After years of relatively little movement in UK employment law, the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) is set to mark the biggest shift in employment law in a generation. The Bill has already passed through the House of Commons and is now approaching its third reading in the House of Lords, commencing 3 September. From there, it will enter what is known as ‘parliamentary ping-pong’ – the stage where the Bill moves back and forth between the Commons and the Lords until both Houses agree on the final wording. If the Lords propose amendments, the Commons can accept or reject them and send the Bill back again. This process continues until a compromise is reached, though by convention the Lords usually give way after a couple of rounds, particularly where a manifesto commitment is involved.
We anticipate the government will want this process finished before the next parliamentary recess (for party conferences) on 19 September, which means by the end of September, we expect to start working with clients to plan ahead and ensure minimal business impact.
Current Status of the Bill
We have already looked at the totality of the changes coming. Here, we look further at some of the proposed amendments:
· A broader ban on the use of non-disclosure agreements as a way of preventing workers from publicly airing allegations of harassment or discrimination. This would be a significant change, as settlement agreements nearly always include confidentiality provisions and employers may not wish to enter into settlement discussions in relation to this type of claim in future, 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.
· Amendments to the Bill confirm provisions on guaranteed hours will apply to agency workers. A significant amendment is the requirement for end-hirers to make an offer of guaranteed hours no less favourable than their previous terms. Still, an employer is not obliged to provide a guaranteed hours offer unless requested by the worker.
Government review of parental leave regime
The Government has launched a wide-ranging review of the parental leave and pay system, following a June 2025 Women and Equalities Select Committee report which found the UK regime fails to support working families and lags behind comparable countries. The review covers all existing and upcoming entitlements (including the new bereaved partner’s paternity leave due in 2026) and aims to ensure parental rights reflect modern health, social and economic needs.
The Government will assess the system against four key objectives:
· Maternal health – safeguarding women’s physical and mental wellbeing during pregnancy and postpartum, with sufficient time off and fair pay.
· Economic growth – improving parents’ ability to remain in work and progress their careers, tackling the gender pay gap and “motherhood penalty.”
. Best start in life – ensuring parents have the resources and time to support children’s early development.
· Childcare – enabling flexible choices that support co-parenting and modern working patterns.
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.
Implementation Timeline
While some reforms will take effect almost immediately upon Royal Assent (such as repealing key parts of the Trade Union Act 2016), others are staggered from April 2026.
Employers will face a rolling programme of legislative change. What is clear is that the next two years will bring vast changes – Omny is here to support employers and ensure you are prepared in advance.