- Employment Rights Act 2025 – What you need to know regarding recent changes
- Equality and Human Rights Commission submits an amended Services Code of Practice to Government
- Call for Evidence: Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006
Employment Rights Act 2025 – What you need to know regarding recent changes
In April 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 (“ERA”) introduced significant changes to existing legislation. The ERA expanded day-one rights, increased whistleblowing protections, created new obligations for employers, simplified trade union recognition and established a new enforcement body.
The following changes came into force in April:
- Levy Repeal: The levy that trade unions and employer associations pay to the Certification Officer was repealed.
- Expansion of day one rights: Statutory paternity and parental leave are now available from day one of employment.
- Eligibility for Statutory Sick Pay Extended: SSP is payable from the first day of illness and the lower earnings limit has been removed.
- Whistleblowing Protections Expanded: Sexual harassment is now a “qualifying disclosure” under whistleblowing legislation
- Protective award increased: The protective award for a failure to consult in collective redundancy has been increased from 90 to 180 days.
- New obligations regarding working time records: New obligations were introduced on employers to keep certain records relating to compliance with annual leave and pay for annual leave.
- Simplification of the trade union recognition process: The requirement for majority support at application stage and the 40% support threshold from recognition ballots has been removed. The support threshold to start the legal process for workplace recognition has been lowered from 10% to anywhere between 2% and 10%.
- Equality Action Plans: Employers with 250 or more employees will be able to voluntarily publish an equality action plan showing the steps they are taking to reduce their gender pay gap and support employees experiencing menopause. This will become mandatory in 2027.
- Enforcement: Establishment of fair work agency as a single enforcement body.
Points to Note:
Employers should stay updated with any changes introduced by the ERA and review their current practices, contracts, policies and handbooks to ensure compliance. Ahead of the requirement to publish equality action plans becoming mandatory, effected employers should record the current steps they are taking to support employees experiencing menopause and reduce the gender pay gap.
Equality and Human Rights Commission submits an amended Services Code of Practice to Government
On 14 April 2026, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (“EHRC”) confirmed that an updated final draft of its Code of Practice on services, public functions and associations (“Services Code”) has been submitted to the Minister for Women and Equalities.
An initial consultation was held in October 2024 following the Supreme Court’s judgment in For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers [2025], which held that the terms “man” and “woman in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex. It published an interim update in April 2025 and there was a second consultation in May 2025.
On 14 April 2026, the Minister for Women and Equalities announced that the Government will take urgent action to lay the Services Code before Parliament this month, after the local elections.
Points to Note:
Upon receiving ministerial approval, the Government must lay the Services Code before Parliament before it can be brought into force.
Call for Evidence: Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006
On 8 April 2026, the Government launched a call for evidence on the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/246) (“TUPE”).
TUPE applies when a “relevant transfer” has taken place – meaning when there is a transfer of an economic entity that retains its identity or when there is a service provider change. TUPE provides important protections for employees when a business transfers to a new employer or a service provider changes. The new employer takes over the employee’s contracts of employment related liabilities. They are unable to change the employee’s terms and conditions of employment unless the reason is an “economic, technical or organisation” involving changes in the workforce.
The Government say that it will use the call for evidence “to inform development of policy options to reform the TUPE Regulations”. The Government has stated that by updating TUPE it can “support growth through facilitating smoother mergers and acquisitions”.
The call for evidence covers respondents’ experiences with:
- current protections offered by TUPE;
- deciding whether a relevant transfer has taken place;
- the processes involved in a TUPE transfer;
- guidance and support available during a TUPE transfer;
- the circumstances in which contractual terms and conditions may be varied;
- the costs and impact of TUPE transfers and
- unintended consequences – for individuals with a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 or different socio-economic background.
Points to Note:
The call for evidence concludes on 1 July 2026 and the Government encourages responses to be made via the online platform. Responses from a wide-ranged audience across different sectors and industries are encouraged and responses will inform policy proposals. Despite the call for evidence, TUPE remains fully in force and employers must continue to comply with their existing obligations.
