Employment Law Reforms

Following years of static employment laws in the UK, the labour government are proposing vast changes. Recently, significant amendments to the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) have been proposed, a timeline for implementation of the changes announced, and a new consultation into all types of Parental Leave has been launched.

There have been some significant proposed amendments to the ERB including:

• A wider ban of the use of non-disclosure agreements as a way of preventing workers from publicly airing allegations of harassment or discrimination. This would be a hugely significant change, as settlement agreements in particular often involve such confidentiality provisions and it is highly likely that this will have the unintended consequence of employers no longer wishing to enter into settlement discussions in relation to these type of claims – particularly where the allegations are considered vexatious.
• The government has now toned down its position slightly on fire and rehire. The fire & rehire ban will now only preclude dismissals to make changes to an employee’s contractual pay, number of working hours, pension, shift times and length and time off rights. Although on the face of it this appears to have watered down the protections, in reality these are the types of changes that often lead to a dismissal and re-engagement following consultation. Therefore, even with this amendment, the fire and re-hire provisions of the ERB will still be onerous on employers.
• There are also a number of amendments to the provisions on guaranteed hours, the most significant being the requirement for end-hirers to make an offer of guaranteed hours that is no less favourable than their previous terms, but that an employer is not obliged to provide a guaranteed hours offer unless requested by the employee.

Some of the key proposals in the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) have now been postponed until 2027, whereas the following changes will take effect upon Royal Assent or soon after this:

• Repeal of most of the Trade Union Act 2016 (namely the provisions on turnout and support for industrial action);
• Simplifying industrial action notice requirements; and
• Additional protections against dismissal for those taking part in industrial action.

In terms of the potential timeline for the other changes that are being proposed with the ERB, this is expected to be as follows:

• April 2026:
  • Establishment of fair work agency;
  • Further trade union reforms (simplifying the trade union recognition process); and
  • Collective redundancy changes (doubling the maximum period of a protective award)
• October 2026:
  • the change to employers needing to take “all” reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment and harassment from third parties; and
  • prohibition of fire and rehire (except in very proscribed circumstances).
• 2027 (unspecified dates within the year):
  • Day one unfair dismissal rights;
  • Regulations to define what steps are regarded as reasonable for the purpose of defending sexual harassment claims;
  • Zero/low hours contracts- various additional rights with the aim of banning “exploitative zero-hours contracts” and ending “one-sided flexibility”; and
  • Changes to collective consultation threshold.

The Government has commenced what is likely to be a comprehensive review of the current system of parental leave and pay regime. The review follows a June 2025 report from the Women and Equalities Select Committee (WESC) which stated that the current statutory parental leave system does not support working families and falls far behind comparable countries. All current and soon to be introduced types of parental leave and their associated pay entitlements (including bereaved partner’s paternity leave (unpaid) which is due to come into force in 2026) will be within the scope of this review. The purpose is to ensure that the host of various rights balance both the health and social requirements of the modern day.

The specific objectives against which the Government will consider the current system and the case for change of any future reform are:

• Maternal health: support the physical and mental health, recovery and wellbeing of women during pregnancy and postpartum by giving them sufficient time away from work with an appropriate level of pay.
• Economic growth: through labour market participation: support economic growth by enabling more parents to stay in work and advance in their careers after starting a family, particularly to improve both women’s labour market outcomes and the gender pay gap, reduce the ‘motherhood penalty’, and harness benefits for employers
• Best start in life: ensure sufficient resources and time away from work to support new and expectant parents’ wellbeing and facilitate the best start in life for babies and young children, supporting health and development outcomes.
• Childcare: support parents to make balanced childcare choices that work for their family situation, including enabling co-parenting, and provide flexibility to reflect the realities of modern work and childcare needs.

The review commenced on 1 July 2025 and is estimated to run for 18 months. Changes to improve the parental leave regime are already underway and will be delivered through the ERB. It is possible these may be “paused” following the outcome of the consultation. These include:

• Make paternity leave and unpaid parental leave ‘day one’ rights;
• Enabling paternity leave and pay to be taken after shared parental leave and pay; and
• Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers.

What is clear is that the next two years will bring vast changes – Omny Law is here to support employers and ensure you are prepared in advance.