexibility for new fathers.
• Holiday entitlement calculation changes for part-year and irregular hours workers under the Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023. For holiday years starting from 1 April 2024, these workers accrue holiday at a rate of 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period, and employers can opt to pay rolled-up holiday pay.

1 January 2024 – The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 removed the interpretive effects of retained EU law. REUL ceased to exist as a special category of domestic law and any REUL remaining on the statute book became ‘assimilated law’, no longer interpreted in line with EU principles. The Employment Rights (Amendment, Revocation and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2023 reformed aspects of the Working Time Regulations 1998 and TUPE, with changes including modifications to holiday pay calculations, equal pay provisions, and discrimination protections.

Content will be added as the changes are introduced, so keep checking back!