Preparing for the new world of work 

The UK is on the brink of one of the biggest shifts in employment law for a generation. The Employment Rights Bill is in its final stages in Parliament, and Royal Assent is now a matter of when, not if.

For employers, that means the countdown has started. Although most measures will come into force gradually over the next two years, the direction of travel is clear, and smart employers are already preparing.

A revolution in workplace rights

The Bill is far more than a tidy-up of existing legislation. It represents a fundamental reset of the balance between employer flexibility and employee security.

At its heart are several big-ticket reforms:

• Day-one protection from unfair dismissal with a statutory probation period

• Ban on ‘fire and rehire’

• Stronger rights for zero-hours workers

• An increase from three to six months to bring an Employment Tribunal claim

• A new ‘Fair Work Agency’ to enforce minimum standards

Add to that reforms to sick pay, family rights, whistleblowing and trade union rights, and you start to see why this Bill will have a significant impact on every employer in the country.

Why this matters now

It would be easy to assume that you can wait until the regulations are published or the commencement dates confirmed. But that would be a mistake.

Once Royal Assent is granted, the government intends to implement some measures as early as April 2026, including establishing the Fair Work Agency, making paternity leave and parental leave a day one right, removing the lower earnings limit and waiting period for statutory sick pay and simplifying the trade union recognition process. Measures expected in October 2026 include a ban on fire and rehire, the increase in Employment Tribunal time limits and a strengthening of the employer’s duty to prevent sexual harassment of their staff. In practice, employers have less than a year to prepare for the changes.

These changes will significantly change how you manage people from day one of employment to the end of the relationship.

Day-one unfair dismissal: goodbye to the two-year rule

One of the most major changes is the removal of the two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal. Employees will have protection from day one, albeit with an “initial period of employment” (expected to be around nine months) during which time employers will have to follow a statutory dismissal process (as yet undefined) prior to dismissing an employee. That means employers will need to review and amend their probation processes to ensure that the statutory dismissal process is followed prior to dismissal. A vague note saying “didn’t work out” won’t do. You’ll need to ensure that the statutory dismissal process is followed to minimise the risk of an unfair dismissal claim.

In short, it will be a legal requirement for employers to follow a statutory dismissal procedure before dismissing any employee during or at the end of their probation period.

Fire and rehire: no longer business as usual

The Bill also takes aim at “fire and rehire” tactics - where employees are dismissed and re-engaged on new terms. In future, dismissing staff to impose detrimental changes to pay, hours or other key terms will almost always be automatically unfair, except in extremely limited circumstances where the changes are essential to prevent the financial collapse of the employer.

That means consultation and communication will become critical. Employers will need to invest more time in seeking employees’ agreement to the changes including explaining the business rationale, listening to staff feedback, and recording the process properly. The days of imposing new contracts via hire and rehire will be gone.

Zero-hours and predictable working

The Bill also brings greater stability for workers on zero hours or low hours contracts. Employers will have to offer these workers a guaranteed hours contract to reflect the hours they work over a reference period (likely to be 12 weeks). Employers will also be required to give reasonable notice of shifts and any changes to scheduled shifts and make payments to workers if shifts are cancelled, moved or curtailed at short notice. For employers, this isn’t the end of flexible work, but it is the end of unstructured flexibility. Workforce planning will need to become more disciplined, and contracts more transparent about notice and cancellation terms.

Longer claim periods and tougher enforcement

Tribunal claim limits will double from three to six months. At the same time, a new Fair Work Agency will take over enforcement of core employment rights such as statutory sick pay, statutory holiday pay and national minimum wage. Expect more proactive investigations, record keeping obligations and financial penalties for non-compliance.

What employers should be doing now

So what should you be doing before the Bill becomes law?

• Map your exposure. Identify where your practices could fall foul of the new rules - particularly around probation, zero hours, and contract changes/variation clauses.
• Redesign probation. Start thinking about how your probation process could be more robust with clear objectives, check-ins, and final review stages, but bear in mind your probation process will need to be brought in line with the statutory dismissal procedure once it is published.

The bigger picture

Some employers will see these reforms as red tape. Others will recognise them as part of a broader cultural shift towards stability, fairness and transparency in work.

Handled well, the new regime can actually enhance your employee brand, improve retention and reduce litigation risk. But that won’t happen by accident. It requires a deliberate reset of your HR architecture, policies, contracts, systems and mindset.

Final thought

The Employment Rights Bill is about to redraw the map of UK employment law. Employers who keep abreast of the progress of the Bill and start planning as soon as regulations are published will navigate the transition smoothly; those who wait risk playing catch-up in a world that’s already moved on.