Employment Rights Act 2025 UK: Full Commencement Timeline and What Changes When

The Employment Rights Act 2025 does not take effect all at once. It received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 and then commences in stages, so some of its measures have been in force for months, one took effect on 1 October 2026, a further group was fixed for 30 October 2026 by regulations made on 1 October 2026, another starts in 2027, and as of 6 October 2026 several headline reforms still had no commencement date at all.

How the Act commences: three tiers set by section 159

The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 (legislation.gov.uk: Employment Rights Act 2025). Section 159 of the Act sets three separate commencement routes rather than one start date:

1. A short list of provisions came into force on the day the Act was passed, 18 December 2025, including section 78, which repeals the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 provisions.
2. A cluster of trade union finance, ballot and Certification Officer provisions came into force automatically two months after Royal Assent, on 18 February 2026.
3. Everything else commences only when the Secretary of State makes a commencement regulation, section by section, under section 159(3) (legislation.gov.uk: Employment Rights Act 2025, section 159).

Five commencement regulations have been made under that third route so far: S.I. 2026/3, S.I. 2026/323, S.I. 2026/373, S.I. 2026/559 and S.I. 2026/954, the most recent made 1 September 2026. Each is listed against the measure it commences below.

The initial period of employment was dropped

Older commentary on this Act, including much of what was written while the Bill was still going through Parliament, describes a proposed statutory initial period of employment, during which employers would have been able to use a lighter touch dismissal process for conduct, capability or some other substantial reason dismissals, with the government's stated preference for that period running around nine months.

That proposal was dropped during the Bill's passage through the House of Lords and does not appear anywhere in the Act as enacted. Confirmed directly against the Act's own contents: Part 1's dismissal provisions run as sections 25 to 28, and none of them, nor any Schedule, nor Part 6, uses the phrase initial period of employment (legislation.gov.uk: Employment Rights Act 2025, contents). Instead, the Act as passed reduces the ordinary unfair dismissal qualifying period at section 25, from two years straight to six months, with no separate light touch regime in between. There is no statutory concept of a probationary period in UK law, before or after this Act. A contractual probation period of any length remains lawful and optional, but it carries no special statutory dismissal process.

Commencement dates set so far

Sources: S.I. 2026/3 (legislation.gov.uk), S.I. 2026/323 (legislation.gov.uk), S.I. 2026/373 (legislation.gov.uk), S.I. 2026/559 (legislation.gov.uk), S.I. 2026/954 (legislation.gov.uk), S.I. 2026/1065 (legislation.gov.uk).

What still has no commencement date, as of 6 October 2026

None of the following has a commencement date fixed in a made regulation as of 6 October 2026. Each will commence only once the Secretary of State makes a further commencement regulation, so treat every item below as pending, not scheduled, until you check the linked page for its own current status:

• Guaranteed hours and related reforms for zero hours and low hours workers (sections 1 to 6, Schedule 1). Only the rule making powers are in force; the substantive right to a guaranteed hours offer has not commenced.
• The extended collective redundancy consultation threshold (section 29).
• The automatic unfair dismissal protection against fire and rehire, meaning dismissal for refusing to agree a change to certain core contract terms (section 28(4) and (5)). Only the rule making power subsections of section 28 are in force.
• The provision voiding a confidentiality clause that would stop a worker disclosing harassment or discrimination (section 24(2), inserting section 202A into the Employment Rights Act 1996). It is in force only for the purpose of making regulations; the voiding rule itself has not commenced.
• The general, non parental bereavement leave right (section 18). Only its rule making power subsections are in force.
• One trade union provision: the industrial action ballot turnout threshold change (section 68). The workplace access and recognition reform (sections 59 and 60) is no longer pending, because S.I. 2026/1065 fixed 30 October 2026 for it.

Northern Ireland

This Act extends mainly to Great Britain. Employment law in Northern Ireland runs under its own, separate legislation, so most of the measures above, including the unfair dismissal changes, the trade union reforms and day one paternity and parental leave, do not extend to Northern Ireland. Statutory sick pay is the confirmed exception: the removal of waiting days and the lower earnings limit (sections 10 to 13) was commenced for Great Britain and Northern Ireland together, from 6 April 2026, by the same commencement regulations (S.I. 2026/373), because sections 12 and 13 of the Act amend Northern Ireland's statutory sick pay legislation directly.

Where each change is covered in detail

This page tracks dates. For the substance of each change, see:

• Statutory sick pay for the 6 April 2026 waiting days and lower earnings limit change
• Maternity, paternity and parental leave for day one paternity and parental leave
• Unfair dismissal for the qualifying period change and the fire and rehire reform
• Employment tribunal time limits for the 1 October 2026 extension to six months
• Zero hours contracts for the pending guaranteed hours reform
• Whistleblowing for the 6 April 2026 sexual harassment reporting protection
• Discrimination at work for the all reasonable steps duty and the third party harassment duty that start on 30 October 2026, and for gender pay gap action plans

For the wider UK employment law hub, see the full list of employer and employee topics.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Employment Rights Act 2025 fully in force?

No. It received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 and commences in stages. Some measures have been in force since April 2026, the employment tribunal time limit change took effect on 1 October 2026, the unfair dismissal qualifying period change starts 1 January 2027, the harassment duties in sections 20 to 22 start on 30 October 2026, and as of 6 October 2026 several measures, including guaranteed hours and the fire and rehire protection, still had no commencement date set.

When does the third party harassment duty start?

On 30 October 2026, under section 21 of the Act, commenced by S.I. 2026/1065 which was made on 1 October 2026. Section 21 inserts subsections (1A) to (1C) into section 40 of the Equality Act 2010, so that an employer must not permit a third party to harass an employee, and an employer permits it only where the harassment happens in the course of the employee's employment and the employer failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent it. A third party is a person other than the employer or an employee of the employer. Sections 20 to 22 extend to England, Wales and Scotland only.

What happened to the initial period of employment proposal?

It was dropped during the Bill's passage through the House of Lords and does not appear in the Act as enacted. The government's original plan for a light touch dismissal process during roughly the first nine months of employment was replaced by a straight reduction of the ordinary unfair dismissal qualifying period, from two years to six months, taking effect from 1 January 2027.

When does the employment tribunal time limit change to six months?

From 1 October 2026, under section 152 and Schedule 12 of the Act, commenced by S.I. 2026/954. It applies where the relevant date, generally the date of the act or dismissal complained of, falls on or after 1 October 2026. A claim whose relevant date is before that stays on the previous three months less a day limit.

When does the unfair dismissal qualifying period fall to six months?

From 1 January 2027. It applies where the effective date of termination falls on or after 1 January 2027, even if notice was given before that date. Section 25 of the Act reduces the qualifying period from two years to six months and removes the statutory cap on the unfair dismissal compensatory award, commenced by S.I. 2026/559. Only a narrow consequential rule making power connected to this section had commenced earlier, from 1 July 2026.

Does the Employment Rights Act 2025 apply in Northern Ireland?

Mostly not. Employment law in Northern Ireland runs under its own separate legislation, so most measures in this Act do not extend there. The confirmed exception is statutory sick pay: the removal of waiting days and the lower earnings limit was commenced for Great Britain and Northern Ireland together, from 6 April 2026.

Is there a statutory probation period under the Employment Rights Act 2025?

No. There is no statutory concept of a probationary period in UK employment law, before or after this Act. Probation remains purely contractual, can be any length an employer and employee agree, and carries no special statutory dismissal process.