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Employment Rights Act 2025: factsheets

Further details on the measures included within the Employment Rights Act 2025.

• From: Department for Business and Trade
• Published: 18 October 2024
• Last updated: 15 May 2026
  Show all updates

  1. 15 May 2026

     The compensatory award cap for unfair dismissal has been updated to £123,543 from 6 April 2026, in line with the annual increase to statutory employment limits.

  2. 3 March 2026

     Fire and rehire factsheet: introductory section relating to unfair dismissal updated to reflect the change to the 6-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal; expected commencement date amended to January 2027 in 'When will these changes come into force' section. Flexible working factsheet: factsheet updated to ensure consistency of wording with the consultation launched on 5 February 2026; page 1 (paragraphs 3 and 4) updated to remove a sentence which incorrectly described these measures as introducing the right to request flexible working as a day one right (this is already the case); pages 3 and 4 updated to replace and add new questions. This includes details on the (limited) business impact from the Options Assessment.

  3. 29 January 2026

     'Tips and gratuities' factsheet updated with a new common question.

  4. 21 January 2026

     Updated factsheets were added for 'Preventing workplace sexual harassment', 'Public sector outsourcing', 'Social care negotiating bodies and Fair Pay Agreements', 'Trade unions', and 'Unfair dismissal'.

  5. 12 January 2026

     The 'Statutory Sick Pay - Lower Earnings Limit Removal Structure' factsheet was removed from the page.

  6. 12 January 2026

     'Employment Rights Bill: factsheets' title updated to 'Employment Rights Act 2025: factsheets' to reflect that the bill has received Royal Assent to become the Employment Rights Act 2025. All factsheet documents have been updated with the newest information available.

  7. 7 January 2026

     'Employment Rights Bill analysis' name changed to 'Employment Rights Act 2025 analysis' and document updated.

  8. 18 December 2025

     Replaced the Employment Rights Bill overview factsheet with the Employment Rights Act 2025 overview factsheet.

  9. 23 April 2025

     Statutory Sick Pay - Lower Earnings Limit Removal Structure added to the page.

  10. 10 April 2025

      Updated versions of 3 factsheets replaced the old documents, with the following changes: In the 'Employment Rights Bill overview' the Q&A was amended to reflect latest detail on analysis of costs. In the 'Employment Rights Bill analysis': a reference footnote was added to a quote from Simon Deakin, a new statistic was added regarding lost income, and Q&As were added on costs and analysis. The title of the 'Sexual Harassment' factsheet was changed to 'Harassment'.

  11. 27 March 2025

      Page updated as the Employment Rights Bill entered the House of Lords on the 14 March. The following factsheets have been added to the page: Collective Redundancy, Equality Action Plans and Outsourcing, Flexible Working, International Conventions, Mandatory Seafarers Charter, Protection for Pregnant Women and New Mothers, Public Sector Outsourcing, Sexual Harassment, Social Care Negotiating Bodies and Fair Pay Agreements, Strengthening protections for whistleblowers, Tips and Gratuities, and Umbrella companies. Wholesale changes have been made to the following factsheets: Bereavement, Paternity and Unpaid Parental Leave, Fair Work Agency, Fire and rehire, School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB), Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), Trade unions, Unfair dismissal and Zero hours contracts. Adult Social Care Negotiating Body has been removed from the page.

  12. 20 March 2025

      Updated 'Employment Rights Bill overview' to provide common questions and answers updated in line with the Employment Rights Bill entering the House of Lords. 'Employment Rights Bill analysis' added to page.

  13. 18 October 2024

      First published.

Documents

Employment Rights Act 2025 overview

PDF, 231 KB, 3 pages

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Employment Rights Act 2025 analysis

PDF, 230 KB, 5 pages

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Bereavement, paternity and unpaid parental leave

PDF, 171 KB, 4 pages

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Collective redundancy

PDF, 175 KB, 4 pages

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Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers

PDF, 171 KB, 3 pages

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Equality action plans and outsourcing

PDF, 193 KB, 3 pages

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Fair Work Agency

PDF, 149 KB, 3 pages

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Fire and rehire

PDF, 157 KB, 3 pages

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Flexible working

PDF, 252 KB, 4 pages

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Heritage railway volunteers

PDF, 103 KB, 3 pages

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Mandatory seafarers' charter

PDF, 226 KB, 3 pages

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Maritime international conventions

PDF, 180 KB, 2 pages

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Non-disclosure agreements

PDF, 226 KB, 3 pages

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Preventing workplace sexual harassment: enabling regulations about ‘reasonable steps’

PDF, 323 KB, 9 pages

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Public sector outsourcing

PDF, 175 KB, 2 pages

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School support staff negotiating body

PDF, 393 KB, 5 pages

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Social care negotiating bodies and Fair Pay Agreements

PDF, 202 KB, 4 pages

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Statutory sick pay

PDF, 231 KB, 3 pages

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Strengthening protections for whistleblowers

PDF, 208 KB, 1 page

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Tips and gratuities

PDF, 140 KB, 2 pages

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Trade unions

PDF, 321 KB, 17 pages

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Umbrella companies

PDF, 197 KB, 3 pages

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Unfair dismissal

PDF, 223 KB, 2 pages

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Zero hours contracts

PDF, 247 KB, 4 pages

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Details

The Employment Rights Bill was introduced to Parliament on 10 October 2024. It received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025, and is now the Employment Rights Act 2025.

This Act is the first phase of delivering the Plan to Make Work Pay. It will support employers, workers and unions to get Britain moving forward. It will also update and modernise the legislative framework in relation to employment rights. 

The Plan to Make Work Pay sets out how the government is aiming to: 

• grow the economy 
• raise living standards across the country 
• create opportunities for all 

The plan will help more people to stay in work, improve job security and boost living standards. The plan will also: 

• support employers and businesses across the country 
• create a fair and level playing field 
• modernise the employment rights framework to suit the economy of today 

Businesses, employers and employees can use these factsheets to understand the measures within the Act and how it affects them.