Trade Unions

The minimum service levels required in the fields of health, transport, education, fire and rescue and other important services cease to apply.

Industrial Action Ballots and industrial action dismissal protection

The support threshold of 40% of those entitled to vote voting in favour of industrial action has been removed. The 50% turnout threshold remains until at least August 2026.

Employers must also not dismiss employees because they take protected industrial action. Any dismissal or disciplinary action of striking employees should be escalated for HR/legal review before action is taken.

Day-one rights to family leave

Paternity leave and parental leave available from day one. Pay will require qualifying service.

Trade Union Recognition

The rules on trade union recognition will be simplified in order to make it easier for trade unions to get recognition.

Sexual harassment and protected disclosures

The definition of a protected disclosure will include a disclosure that sexual harassment has occurred, is occurring or is likely to occur.

Collective redundancy consultation

Compensation for failure to collectively consult will be increased from 90 days to 180 days’ gross pay.

Voluntary gender equality / menopause actions plans

Employers can voluntarily publish action plans on gender equality and menopause support. Larger employers should consider preparing now, as mandatory action plans are expected in 2027.

Holiday records

Employers must keep adequate records of annual leave and holiday pay compliance for 6 years. Payroll, HRIS and holiday recording processes should be checked.

Bereaved Partners’ Paternity Leave

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. This is a non-Make Work Pay measure, which means it’s not been introduced by the Employment Rights Act, but a separate piece of legislation.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) Reform

Statutory Sick Pay will be reformed, meaning:

1. It starts from day one of absence
2. The earnings threshold is removed
3. A tapered rate for low earners will be introduced

This will increase early-stage absence costs for organisations that currently rely on the minimum statutory threshold and three-day waiting period.

Fair Work Agency

Established to deal with enforcement functions previously carried out by HMRC and other government agencies. It will be given a number of powers including compelling individuals to attend meetings, entering premises to inspect documents and bringing claims on behalf of employees.

Statutory Trade Union Recognition electronic balloting

Outsourcing and parity of treatment between public sector and private sector workers

Where public services are outsourced to contractors, the contractor’s direct hires cannot be treated less favourably than the public sector workers.

Time limits for ET claims

The time limit to bring claims in the employment tribunal will increase from three months to six months.

Duty to prevent harassment

Employers will need to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent harassment (including sexual harassment) in the workplace and by third-parties.

Expanded Trade Union rights and Industrial action detriment protection

New right to a statement of trade union rights and a trade union right of access. Trade union officials and learning representatives are also set to gain rights to facilities and time off.

Employers should ensure managers do not subject workers to detriment for taking industrial action, such as reduced hours, lost opportunities, unfavourable shift allocation or other disadvantage.

Zero-hours and irregular hours contracts

New duty to offer guaranteed/minimum hours contracts to zero hours workers, those on minimum hours contracts and agency workers based on average hours worked in previous reference period (likely to be 12 weeks). New right to compensation where shifts are cancelled or postponed at short notice or where the employee refuses a shift because the employer has not provided reasonable notice.

Dismissals during pregnancy or family related leave

Stronger protection against dismissal for women who are pregnant and for those who are taking or returning from a period of statutory family leave.

Collective redundancy threshold reform

Employers should prepare for collective consultation triggers to be assessed across the organisation, not only at one workplace.

Bereavement leave

Extended to cover a wider class of family members with whom the leave may be associated.

Flexible working requests

You can only refuse a flexible working request on one or more of the statutory grounds if it is reasonable to do so.

Ban on non-disclosure agreements covering harassment and discrimination at work

Any confidentiality clauses in agreements between an employer and a worker (e.g. a settlement agreement) which prevents a worker from making allegations about harassment or discrimination will be void.

Make Work Pay: workplace monitoring technologies

Timeline – closes 30 September 2026

The government is seeking views on how to support the fair, transparent and responsible use of workplace monitoring technologies, used to monitor, manage or make decisions relating to workers.

View the consultation here.

Equal pay and pay discrimination

Timeline – closes 27 October 2026

The government is consulting on comprehensively reforming the pay discrimination framework including addressing gaps and inconsistencies in the framework currently affecting disabled people, those from ethnic minority backgrounds and outsourced workers.

View the consultation here.

Time off for public duties

Timeline – closes 04 September 2026

The government is seeking views on how the right to time off work for public duties operates in practice, and on proposed changes to the list of public duties eligible for time off under this legislation.

