Following a compromise agreed with six leading organisations, including the CIPD, the Employment Rights Bill was passed by Parliament and has now become law as the Employment Rights Act 2025.

Having a direct operational impact on HR professionals and businesses, the legislation will balance worker protection with business sustainability, giving employers ample time to prepare for the changes.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer proclaimed that the development marks a major victory for workers in all parts of the country.

Starmer said: “We have just introduced the biggest improvement in workers’ rights in a generation.

“Today our plans have been adopted by Parliament and will soon become law.”

Advancing new worker laws

It should be noted that most of the measures in the Bill will require further consultation and secondary legislation.

Implementation will therefore take place in stages, with the final measures being completed in 2027.

Additionally, the bill will apply to England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland is in the pre-legislative phase of developing its own ‘good jobs’ labor rights bill.

Unite Union general secretary Sharon Graham commented: “Unions must now stop being hampered by these new pro-worker laws.

“The bill had already been watered down far too much, particularly with regard to the ban on dismissal, rehiring and zero-hours contracts.”

What does this mean for businesses?

The Employment Rights Act 2025 will introduce 28 major employment reforms aimed at modernizing the workplace, improving job security and strengthening worker protections.

It is the most significant overhaul of UK employment law in decades.

However, some reforms have been scaled back or delayed, raising questions about their practical implementation.

Here are some of the key changes and what they mean for your business:

Unfair dismissal

Initially, the bill proposed giving workers the right to claim unfair dismissal from day one, replacing the current two-year waiting period.

Following opposition, this duration was extended to six months, from the start of 2027.

The bill completely removes the cap on compensation for financial losses in the event of unfair dismissal.

Zero hour contracts

Under the new rules, eligible zero-hours workers will be eligible to apply for a guaranteed hours contract.

To be eligible, working hours must exceed the guaranteed minimum over a defined reference period, which should be 12 weeks, unless an exemption applies.

Those who prefer the flexibility of zero-hours contracts can keep them.

Employers will also be required to provide reasonable notice for shifts and compensate workers for canceled or shortened shifts.

Flexible working

Flexible working will become the norm rather than the exception.

Employers can only refuse a request if it is reasonable to do so, citing one or more of the eight commercial reasons already set out in the primary legislation, such as additional costs or an impact on customer requests.

However, the grounds for refusal remain broad and the consultation process unclear, raising doubts about the extent of changes in practice.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

The waiting period and income threshold for statutory sick pay (SSP) will be removed, meaning employees will no longer need to wait until the fourth day to claim sick pay.

Additionally, theLower Earnings Limit (LEL) This threshold will be abolished, which will make the PAS accessible to a greater number of employees.

Parental and bereavement leave

Unpaid parental leave will become a right from the first day of employment, thus removing the current one-year reference period.

The bill will also establish a right to bereavement leave.

It will be a good day for ‘protected leaveemployees to mourn the loss of a loved one, the right being provided for in secondary legislation.

Fire and rehire

The bill will largely ban fire-and-rehire practices, in which employers fire workers and rehire them under worse conditions.

Exceptions will apply if a company faces insolvency.

Preparation of the draft law on labor rights

The Employment Rights Bill introduces significant changes that will impact both employers and employees.

Preparing for these reforms is crucial to ensuring compliance.

At IRIS, we are here to support you every step of the way, providing you with the tools and guidance you need to navigate these changes with confidence.

Last month, the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) entered a ‘ping-pong’ phase, during which MPs considered and voted on amendments to the bill in the House of Lords.

The CIPD reported that some of the most significant amendments that were successfully brought forward by the opposition – the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats – include changes to major policies such as day one rights and zero-hours contracts.

Next steps for the Employment Rights Bill

Parliament is now back in session and the ERB will return to the House of Lords on October 28 and will continue to go back and forth until an agreement can be reached.

Some speculate that the bill will be sent back again with proposed amendments, causing delays.

Due to the expected exchanges, it is expected that royal assent of the bill will come later than expected.

However, Labor has indicated it will “not back down” and is unlikely to accept the proposed changes, experts say.

“The unions have clearly defined their mandate, we know they will push aggressively to pass the ERB, and while government bureaucracy may slow the process, we don’t expect it to go away. Employers need to prepare now,” says Peyton Inglis, human resources consultant at IRIS HR Consulting.

