The Employment Rights Act 2025: Key Changes And Practical Guidance

The Employment Rights Act 2025 has been described as the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation. It contains a number of reforms, the breadth and complexity of which will have a significant impact on employers. The Government has published and recently updated its implementation timetable for the reforms which span a period of over a year from when the Act became law. In this article, we set out what we consider to be some of the most significant upcoming changes and practical guidance on what businesses can do to prepare.

The Employment Rights Act 2025: Key changes

1. Unfair dismissal

Qualifying period

• The qualifying period for unfair dismissal protection is being reduced from two years to six months, with effect from 1 January 2027. Any employee hired from July 2026 onwards who has six months’ service by 1 January 2027 will be protected from unfair dismissal. If an employee’s employment is terminated without notice (or with less than statutory notice, which is