Following Royal Assent on 18 December, we now have a fixed date for the measures in the Employment Rights Act that will be taking effect early in the New Year: 18 February.
Measures already in force
A handful of measures took effect on Royal Assent. They include the repeal of the provisions about minimum service levels during industrial action in certain sectors. These were introduced in 2023, but were never used in practice.
Measures taking effect on 18 February
Section 159 of the Act lists 19 groups of measures that will take effect two months after Royal Assent – ie 18 February 2026. These include:
- The repeal of most of the measures introduced by the Trade Union Act 2016. They include minimum thresholds for industrial action ballots, additional rules on the supervision of picketing and publication requirements in relation to facility time;
- Simplification of the information that must be given in industrial action notices and ballot papers;
- Reducing the notice unions are required to give employers of industrial action from 14 to 10 days;
- Increasing the length of the industrial action ballot mandate period from 6 to 12 months.
These are technical measures largely focused on industrial action and will not have an immediate impact on workers’ rights.
The first commencement order, made on 5 January, will bring a number of additional provisions into effect on the same date. The most important of these is to extend the protection against dismissal for striking workers during lawful industrial action, no matter how long the dispute.
Looking further ahead: April 2026
The second major implementation phase is due to happen on 6 April 2026.
The measures in this wave will have an immediate impact on workers’ rights. According to the Government’s revised implementation timetable (published on 3rd February 2026) these measures will include:
- Removing the waiting period and the lower earnings limit for Statutory Sick Pay;
- Doubling the protective award for breaches of the rules on collective redundancy consultation;
- Making paternity leave and unpaid parental leave a day 1 right.
- The first commencement order will bring the provisions on paternity leave and parental leave into effect on 6 April, but a further commencement order will be required for the other measures.
Keeping you informed
The remaining measures in the April 2026 wave will require commencement orders to bring them into effect. We will keep an eye out for these over the next few weeks.
Please visit our Employment Rights Act hub for the most up to date information on the implementation of the Act.
Editorial note
This blog, first posted on 23 December, was amended on 8 January and 4 February 2026 to correct the date for the first implementation phase, to mention some additional provisions being commenced on that date in accordance with the first commencement order and to reflect changes made by the Government in their revised implementation timetable.
Author: Charles Pigott
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