Incoming changes

There has been discussion that areas of the ERB which are not contested could still come into play from the end of October.

Thus, changes regarding bereavement leave, layoffs and rehires, as well as other changes planned in the roadmap, could continue as planned.

Once the Employment Rights Bill receives Royal Assent, implementation set out in the Government’s roadmap can begin.

When will the Employment Rights Bill come into force?

There is no concrete answer as to when the ERB will come into play – expect parts of the bill to come online at different times.

The government’s roadmap remains the best source of guidance.

However, if delays persist during the consultation, the government will face extremely tight deadlines, which could impact implementation.

Suggestions for businesses

Despite continued uncertainty, businesses should review their policies to maintain compliance as the ERB progresses.

Keep an eye on new guidance and announcements to understand upcoming measures and their impact.

As always, we will be sure to report the latest changes!

After a vote by the Lord House, the protection of the promised day of plowing against the unfair dismissal can now be replaced by a six -month qualification period.

If the Lord Chamber accepts the amendment, the change would mark a huge turnover in the commitment of the work to provide all workers with immediate protection against unfair dismissal.

Change the qualification period

Presented by the Minister of Ghost Affairs and Trade, Lord Sharpe d’Epsom, the proposal was approved by 304 votes to 160.

Although the qualification period would always represent a reduction in the current period of two years, it remains far from the original vision of the work set out in the bill on employment rights.

Sharpe said that this change establishes a more equitable balance and provides employers “space to assess the adequacy while ensuring that poor leak dismissals always have consequences”.

Confused and counterproductive

Sharpe explained his point of view further, commenting that the intention to protect workers was “laudable” but that the current proposed approach to the unfair dismissal is “confused and counterproductive”.

He added that there will always be a risk to hiring, which raises concerns that the bill has hung the challenge and could ultimately disincitate companies to recruit.

It should be noted that when the bill was initially announced, some experts have expressed concerns similar to the protection of the day against unfair dismissal, echoing that unfavorable implications on hiring.

In fact, Dan J. Grace, Director of the Council at Iris Software Group, commented this risk of recruitment in a previous article of the bill on employment rights, declaring: “After the change, employers can express greater caution during hiring and take less risks on candidates who do not have experience and skills but who show potential.”

What are the next steps?

Currently, the bill involves the report phase to the Chamber of Lords.

After the third reading, the changes must be approved by the House of Commons.

The roadmap for the bill on employment rights has only been published recently, the changes in the unfair dismissal which should take place in 2027, On which you can find out more in our recent blog.

Regarding the most recent development, Dan told us: “Although it is not unexpected, we continue to see the fluctuations in the way the bill on employment rights will be implemented and the changes that this will bring to the UK market.

“The message remains clear for me: employers must act and have the good practices in place to ensure that they have no” bad actors “in their workforce.

“Hire the right candidate and have a solid process around probation management.

“If this amendment passes, probation management will be more important than ever and your management team respects the principles of probation management will help reduce risks in your business.”

This week, the government has published several amendments proposed to the bill on employment rights, some with support, others still uncertain. Although it remains to be seen what proposals will be underway, the changes suggested may have a major impact on the way companies manage the rights of employees, workplace driving and contractual agreements.

Experts from the compliance of employment heroes closely follow developments to help employers remain informed and prepared.

Below, we describe the main proposed modifications, including NDA prohibitions for harassment cases, extended protections of denunciators and more.

1. Prohibit NDAS / Confidentiality agreements in cases of discrimination and harassment

The government has introduced an amendment which will mean confidentiality clauses in employment contracts, settlement agreements and NDAs will be inapplicable when they relate to discrimination or harassment. This will apply to current and old employees.

In addition to having to update standard documents, employers will have to walk even more carefully when they deal with discrimination or harassment at work. It will no longer be possible to agree with employees that they will not discuss these questions in the future, even if they agree to delete legal complaints against the employer and / or to leave employment (which are usual terms in the settlement agreements).

Given this, the importance of preventing discrimination and harassment at work will be more vital than ever.

2. Limits in fire and rehiring: not as strict as originally planned

The bill on employment rights initially proposed a total ban on the prohibition and reception practices. This means that it would be an automatic automatic dismissal when an employee was dismissed to re -enter them on a varied employment contract and / or where he was dismissed for refusing any modification of his contract.

