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: 17 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 17 February
Section 159 of the Act lists 19 groups of measures that will take effect two months after Royal Assent – ie 17 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.
Other measures that could be commenced on 17 February
The Government previously indicated that measures extending the period of protection against dismissal for employees taking part in industrial action would be brought into effect “at Royal Assent or soon afterwards”. However, the relevant section has not been included in the list in section 159.
It is possible that the Government will make a commencement order bringing these additional measures into effect on 17 February. Alternatively, it may choose to wait until Autumn 2026, when associated provisions, extending protection against other detrimental treatment for taking part in industrial action, are due to be commenced.
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 current implementation timetable 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.
Keeping you informed
All the measures in the April 2026 wave will require commencement orders to bring them into effect. We will keep an eye out for these in the New Year.
Please visit our Employment Rights Act hub for the most up to date information on the implementation of the Act.
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