Royal Assent - December 2025
- Repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023
18 February 2026
- Repealing most of the Trade Union Act 2016 (some provisions will be repealed via commencement order at a later date)
- Removing the 10-year ballot requirement for trade union political funds
- Simplifying industrial action notices and industrial action ballot notices
- Protection against dismissal for taking industrial action
- Employees that are newly eligible for ‘Day 1’ Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave can give notice
6 April 2026
- Collective redundancy protective award, doubling the maximum period of the protective award
- ‘Day 1’ Paternity Leave and Unpaid Parental Leave
- Whistle blowing: Strengthening protections for workers who ‘blow the whistle’ on sexual harassment
- Bereaved Partners’ Paternity Leave (non-MWP measure) will enable bereaved fathers and partners to take up to 52 weeks of paternity leave if the mother or primary adopter dies within the first year of the child’s life
- Statutory Sick Pay: Removing the Lower Earnings Limit and waiting period
- Voluntary action plans on gender equality and supporting employees through the menopause
- Menopause guidance
- Simplifying trade union recognition process
7 April 2026
- Establishment of the Fair Work Agency
August 2026
- Electronic and workplace balloting for statutory trade union ballots
October 2026
- Requirement for employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of their employees
- Requirement for employers not to permit the harassment of their employees by third parties
- Introducing a power to enable regulations to specify steps that are to be regarded as ‘reasonable’, to determine whether an employer has taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment
- New rights and protections for trade union representatives
- Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade
- Strengthening of trade unions' rights of access to workplaces
- Two-tier procurement code for outsourced public sector workers
- Bringing forward regulations to establish the Fair Pay Agreement Adult Social Care Negotiating Body in England
- Tightening tipping law
- Strengthening trade unions’ right of access
- Unfair practices in the trade union recognition process
- Extending protections against detriments for taking industrial action
- Employment Tribunal time limits
1 January 2027
- Reduction of unfair dismissal qualifying period to 6 months (for dismissals from 1 January 2027) and uncapping compensatory awards
- Fire and rehire protections
2027
- Mandatory action plans on gender equality and supporting employees through the menopause
- Increased rights for pregnant workers not to be dismissed for other reasons (than the existing reason of redundancy) specifying steps that are to be regarded as ‘reasonable’, to determine whether an employer has taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment
- Extending blacklisting protections
- Industrial relations framework
- Regulation of umbrella companies
- New collective redundancy consultation threshold
- Changes to flexible working
- Day-1 right to bereavement leave including pregnancy loss
- Ending the exploitative use of zero-hours contracts: Duty to offer guaranteed hours contracts, provide reasonable notice of shifts and pay compensation
- Electronic and workplace balloting for recognition and derecognition ballots
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