However, the new amendment of the bill softens this approach. By carrying out an automatic automatic dismissal only applicable to certain “limited variations” to an employment contract, including changes in remuneration, hours, holidays, pensions or a change which inserts a variation clause in the employment contract (that is to say that which allows the employer to modify the provisions of the employment contract without the consent of the employee).

As before, there will always be a limited exception of a conclusion of automatic unjust dismissal where the employer can show that the modifications are absolutely necessary to avoid bankruptcy. Which will always be a very difficult test to meet.

For other changes to the contract, the employer must follow a strict consultation process with the employees affected, but will always be able to argue that any dismissal was just overall.

This relaxation on the prohibition of fire and rehiring can offer a certain flexibility necessary to employers who sail on real commercial needs, although the practice remains subject to strict conditions.

3. Workers at zero-hour / hours: right for the worker to ask for guaranteed hours, rather than the employer’s duty to offer them

As currently written, the bill on employment rights obliges employers to offer guaranteed hours to workers and employees on zero hours / low -hour contracts, depending on the hours they end up working.

The new proposals to modify the bill (although not supported by the government currently) want to change this so that workers have the right to request Guaranteed hours, rather than putting an obligation for the employer to offer guaranteed hours.

If this change passes, it will be good news for employers, as if the employee did not make this request, workers can be engaged without guaranteed hours indefinitely.

The right to request guaranteed hours will only apply if a worker has worked on average 8 hours or more per week over a period of 26 weeks. This is an important concession to employers who wish flexibility in the workplace, because in many occasional arrangements, employees will not work as many hours.

There are also modifications proposed to reduce the obligations concerning the guaranteed hours for the workers of the agency currently proposed in the bill.

4. Hours / Hours Support

The bill currently proposes that workers and employees can be awarded compensation if their quarter of work is canceled without reasonable notice.

A new amendment to the bill (and not supported by the government) proposes to limit this remuneration, so that the remuneration will only be triggered if the cancellation is carried out less than 48 hours before the start of the quarter work.

5. major changes to denunciation laws

A number of amendments have been proposed, which will considerably change the law around denunciation. The laws of denunciation protect people who raise problems of reprehensible acts from their employers or certain other people.

These changes have not (yet) received the government’s support, it is therefore not clear whether or not they will go to the final version of the bill on employment rights.

The changes propose to do the following:

• Simplify and widen the definition of “protected disclosure” (that is to say a disclosure which is protected by denunciation laws) to include “mismanagement of public funds” and “abuse of authority”.
• Demand that disclosure must actually be in the public interest (while the current requirement is that the denunciator “reasonably believes” that disclosure is in the public interest).
• The creation of a “Bureau of the Denunciator” who can:
  • Set minimum standards for employers’ denunciation policies.
  • Provide an independent hotline to the denunciators to report the problems.
  • Have powers of application for violation of denunciation laws.
• A new obligation for employers with more than 50 employees, a turnover of 10 million pounds sterling or certain sectors appointed to take reasonable measures to investigate any protected disclosure.
• A new offense to intentionally or recklessly submit a denunciator to the damage (for example, treating them unfavorably, reducing services, dismissal, etc.), the employment courts being able to issue a maximum fine of up to 10% of the global turnover of a company.

6. parental mourning leave extended to early pregnancy

The government has announced a new amendment to the bill on employment rights which is currently before parliament. The amendment will allow families to suffer a loss of pregnancy of new rights to a time of leave.

Currently, parental mourning leave is only available for parents who lose a child under the age of 18 or know the mortinity after 24 weeks of pregnancy. There is no specific right right for parents who are loss of pregnancy earlier during pregnancy.

The current law is that each parent has the right to leave up to two weeks, which is a right available from the first day of employment. However, the leave is only paid when the parent has at least 26 weeks of continuous employment with his employer.

The rate of remuneration is either £ 187.18 per week, or 90% of the average weekly income of the employee (depending on the eventualities).

How will the law change?

The government wants to change the law so that families who suffer a loss of pregnancy for 24 weeks, whether by miscarriage or otherwise will also be entitled to parental mourning leave.

The proposal is that employees will be eligible for at least a week off, but the exact amount will be confirmed in subsequent regulations as a result of a public consultation. However, it currently seems that the leave will not be paid.

Stay at the top of compliance with the hero of employment

The changes proposed to the bill on employment rights may have a significant impact on how your company manages the contracts, driving and rights of employees. Ready to navigate these changes with expert advice? Find out how the HR advice for heroes can guide you through compliance updates, policy changes and employee complex problems.

