The law is changing
The law changed on 1 October.
It changes again on 1 January.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is coming in stage by stage. Two of the biggest changes are about timing: how long you have to bring a claim, and how long you need to have worked somewhere before you're protected from unfair dismissal. Which rules apply to you depends on your dates, so put them in below.
1 January 2027
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Which rules apply to you
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General information about the law in Great Britain, checked on 2 October 2026. The exact date used can move: for example, if you were given less notice than the legal minimum, the law can treat your employment as ending later. A solicitor can check your dates. Not legal advice.
What's changed, and what's coming
The Employment Rights Act 2025,
by date.
In force
Sick pay and paternity leave from day one
Statutory Sick Pay is paid from the first day off, with no lower earnings limit. Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave no longer need any length of service. The maximum protective award for failing to consult on collective redundancies doubled to 180 days’ pay.
Read the guide →In force
Six months to bring a tribunal claim, not three
For most claims, where the dismissal or the thing complained of happened on or after 1 October 2026, you now have six months less a day. If it happened before 1 October, the old three-month limit still applies.
Read the guide →Planned
“All reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment
Employers already have to take reasonable steps. The government’s timeline has this becoming all reasonable steps, with a new duty covering harassment by customers and other third parties.
Read the guide →Law, from this date
Unfair dismissal after six months, and no cap on compensation
The qualifying period drops from two years to six months, and the cap on the compensatory award is removed. It applies wherever employment ends on or after 1 January 2027, including people dismissed before then whose notice runs past it.
Read the guide →Planned
Fire and rehire restricted
New protections against being dismissed for refusing a change to your contract, and against being replaced on worse terms, are in the government’s timeline for January 2027.
Read the guide →
"Planned" dates come from the government's own timeline (updated 25 September 2026) and can still move. "Law, from this date" means the commencement regulations have already been made. Full detail in our guide to the Employment Rights Act 2025.
Want a second pair of eyes?
Talk it through with
a solicitor.
We explain; we don't advise. If you'd like a solicitor to look at your contract or your situation, we can pass your details to MML Law, a Scottish law firm based in Dundee. Nothing is passed on unless you ask, and you decide whether to go ahead.