Employment Rights Bill: What’s coming in Autumn 2025
On 10 October 2024, the Government published its Employment Rights Bill, setting out its plans to deliver on the promises made in its pre-election Plan to Make Work Pay and significantly change the law, in a move that will impact every employer in Great Britain.
We take a look at the roadmap for the Bill and what we can expect to see first.
Background
Whilst the Bill has yet to become law, and most likely this won’t happen before autumn 2025 as the Bill continues to be debated in Parliament, that fact hasn’t stopped the Government from releasing its plans for implementation of many of the provisions within that Bill in its Roadmap for Delivering Change. Under this roadmap, the Bill will be implemented in phases, starting from when, or shortly after, it is made into law and into 2027.
Overview
The roadmap sets out the following changes which will come into effect when the Bill receives Royal Assent, or shortly after. This is expected to be in the autumn of 2025.
• Repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023.
• Repeal of the majority of the Trade Union Act 2016.
• Trade union political fund changes.
• Simplification of industrial action processes.
• Enhanced dismissal protections for employees taking part in industrial action.
Repeal of current trade union legislation
The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 enabled the Secretary of State to set minimum service levels for strikes in industries such as health, transport, education, fire and rescue, border control, and waste management services. It was controversial when it was introduced under the previous Conservative government, and many of those who could use these rules within their organisation made it clear that they had no intention of doing so.
The Employment Rights Bill will repeal this Act, removing the requirement for minimum service levels.
Additionally, the majority of the restrictions placed on industrial action and picketing in the Trade Union Act 2016 will also be removed. This will include repealing the requirement for 50% turnout on industrial action ballots and 40% support for industrial action ballots affecting important public services.
Alongside this, the time limit on a mandate for industrial action will be extended from six months to 12 months.
Enhanced unfair dismissal protections
Currently, dismissing an employee for taking protected industrial action will be deemed as automatically unfair provided the industrial action is official and both of the following apply:
1. the reason (or, if more than one, the principal reason) for the dismissal is that the employee took protected industrial action
2. one of the following applies to the dismissal:
– the date of the employee’s dismissal fell within the “protected period” (usually the 12 weeks starting with the day the employee first took part in industrial action)
– the date of the employee’s dismissal is after the end of the protected period and the employee had stopped taking protected industrial action before the end of the protected period
– the date of the employee’s dismissal is after the end of the protected period, the employee had not stopped taking protected industrial action before the end of the protected period, and the employer had not taken reasonable steps to resolve the dispute to which the protected industrial action related.
The Bill will remove the second point entirely, meaning that the protection from dismissal will apply for the full duration of the strike and after. Once these changes come in, as long as the principal reason for dismissal is that the employee took protected industrial action, the dismissal will be deemed as automatically unfair.
Trade Unions - Industrial action processes
The Government will reduce the amount of information required in ballot notices. Unions will no longer have to provide information on the number of employees in each category or workplace or explain how the total number was determined. Unions will also no longer have to disclose the number of employees expected to take part in industrial action, making it harder for employers to plan during these periods.
Additionally, the notice period for industrial action will reduce from 14 days to 10 days.
Political fund changes
The Bill will remove the requirement for trade unions to carry out a ballot every 10 years with their members regarding their political fund.
Instead, unions will have to remind their members every 10 years that they can opt out.
Takeaway
The changes that will come in when or soon after the Bill becomes law, whilst significant, will not impact day-to-day management of employees, and there is relatively little that can be done to prepare for these changes coming into force.
The next phase however, in April 2026, will bring significant changes into law that will have a major impact on all employers, including reforms to Statutory Sick Pay.
Actions:
Watch out for consultations: Autumn 2025 in particular will be an important window for shaping how the law will be applied in practice
Prepare for change: Begin reviewing your policies and procedures to see what will be impacted and how
Stay informed: Amelore will continue to keep clients updated with insights and guidance
This briefing was produced using content created by CIPD HR Inform.