In addition, our all-in-one HR platform allows you to easily keep your contracts, documentation and internal processes aligned with the last legislation.

The bill on employment rights remains a hot topic of conversation between employers and employees in the United Kingdom. And with so many changes offered, it is important for business owners and human resources professionals to keep up to date.

The government recently announced in a press release That he would make a number of changes to this bill, after weeks of consultation with groups of employers and employees. While you can read the last proposed legislation hereWe have also broken down the key changes to you below.

Changes have an impact on agency workers and zero hours contracts, penalties to vioder collective redundancy obligations, the legal framework for unions, statutory disease salaries for low employees and compliance gaps for umbrella companies.

Here is a descent of the most important changes in the bill on employment rights.

Agency workers to benefit from zero hours contractual reforms

One of the most important changes mentioned in the bill are the proposals according to which employees and workers on zero hours contracts must be offered a guaranteed number of hours depending on the hours they end up working, subject to very limited exceptions.

The bill also stipulates that workers must receive a reasonable quarter of a quarter, as well as compensation when the quarter -work is canceled or modified in the short term.

The government has now announced that changes will be made to the bill to ensure that these protections are also applied to workers from the agency.

More severe penalties to have violated new collective redundancy obligations

Currently, the law obliges employers to consult employees collectively when they propose to make 20 or more layoffs on a work site. It is important to keep in mind that employers must also inform the Secretary of State for Layouts offered when 20 or more layoffs are taken into account.

The government had previously indicated that it wanted to modify the law so that the obligation to consult collectively (and to notify the Secretary of State) applies when there would be 20 layoffs offered or more Through the workplace as a whole, Not only on a special work site.

In a concession to employers, the government has now downgraded and said that the requirement that the 20 or more employees were to be in a workplace will remain.

However, new amendments to the bill will give the government the power to introduce regulations on a later date to deal with redundancies on several workers

These will allow the government to fix the number of redundancies proposed through the various workers of a company which will trigger the obligation to consult and collectively inform the Secretary of State. The bill will indicate that the number of employees to trigger this must be more than 20.

In other words, the effect of the regulations could be that a collective consultation is only required when there are 20 layoffs or more proposed on a single work Or When there are, for example, 50 redundancies offered on several work sites. But we do not yet know if the number will be 30, 50, 100 or another number.

Another important modification of the bill concerns sanctions for violation of collective redundancy requirements. The current maximum penalty for an employer who violated these provisions is to pay 90 days of pay for each employee who was dismissed without having been consulted. The government has now announced that it would increase the penalty At 180 days, pay by employee for breaking these rules.

He said as part of the announcement: “We want to improve the deterrence against employers deliberately ignore their collective consultation obligations and ensure that it is not financially beneficial to do so. “”

The government has also said that new directives on how employers can comply with their collective consultation obligations will be published.

No provisional relief for offenses to “fire and rehthem” processes and collective redundancy

A question that the government had originally proposed as a Amendment in the billBut confirmed that it will be practiced, the introduction of a “provisional compensation” concerning certain legal complaints from employees. The initial proposal was designed for employees providing a complaint against their employer for breaking the fires and rehiring and / or the rules of collective redundancy.

This would generally be made so that when an employee has filed a complaint concerning the termination of his job, a job court could grant the employee a “provisional compensation” while he was waiting for his request to be determined. This would mean that employers in this position should continue to pay their former employees for the duration of the job court procedure, even if their employment was over. Legislation like this would place a huge financial burden on employers.

The government has now confirmed that it will not pursue this policy, so no change is brought to the bill on this subject.

Modification of laws around unions

The government has declared that it would introduce measures of the bill which will create a modern framework for industrial relations.

This will imply “The update of the legislative framework in which the unions operate to align it with modern working practices.

Country of statutory disease for high wages

THE Bill on employment rights Currently proposes to modify various modifications to remuneration in the event of statutory disease (SSP). The legislation updates suggest making SSP available from the first day of employment, rather than for employees and workers had to wait for the fourth day of absence before it was paid.

The bill also proposes to remove the lower earning threshold which currently works so that employees and workers earn less than £ 123 per week are not eligible for SSP.

