Due to be phased in throughout 2026 and 2027, the Employment Rights Act represents one of the most substantial overhauls of employment law in the UK.

You may want to take this opportunity to look into your compliance elearning options, such as hwww.adempi.co.uk/compliance-training/elearning-courses, to ensure that you and your team are up-to-date with the changes that have been made. Here we look at some of the most significant aspects of the new law for both employers and employees.

Unfair dismissal

Previously, employees were required to work for an employer for two years before receiving the right not to be dismissed unfairly. This has now been reduced to six months and comes into effect on 1 January 2027.

Statutory sick pay

Previously, statutory sick pay could be paid on day four of an employee’s sickness, provided that employee was earning more than £123 per week. Now, sick pay can be paid from day one and there have been updates to the earning limits too. This updated policy came into effect on 6 April 2026.

Tribunal claims

The majority of tribunal claims used to have to have been brought within three months of the incident. Now, there is a six month time limit which applies to all claims regardless of their nature. This element of the Act is scheduled to come into force in October 2026.

Equality action plans

From April 2027, employers with more than 250 employees must publish equality action plans detailing the specific steps that are being taken to minimise the gender pay gap.