View the consultation here.

Make Work Pay: holiday pay compliance and enforcement

Timeline – closes 22 September 2026

The Fair Work Agency which was established in April 2026 will be tasked with enforcement functions (e.g. worker’s rights to statutory holiday pay). The government is seeking views on:

• the proposed approach to holiday pay compliance and enforcement
• some of the important design features
• what support and guidance the Fair Work Agency can provide to help support compliance.

View the consultation here.

Make Work Pay: ending one-sided flexibility – reforms of zero hours and similar contracts

Timeline – closes 25 August 2026

The government is set to introduce significant restrictions on the use of zero-hour contracts in 2027. Ahead of this, the government is seeking views on reforms relating to zero hours and similar contracts, to implement measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025 to end one-sided flexibility.

View the consultation here.

Make Work Pay: employment rights for unpaid carers and parents of seriously ill children

Timeline – closes 04 September 2026

The government is seeking views on employment rights that are available to people with unpaid caring responsibilities and parents to who have seriously ill children.

View the consultation here.

Make Work Pay: misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs)

Timeline – closed (feedback being analysed).

The government consulted on regulations to prevent the misuse of NDAs in workplace harassment and discrimination cases. The consultation covers when an NDA may still be valid as an “excepted agreement”, who workers may still make disclosures to notwithstanding an NDA, and whether the rules should extend beyond employees and workers to other individuals.

View the consultation here.

Make Work Pay: Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations

Timeline – closed

The government sought views to help inform potential reforms aimed at making TUPE simpler for businesses while strengthening protections for transferring employees.

View the consultation here.

Make Work Pay: draft code of practice on trade union right of access

Timeline – closed

The government consulted on the draft statutory code of practice for the new framework governing trade union access to workplaces. The code will cover how access requests should be made, how access agreements should be negotiated and implemented, and practical examples of effective engagement. The revised draft code of practice was laid in Parliament on 6 July 2026, alongside secondary legislation setting out the operational and procedural details of the right of access framework.

View the consultation here.

Make Work Pay: threshold for triggering collective redundancy obligations

Timeline – closed

The government consulted on the new organisation-wide threshold for triggering collective redundancy consultation and notification obligations. Options include a fixed threshold between 250 and 1,000 redundancies, or a tiered approach based on employer size.

View the consultation here.

Make Work Pay: protection from detriments for taking industrial action

Timeline – closed

The government consulted on the types of detriments that employers should be prohibited from imposing on workers for taking official industrial action.

View the consultation here.

Make Work Pay: strengthening the law on tipping

Timeline – closed

The government is looking to strengthen laws around tipping. Specifically, they sought views on the new requirements for employers to consult with workers when developing and reviewing tipping policies as well as existing law, code of practice and guidance. A draft updated Code of Practice has been laid before Parliament and is subject to parliamentary approval

View the consultation here.

Make Work Pay: recognition code of practice and e-balloting unfair practices

Timeline – closed

The government sought views on the proposed changes to the trade union recognition and derecognition processes. As part of this, the government will need to update the code of practice on access and unfair practices.

View the consultation here.

Make Work Pay: fire and rehire – changes to expenses, benefits, and shift patterns

Timeline – closed

The Employment Rights Act 2025 will introduce a new protection for employees by making a dismissal automatically unfair where this is for the purposes of making changes to the core terms of an employee’s contract. The government consulted on two types of restricted variations in relation to fire and rehire. These are employment expenses and benefits, and shift patterns.

View the consultation here.

Make Work Pay: improving access to flexible working

Timeline – closed (feedback being analysed).

The Employment Rights Act 2025 is introducing a new process for employers to follow where they are considering rejecting a flexible working request. The government consulted on:

• a proposed new light touch process for employers consulting with employees where a request cannot be immediately agreed
• what training, resources and support can help businesses navigate flexible working requests
• other ways to improve access to flexible working

View the consultation here.

Make Work Pay: modernising the Agency Work Regulatory Framework

Timeline – closed (feedback being analysed).

As the Employment Rights Act 2025 will bring umbrella companies into the legal framework which governs agencies. Accordingly, the government is now seeking views on:

• how the regulatory framework should be adapted to account for the activities of umbrella companies
• what broader changes should be considered in order to modernise the rules

View the consultation here.