An element of this proposed change which was previously clear was what rate of employees and SSP workers who won less than the lower profits threshold would receive. The government has now announced that workers who are in low wages will receive 80% of their average weekly profits or the current SSP rate – the lowest.

Elimination of shortcomings from the company Umbrella

The government has announced that it would introduce measures so that workers do not lose rights and protections when they are engaged through an “umbrella enterprise”. This is a method used by recruitment companies to use a separate entity to employ workers and which can sometimes affect the rights of labor law.

New powers for the government to intervene in the subpaids

The government has also introduced an amendment to the bill which gives it the power to issue employers a notice of sub-payment, covering a period of up to six years, when the employer has not paid an amount under certain legislation (including the minimum wage and statutory legislation in the event of illness). The effect of the opinion will be that the employer is required to pay the employee the relevant amount due to.

Prepare with the job hero

Staying up to date with the evolution of legislation is not easy, especially when you are a busy business owner or a human resources professional. We understand that getting around what new laws mean for your business are also difficult.

To simplify compliance, our team of experts will continue to provide updates while the government publishes them.

For more advice on the bill on employment rights and how it could have an impact on your business, contact our HR advisory team.

Recently, our experts took to the virtual stage in a webinar on Navigating Employment Rights in 2025. Hosted by Simon Obee, Head of HR Advisory and Jhecie de Chavez, HR Manager, who answered your burning employment law and compliance questions.

Don’t forget, you can watch the webinar on demand here, but here are some key takeaways from the Q&A.

• New Sexual Harassment duty introduced in late 2024 – We look at how this will affect businesses and what steps needs to be taken to ensure compliance.
• Rights to Work Check changes – Cancelled passports will no longer be accepted as valid proof of the right to work in the UK.
• New year, new finances – From April 2025, a number of changes will take place that affect how you pay and tax employees.
• New Neonatal Care Leave introduced – Putting families first with a brand new type of leave to support families with babies who’ve needed a bit more help after birth.
• Employment Rights Bill – Helping you to understand your compliance commitments.

Sexual Harassment

We kicked off with the new duty to prevent sexual harassment which came into effect in late 2024 through amendments to the Equality Act. However, with all the noise around the introduction of the Employment Rights Bill this topic in particular may have gone slightly under the radar. So our experts decided to recap on how the changes to this will work.

TLDR

For those who don’t speak compliance law, the new duty basically means employers now have to take additional steps to proactively prevent any sexual harassment. So, yes, a little more work in the short term but greater protections for employees in the long term; whilst beneficial for hiring and employee retention.

But let’s dive into the questions our experts didn’t get around to answering during the webinar. They may cover a question you already have, but if not, you can get in touch with our experts to discuss your businesses HR and compliance needs.

Should 1-2-1s and exit interviews specifically ask questions about sexual harassment?

There is no specific requirement for employers to ask employees if they have been sexually harassed in 1:2:1s or exit interviews.

However, it is good practice to engage with employees regularly and create a safe environment for open and sensitive discussions. If employers are not regularly holding 1:2:1s or exit interviews it may be difficult to show compliance with the new positive duty to prevent sexual harassment as how could they be sure that there has been an avenue for an employee to raise a concern?

If there are changes in an employee’s behaviour, reports of potential sexual harassment, or other warning signs, the employer should approach the employee with care and discretion. A one-to-one meeting is often the most appropriate setting for such discussions. 

Additionally, where there is reason to believe an employee is leaving due to experiencing sexual harassment, an exit interview may provide an opportunity to understand their concerns and offer support.

How can organisations ensure that the accused is treated fairly when an anonymous report of sexual harassment is made? How can organisations  balance the need to protect the reporter’s identity with the right of the accused to defend themselves against potential defamatory accusations?

While employees can submit sexual harassment complaints anonymously, they should be made aware of the limitations of investigating anonymous reports, particularly when limited information is provided, as this may prevent the employer from being able to make any findings on the accusation. 

Hero Tip: Employment Hero’s Sexual Harassment Policy, available to customers, includes recommended wording on this issue. 

If an anonymous report is submitted by the victim, the employer’s ability to offer direct protection and support may also be restricted. 

Where an anonymous report names the alleged perpetrator, any interviews conducted with them should be carefully managed to make sure that the information gathered is accurate, unbiased, and not adversely affected by assumptions of who the complainant was.

