The Employment Rights Act 2025 is being rolled out in phases across 2026 and 2027, and the government has already revised its original timetable once. Founders relying on a single "compliance day" are working from the wrong mental model. This is a calendar of changes, not a single deadline, and most UK SMEs still haven't mapped it properly.
The dates that matter, in order
18 December 2025: The Employment Rights Act 2025 received Royal Assent, becoming law. Implementation is phased from here.
6 April 2026: Statutory Sick Pay expands, removing the lower earnings limit and making it a day-one entitlement. Day-one rights to paternity leave and unpaid parental leave also begin. Collective redundancy protective awards double. Employers also become legally required to keep adequate holiday and holiday pay records for up to six years.
7 April 2026: The Fair Work Agency launches, consolidating enforcement of the National Minimum Wage, holiday pay, statutory sick pay, agency worker rules and modern slavery compliance into a single body with real investigatory powers.
August to October 2026: Trade union access rights expand and new sexual harassment prevention duties take effect.
October 2026 (expected, not earlier): Employment tribunal time limits for bringing most claims extend from three months to six, giving employees a longer window to act.
1 January 2027: The unfair dismissal qualifying period drops from two years to six months, the statutory compensation cap is removed entirely, and restrictions on "fire and rehire" come into force, having been pushed back from their original October 2026 date.
Later in 2027 (dates subject to confirmation): Guaranteed hours and enhanced shift notice for zero and low-hours workers, further flexible working reforms, expanded bereavement leave including pregnancy loss, mandatory gender equality and menopause action plans, and regulation of umbrella companies.
Why the phasing matters more than any single date
It's tempting to file this under "a 2027 problem" because the headline change, unfair dismissal, doesn't land until January 2027. That's a mistake for two reasons. First, several changes are already in force, the Fair Work Agency has been actively enforcing since April, and holiday record-keeping obligations already apply now. Second, the January 2027 changes are retrospective for service already accrued, meaning decisions you make about hiring and probation today directly shape your exposure in six months' time, not in eighteen.
The government has also shown it will revise this timetable, fire and rehire restrictions were originally due in October 2026 and have already moved once. Treating this as a fixed, one-off event rather than an evolving framework is how businesses end up caught out by a date they thought was still a year away.
What this means for how you plan
The founders handling this well aren't trying to become employment law experts overnight, they're building the habit of checking this calendar quarterly and asking one question each time: does anything landing in the next quarter change how we hire, manage probation, or handle underperformance? That's a much smaller task than trying to absorb all 28 areas of reform at once, and it's the difference between being ready in January 2027 and finding out about it from a tribunal claim.
If the six-month unfair dismissal change specifically is new to you, our breakdown of what it means for every hire from here covers the detail. And if you'd rather not carry this compliance load internally at all, it's worth understanding how an employer of record model shifts that risk off your desk entirely.
FAQ
How many changes does the Employment Rights Act 2025 actually introduce? The Act covers 28 distinct areas of employment law, rolled out in phases from December 2025 through 2027, rather than a single implementation date.
Which Employment Rights Act changes are already in force? As of mid-2026, Statutory Sick Pay expansion, day-one paternity and parental leave rights, the Fair Work Agency, and new holiday record-keeping requirements are all already live.
What's the single most important date for SMEs to prepare for? 1 January 2027, when the unfair dismissal qualifying period drops to six months and the compensation cap is removed, is generally regarded as the most consequential single change.
Has the government changed this timetable before? Yes. Fire and rehire restrictions were originally scheduled for October 2026 and have since been pushed back to January 2027, and the government has published a revised roadmap replacing its original July 2025 version.
Where can I find the official, up-to-date implementation timetable? Acas maintains a running summary of confirmed and upcoming changes, and updates it as the government issues further detail.
Sources
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