UK: Employment Rights Bill Update
Authors: Stephen Miller, Corinna Harris, and Charlotte Stern
The Employment Rights Bill is now at the final phase of the UK parliamentary process.
On 28 October 2025, the House of Lords will consider amendments the House of Commons made to the Employment Rights Bill, and why they rejected the Lords’ earlier amendments. If the Lords agree to these changes, the Bill is likely to become law in early November.
Some measures relating to industrial action will come into force when, or soon after, the Bill becomes law:
- Repeal of the previous Government’s legislation on minimum service levels during strikes and measures to undo the majority of the restrictions on calling strike action introduced by Conservative-led Governments over recent years
- Further protections against dismissal for taking industrial action will be enacted
Most of the key measures in the Bill are due to be brought in over the course of the next two years – see our Understanding the Employment Rights Bill: Essential Insights for Employers.
Key Action Points for Human Resources and In-house Counsel
Before the end of this year, the Government intends to launch consultations on the detail of a number of key reforms, including:
- Unfair dismissal
- “Fire and re-hire”
- Trade union measures
- Strengthened protections from dismissal for women during and after pregnancy
- Bereavement leave
- Use of zero hours contracts