Employees accused of sexual harassment, whether through anonymous or named complaints, must be treated fairly. Confidentiality should be maintained, with information shared only with those directly involved in handling the case. Anyone involved in the investigation should be warned about the dangers of jumping to conclusions and the damage that can be caused by gossip and speculation.

If the suspension of the employee is necessary whilst an investigation is carried out, then the employee should generally be on full pay, with the employee’s entitlements, such as allowances and benefits preserved until a finding is made. The employer should make it very clear to the employee that no finding has been made against them, and that being suspended should not be seen in any way to suggest that there will be a finding against them, rather it is just being implemented to ensure the investigation runs as smoothly as possible.

The employee should also have the opportunity to respond and defend the allegations against them and to seek legal or professional advice as required.

How do you assess whether sexual harassment is likely?

Employers should not generally assess the likelihood of sexual harassment based on individuals. Instead, employers should evaluate workplace risk factors and take proactive steps to create a safe and respectful environment.

Some examples of situations where the risks of sexual harassment is  heightened are where there is:

• A significant gender imbalance, particularly when one gender/person holds more power over another e.g. managerial position working with a junior employee
• Workplace isolation – employees often working alone or in small teams, particularly in areas that are not well-monitored, especially late-night shifts, remote work locations, or off-site meetings. 
• Events where there is alcohol involved such as work events and socials

What are all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment? What does that mean, and what does that cover?

The Employment Rights Bill proposes that the current statutory defence of an employer taking “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment will be amended to an employer taking “all reasonable steps”.

There is no guidance yet on the practical difference between the terms, although clearly taking all reasonable steps is more onerous to demonstrate than just taking reasonable steps.

The Equality & Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) guidance for employers provides examples of the steps employers can take to prevent sexual harassment. However, as every business operates differently and has its own processes, there is no single approach that applies to all organisations. Employers should remain conscious and proactive in identifying and implementing measures that are most relevant to their workplace.

Right to Work Check Changes. Check.

All employers are required to check that each of their employees has rights to work in the UK. The government is moving to a 100% digital checking regime for foreign nationals and has published new guidance here.

So what does this mean for you?

Essentially, you need to ensure that all your employees have the right to work in the UK, which is usually done during the hiring and onboarding process. But this change means a cancelled passport cannot be used as a valid right to work check documentation. Ensure all foreign national employees have a UKVI account to access their eVisa as their proof of right to work in the UK.

What is the difference between an expired British passport and a cancelled one? How would we check the difference?

An expired British (or Irish) passport can still be used as a valid form of checking an employee’s nationality for confirming they have work rights, whilst a cancelled passport cannot be.

A cancelled passport would generally be identified by certain pages having been “clipped” by the relevant immigration authority see further guidance here.  (“A clipped passport is a cancelled document (identified by the corners of certain pages in the passport being cut/removed) and therefore is not acceptable proof of right to work.”)

New Financial Year Changes. New Year, New Finances.

As with each new financial year, we see a wave of changes to how employees are taxed and paid, with this year being no different. From Minimum and National Living Wage changes, to National Insurance Contributions and statutory pay rate changes coming into effect from April 2025.

Our experts walk you through the changes in our webinar, but here are some questions they were asked.

Has small employer’s relief increased to 8.5%?

Effective from the 6th of April 2025, small employers relief will increase to 8.5% meaning employers can reclaim up to 108.5% of statutory pay costs paid to employees for the following family-related leave types:

• Maternity Pay
• Paternity Pay
• Adoption Pay
• Shared Parental Pay
• Parental Bereavement Pay
• Neonatal Care Pay

If an employee is on the National Living Wage or National Minimum Wage  but their pension and contributions make them dip below this, do we need to make further changes to their hourly rate to accommodate this?

Compliance with the National Living Wage and the National Minimum Wage is assessed on an employee’s earnings after pension contributions have been taken out. Therefore if an employee’s pension contribution would push them below the minimum prescribed by law, the employer will have breached their obligations. 

For further information on what is and isn’t included in minimum wage calculations, visit the gov website.

Neonatal Care Leave. Putting Families First.

The new Neonatal Care Leave is being introduced from the 6th of April 2025 to support employees who have newly born babies that require prolonged hospital treatment.

TLDR

A significant change that is set to affect both employers and employees, but in a nutshell, this brand new type of leave will help support parents of babies who require a little more help at birth who have had to have a longer stay at hospital. This will have a huge impact on new parents who have a new bundle of joy to focus on looking after–not worrying about covering their bills. Nice.

