The Employment Rights Bill is a major overhaul of UK employment law introduced by the Labour government. The bill is the most significant overhaul in years. It protects workers from day one and does mean that employers must now update contracts and employee handbooks to comply with the new rules as once the bill becomes law, it will be implemented in phases from late 2025 through to 2027.

Key changes for employers to be aware of:

*Stronger employee rights from day one 
From their first day of employment, employees will be eligible for statutory sick pay from their first day of absence. Equally, paternity leave and unpaid parental leave will become employee rights from day.

*Improved job security for employees
Employees will be able to claim unfair dismissal after just six months’ service rather than the current 24 months.

*A ban on zero-hours contracts
Low paid workers now have the right to more predictable hours and monetary compensation for cancelled shifts.

*New Sexual Harassment legislation
This already came into place in October 2025 and puts the employee in the position of duty of care in preventing harassment at work (or work events).

You can find out more about the changes on the official UK government website