An update on the Employment Rights Bill

An update on the Employment Rights Bill – Where are we now?

On 10 October 2024, the Labour Government introduced the long-awaited Employment Rights Bill (“the Bill”), described as “the most significant reform of employment law in over 30 years.” You can read our initial overview in Employment Rights Bill 2024: The First Look for Employers.

On 12 March 2025, it completed its third reading, which we reported on here. In July, the government released its implementation plan.

On 28 October, the House of Lords considered amendments and the House of Commons’ reasons for disagreeing with some of the House of Lords’ amendments. Much to the surprise of many, the Bill did not proceed to final agreement on that date as the House of Lords rejected some of the government’s preferred positions and insisted on amendments which the government had previously resisted, such as the abolition of the qualifying service in unfair dismissal claims. On 5 November, the House of Commons again insisted on making protection from unfair dismissal a day-one right.

Update 17 November 2025

The Bill returned to the House of Lords on 17 November, where the House of Lords again rejected the government’s position on day one unfair dismissal rights and on the guaranteed hours scheme, where the House of Lords continue to insist on the right to ‘opt out’.

The House of Lords accepted the House of Commons rejection of the following amendments previously proposed by the Lords, so these have now been dropped:

• specifying short notice of shifts as less than 48 hours;
• introducing a new right to time off for special constables – instead, the Lords agreed to a Commons amendment requiring the government to review the right to time off for public duties (including for special constables) and publish a report within 12 months of enactment;
• requiring regulations to be made to extend circumstances of unfair dismissal protection on whistleblowing and requiring certain employers to take reasonable steps to investigate protected disclosures;
• introducing a new right to be accompanied by a certified professional companion at disciplinary/grievance hearings – although the Government did commit to carry out a review of the statutory right to a companion, including consultation with stakeholders;
  certain other provisions concerning consultation with SMEs, young persons working on heritage railways, and school terms and conditions.

Update – 27 November 2025

The government has accepted the House of Lords’ demands to have a six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal, with day one rights being abandoned. This followed a long process of ‘ping-pong’ where the two Houses battled over the length of the qualifying period.

Other issues of contention remain A number of previous Lords amendments have been dropped, and the Bill continues to take shape as it progresses through Parliament but there is now a real chance we may see the Bill become law before Christmas.

The Department for Business & Trade has also announced that the Government has committed that any future changes to the unfair dismissal qualifying period will require primary legislation, and that the compensation cap will be lifted. This is a significant new development, although the detail and timing remain unclear.

The Employment Team at Warners are keeping an eye on further updates and will update this page as we learn more.