Do parents have to provide proof of neonatal care?

Currently, the government has not provided specific guidance on the specific documents required by employees when wishing to take neonatal care leave. To alleviate the pressure on employees who are on neonatal care leave, employers may consider requesting supporting documents on an as-needed basis. 

For now, employees can self-certify and only need to share to their employer:

• The date of birth of the child
• Relation to baby
• Confirm they are eligible for NCL  (Medical care in hospital, Ongoing medical care following discharge, Palliative or end of life care)
• That the leave will be used for caring for the baby 
• Start date of neonatal care leave
• Leave end date or duration of leave (if known)

Employment Rights Bill. Compliance Understood.

There are many proposed changes within the Employment Rights Bill and not surprisingly, HR professionals have a lot of questions around the changes and the impact on them and their teams. Don’t sweat it, Employment Hero’s got you covered.

Get your free copy of our ‘Understanding HR and Employment Law’ factsheet here.

When is the new statutory probation period for unfair dismissal likely to come into force?

The government has indicated that the changes to unfair dismissal rules will not come into force until Autumn 2026.

Once the statutory probation comes into effect, and presuming it is set at 9 months, does that mean if an employer wanted to dismiss an employee at say 3 months, the employee would be able to say “you can’t dismiss me yet because I’m entitled to a 9 month probationary period”? So will employees be able to hold employers at ransom for that 9 month probationary period?

No. There will be no rule that means an employee cannot be fairly dismissed until the end of the probationary period.

Is making employees feel pushed out of their jobs considered unfair dismissal?

If an employee resigns due to “feeling pushed out of their jobs” by the employer, this will sometimes be found to be a “constructive dismissal” on the part of the employer. In other words, it is found that the employer forced the employee to resign, so it should be treated the same as if the employer dismissed the employee. .

As of now, employees can generally only raise constructive dismissal as part of an unfair dismissal claim once they reach two years of continuous employment. Once the Employment Rights Bill takes effect, employees will be able to raise unfair or constructive dismissal claims from day one of employment.

If we offer a zero hours contract for an individual who is only going to work over the summer, and they will be working less than 12 weeks, can we still offer a true zero hours contract?

At the moment this would be perfectly possible, if the Employment Rights Bill changes go through as proposed, then it appears that there would be a “reference period” over which a worker’s hours will need to be assessed and then they must be offered guaranteed hours that reflect the hours worked in the reference period.

We don’t know how long the reference period will be set at yet, but there is a suggestion it will be 12 weeks. 

If an employee works for a lesser period than the reference period then there will be no obligation to provide them with guaranteed hours thereafter. Therefore a fixed-term zero hours contract (with no obligation to provide guaranteed hours thereafter) would seem to be possible so long as the employment ends before the end of the reference period.

With zero hour contracts, guaranteed hours will never be able to drop if you have to guarantee the same as the previous 12 weeks?

That’s right. Once the obligation to provide guaranteed hours is engaged, the employer will have to offer at least that number of hours going forward. 

However the obligation to provide guaranteed hours will only arise where an employee has been engaged for a set period of time (still to be set by regulations). Very short engagements will not count.

Where an obligation is for an employer with 250+ employees, does that include all workers, e.g, those on zero hours contracts?

This can vary depending on the obligation in question. In the webinar we were talking specifically about gender pay gap reporting obligations which apply to employers with 250 or more employees.

Under those obligations the relevant test is whether they have 250 employees on the “snapshot” date of the 5 April.

Whether or not a casual or zero-hours worker counts towards the 250 threshold will depend on the type of contract they are engaged on. 

For example, a casual worker will count towards the headcount if they are engaged on an “umbrella contract” under which they are employed for an ongoing basis and have to accept any shift allocated to them, even though they may have not been given any assignments on the 5th of April.

However, a worker who is engaged on a contract where there is no obligation for them to be given, or accept, any shifts, will only be counted if they were actually working on an assignment on 5 April.

We have someone who really only works very occasionally, during school holidays, so mostly the 12 hour calculation would usually be zero.  How should we handle this situation?

Currently such an arrangement is completely lawful. However under the proposals in the Employment Rights Bill employees working on zero hours contracts will be required to be provided guaranteed hours of work, based on a previous reference period. The reference period is yet to be set, but there has been suggestions that it will be 12 weeks.

