Employment Rights Act Timeline 2026–2027: Every Confirmed Date

This page is reviewed and updated as the Employment Rights Act’s implementation schedule develops. Last verified: 23 July 2026.

The Employment Rights Act 2025 doesn’t take effect on a single date. It rolls out in phases across 2026 and 2027, and the schedule has already changed twice since the government’s original roadmap was published in July 2025. 

The government has published a revised timetable, confirming fire and rehire restrictions would take effect from January 2027. In July 2026, ministers confirmed more specific dates for several autumn measures, and separately withdrew the draft tipping code of practice just months before its planned implementation, before confirming on 16 July that reforms would instead come by the end of the year. 

This page exists to keep track of it as it moves. It covers: 

• The full month-by-month breakdown of every confirmed change 
• Which dates are locked in, and which are still subject to consultation or delay 
• How to use this timeline for your own compliance planning 

Quick-Reference Summary 

The Full Month-by-Month Breakdown 

18 December 2025 – Royal Assent 

The Act became law on this date. One measure took immediate effect: the repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023, removing minimum service level requirements for strikes in essential public services.

18 February 2026 – Trade Union Reforms Begin 

Per the government’s official timetable, the bulk of the Trade Union Act 2016 is repealed, simplifying industrial action notices and ballot requirements, removing the 10-year ballot requirement for political funds, and introducing protections against dismissal for taking industrial action. Employees newly eligible for day-one paternity leave and unpaid parental leave can also give notice from this date. 

1 April 2026 – Two Separate Things Land Together 

The levy that trade unions and employer associations pay to the Certification Officer is repealed – a genuine ERA measure. Separately, and not part of the Act itself, the National Living Wage rises 4.1% to £12.71/hour (21+), with the 18–20 rate rising to £10.85, the 16–17 and apprentice rate to £8.00, and the accommodation offset to £11.10. 

6 April 2026 – The Busiest Date on the Calendar 

Confirmed by the government: 

• Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave become day-one rights 

• Bereaved partners gain the right to up to 52 weeks of paternity leave where the mother or primary adopter dies within the child’s first year – technically a separate law, the Paternity Leave (Bereavement) Act 2024, commencing on the same date rather than an ERA provision itself 

• Whistleblowing protection is strengthened for those reporting sexual harassment 

• Voluntary gender equality and menopause action plans become available, alongside new menopause guidance 

• The trade union recognition process is simplified 

7 April 2026 – The Fair Work Agency Is Established 

The Fair Work Agency is formally established on this date. Matthew Taylor CBE, appointed chair in October 2025, takes up the role. Establishment and enforcement aren’t the same thing here: the Agency’s actual enforcement powers begin on a date still to be confirmed. 

31 August 2026 – Electronic and Workplace Balloting 

Statutory trade union ballots can now be conducted electronically or in the workplace, per ministers’ confirmed dates for 2026 measures. 

1 October 2026 (England & Wales) / 9 November 2026 (Scotland) – Breach of Contract Claim Time Limits Double 

This specific, dated split, confirmed by ministers in July 2026, applies to breach of contract claims. The broader extension of tribunal time limits, covering claims like unfair dismissal, is still officially dated only as “no earlier than October 2026,” with no confirmed country-specific split yet. 

30 October 2026 – The Second Busiest Date 

Originally dated only to “October 2026” generally, these measures now have a confirmed specific date of 30 October:

• Employers must inform workers of their right to join a trade union 

• Trade unions gain a strengthened right of access to workplaces 

• Employers must take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of employees 

• Employers become liable for harassment of employees by third parties, such as customers or clients 

• A new regulation-making power is introduced, allowing ministers to later specify what counts as a “reasonable step” for the harassment duty above 

• New rights and protections are introduced for trade union representatives 

• Protections against detriments for taking industrial action are extended 

• Unfair practices in the trade union recognition process are addressed 

October 2026 (Unspecified Date Within the Month) 

Ministers have also set these for October 2026, without a specific day attached: 

• The Two-Tier Code is reinstated for public sector outsourcing 

• Regulations to establish the Fair Pay Agreement Adult Social Care Negotiating Body in England are brought forward 

Tipping law reforms are also listed under October 2026. Given the draft code of practice was withdrawn without explanation, its October 2026 date is treated separately below rather than presented as still on track.

End of 2026 – Tipping Law Reforms (Uncertain) 

The government’s draft code of practice on tipping consultation was withdrawn without explanation after union criticism. On 16 July 2026, the government confirmed the reforms would instead be introduced “by the end of the year”, rather than the original 1 October 2026 date. No further detail on the replacement code of practice has been announced as of this page’s last check. 

December 2026 – Seafarers’ Charter 

The Mandatory Seafarers’ Charter commences this month, per the government’s timetable, though no specific date within the month has been set yet. 

1 January 2027 – The Highest-Stakes Date 

Ministers have set: 

• Unfair dismissal qualifying period falls from two years to six months, for dismissals from this date onward 

• The compensation cap is removed entirely 

• Fire and rehire becomes automatically unfair in most circumstances 

One planning note, from DLA Piper’s own analysis rather than an official government-stated date: because the six-month rule applies by dismissal date rather than start date, anyone hired from roughly the end of June 2026 onward will already carry this protection once January arrives. 

Sometime in 2027 – Remaining Reforms 

Each of the following is confirmed for 2027, per the official schedule, but still dependent on consultation for an exact date: 

• Mandatory gender equality and menopause action plans (large employers) 

• Enhanced dismissal protection for pregnant women and new mothers 

• Statutory bereavement leave, including for pregnancy loss 

• Guaranteed hours and reasonable notice rights for zero- and low-hours workers 

• Regulation of umbrella companies 

• New restrictions on NDA misuse in harassment and discrimination cases 

• Electronic balloting extended to union recognition and derecognition votes 

• Extended blacklisting protections 

• A new collective redundancy consultation threshold 

• Flexible working reforms 

• Wider industrial relations framework changes 

What’s Still Unconfirmed or Subject to Change 

Most of the dates above are locked in. A few genuinely aren’t. 

Tipping law reforms are the clearest live example right now. The code of practice was withdrawn without explanation, and while the government has since indicated reforms will come by the end of 2026, no further detail has been announced. The entire ‘sometime in 2027’ tranche carries real uncertainty too, since each item depends on a consultation that’s still open or still being analysed. And the Fair Work Agency’s enforcement start date remains pending, separate from its establishment date. 

This isn’t a criticism of the process. But it does mean a timeline like this one is only ever accurate as of the date it was last checked. 

How to Use This Timeline 

• Map it against your own HR and compliance calendar now, rather than waiting until a date is a few weeks away 

• Assign an owner per cluster of dates, not the whole list to one person – 6 April alone touches payroll, absence management, and family leave policy simultaneously 

• Revisit this page quarterly, given how much the schedule has already shifted 

• Treat “end of 2026” and “sometime in 2027” dates as provisional in your own planning documents 

For full context behind any individual change, see our complete guide: Employment Law Changes 2026: HR Guidance on the Employment Rights Act 2025 

How Avado Can Help

At Avado, we help HR professionals stay ahead of employment law changes as they land, not just when they’re announced. Our CIPD courses cover the Employment Rights Act in full, including how to build the compliance calendar this timeline feeds into.

Explore our CIPD courses and make sure your organisation is never caught off guard by a compliance deadline!