Employment Rights Bill

This hub brings together all our latest insights, analysis and updates on the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) as it progresses through Parliament and into implementation.

The Employment Rights Bill represents one of the most significant reforms to UK employment law in recent years, with wide-ranging implications for employers, workers, trade unions, and the public sector. As the Bill evolves, so will this page - providing you with timely commentary, practical guidance, and expert perspectives to help you stay informed and prepared.

Explore the sections below for detailed coverage of key themes, including workers’ rights, industrial action, and public sector implications. We’ll continue to add new content as developments unfold.

Overview

Employment Rights Bill: An overview
- The Employment Rights Bill was introduced in the House of Commons last year and is in the final stages of the Parliamentary process.
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Government backs down on Day 1 unfair dismissal rights
- Yesterday, the Government announced that it had backed down on its plan to introduce Day 1 unfair dismissal rights. This comes following significant push back from the House of Lords in parliamentary debate and discussions with key business stakeholders.
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Employment Rights Bill: Latest developments
- Earlier this week (17 November) the House of Lords again rejected amendments which the Commons reinstated in the Bill earlier this month, potentially delaying the Government’s implementation timetable.
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Employment Rights Bill: Ping pong continues
- Last night (5 November) the House of Commons rejected the latest Lords’ amendments to the Bill). However, they have made some concessions, in the hope of persuading the Lords to back down when the Bill returns to them for the third time.
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Employment Rights Bill fails to clear final Parliamentary hurdle
- On 28th October, the House of Lords declined to accept all the amendments to the Bill passed in the Commons last month. That means that the Bill failed to complete the final step in the Parliamentary process, and "ping pong" continues.
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Government launches first major wave of ERB consultations
- The Government has launched four new consultations on the implementation of the Employment Rights Bill. They relate to the following new rights: the duty to inform workers of the right to join a trade union, workplace access rights for trade unions, enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers, and leave for bereavement including pregnancy loss.
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Opposition amendments to ERB rejected by Commons
- The House of Commons considered the Lords’ amendments to the Employment Rights Bill on 15 September. As widely expected, all the non-Government amendments have been rejected.
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ERB buffeted by opposition amendments during House of Lords report stage
- The Government has suffered some temporary setbacks from opposition and crossbench amendments during the Employment Rights Bill’s report stage in the House of Lords, which ended on 23 July.
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Worker's rights

Employment Rights Bill: Overview of employment rights measures
- The Employment Rights Bill was introduced in the House of Commons last year and has now completed its report stage in the House of Lords. It is the main vehicle for implementing the Government’s pre-election promises in its Plan to Make Work Pay.
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Employment Rights Bill: Fire and re-hire
- In this briefing, we will focus the provisions which will make certain fire and re-hire dismissals automatically unfair. The Government plans to implement these changes in October 2026.
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Trade unions and industrial action

Employment Rights Bill: Overview of trade unions and industrial action measures
- The Employment Rights Bill, was introduced in the House of Commons last year and has now completed its report stage in the House of Lords. It is the main vehicle for implementing the Government’s pre-election promises in its Plan to Make Work Pay.
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Employment Rights Bill: Workplace access measures
- Many of the measures relating to trade unions in the Employment Rights Bill involve amending or repealing existing legislation. However, the Bill will also create a completely new statutory framework to enable independent trade unions to gain access to workplaces for defined purposes.
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Sector-related measures

Developing a fair pay framework for adult social care
- The Government is consulting on the establishment of Adult Social Care Negotiating Body for England. It is seeking views on how this body could be set up to “successfully create fair pay agreements and how the voice of workers and employers in the sector could be represented”. Consultation closes on 16 January 2026.
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Public sector outsourcings: turning back the clock?
- As some may recall, back in 2005 the last Labour Government brought in what became known as the “Two-Tier Code.” The Code was designed to prevent disparity in employment conditions between ex-public sector staff transferring in under TUPE and existing private sector staff working on the same outsourced contract.
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