There is also likely to be a minimum hourly threshold (still yet to be determined) which will mean that employees doing very few hours will not be caught by the new regulations.

For employees who are caught by the new obligation to be provided guaranteed hours, a question arises as to how the guaranteed number of hours will work if they are working variable hours week to week. This too will be set out in regulations but it might be calculated, for example, on the average number of hours worked per week over the reference period.

For the changes to redundancy consultation, what if we have various employing entities in the parent business? Does this mean we need to count redundancies across all entities?

No. The law currently requires employers to consult where they are proposing 20 or more redundancies at one establishment, meaning one particular workplace such as a shop, factory, etc.

The proposal in the Employment Rights Bill that obligation to consult will arise where there are 20 or more proposed redundancies across all establishments, will not, as we understand it, group parent and subsidiary companies together for this purpose. 

Is there anything in the Bill that will stop a Temping Agency from offering a Contract for Services ie no guaranteed hours

A “contract for services” (as opposed to a “contract of service”) is generally understood to be a contract for engaging an independent contractor / freelancer i.e. someone who is running their own business not someone who is a worker or employee.

The provisions in the Bill re: guaranteed hours will apply to workers and employees, not to contractors or freelancers.

Increasing the time to make an employment tribunal claim from 3 months to 6months, is it effective as of this month?

This is only a recent addition to the Employment Rights Bill which is proposed to take place in 2026. The exact effective date has not been announced yet.

Is there a “live” ERB timeline of changes that is up to date/regularly updated?

Regular updates on the Employment Right Bills can be found on the government website.

What is reasonable notice for a shift change?

The requirement to provide reasonable notice of a shift change as set out in the Employment Rights Bill will be further detailed in regulations, we do not have the details yet, but we expect the legislation will be set up so that what is reasonable is dependent on the exact circumstances of the case. For example, in an emergency situation it might well be reasonable to provide no notice or very little notice at all.

What has been removed from the Bill around employers publishing details of the support they provide to employees regarding menopause and menstrual issues?

The Bill currently proposes that employers with 250+ employees must publish action plans detailing the support they provide to employees going through the menopause.

An amendment was tabled to amend the Bill so that there would also be an obligation on such employers to provide details of the support they provide to employees who are suffering from menstrual issues, however this amendment has been withdrawn.

Miscellaneous

As your Employment Partner, we’re always happy to lend a helping hand and some of the questions received weren’t on the agenda. Not to worry – our experts are on it!

Flexible working – how can it work in an appointment based healthcare business?

The law regarding flexible working requests – both currently and under the changes proposed by the Employment Rights Bill – operates so that employers can refuse flexible working requests where they have good reasons to.

In a business where there is a genuine business need for employees to see clients face to face (such as in a healthcare business where the clients need to be physically examined, etc) then it should not be problematic for a business to refuse a flexible working request for an employee to work from home, for example.

Flexible working needs to work for both the employee and the employer, and we would always recommend that if an employer cannot facilitate a flexible working request from an employee it would be best practice for the employer to consider whether there is an alternative arrangement that they could suggest to the employee. 

For example, in a situation where an employee has requested to work from home 100% of the time and this will not be practical as they need to see clients face to face in the employer’s premises, could the employer allow the employee to perform the admin-related tasks associated with their role from home, even if the majority of their tasks need to be done onsite.

We have the benefit of free meals while on duty.  We are looking to change or end this.  It’s not in the contract but is on a list of staff benefits and has been for over 2 years.  Can we change this as long as we give notice?  How much notice?

The answer to this is really going to depend on the exact circumstances of your case and exactly what has been communicated to employees. 

Sometimes it is possible for something to be a contractual right even though it is not stated in the written contract due to a verbal agreement or something being implied into the contract through the actions of the parties over time.

We would encourage you to seek our further advice regarding this. One option might be for you to consult and agree with employees that you will be making this change – perhaps at the same time as you are proposing to implement another benefit instead, e.g. implementing an annual pay rise.

Would it be possible to cover the rights to carry over holiday leave?

Generally speaking employees have a right to carry over holiday leave where they have not been able to take it in the year because they are on another form of statutory leave (eg sick leave) or if their employer has not allowed them to take it in the year.

In other circumstances employers do not have to let employees carry the leave over, although many employers have a policy of allowing employees to do so, or to at the least carry over a certain number of days / weeks. Please contact us for further information.

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