03 Jul 2025
The Government published its roadmap on 1st July, which is detailed below.
The upcoming Employment Bill is expected to reshape the employment law landscape, from stronger enforcement around statutory sick pay to new protections linked to sexual harassment and zero-hours contracts. It also paves the way for day-one employment rights to become the norm.
Taking a measured look at your current HR practices now puts you on the front foot, rather than playing catch-up later.
If you’d like a no-obligation, practical conversation about how this might affect your business, please get in contact.
The Strikes Act 2023 currently gives the government power to set minimum service levels during strikes in essential services.
The Trade Union Act 2016 imposed various limitations on strikes, including longer notice periods, restrictions on picketing, higher ballot thresholds for certain important public services and the expiry of industrial action mandates after six months.
We believe the first will be repealed as soon as the Bill is passed and the second will be repealed two months later.
Protection for workers against detriments short of dismissal for taking part in protected industrial action.
It will also strengthen and simplify the existing protection against being dismissed for taking part in protected industrial action.
Doubling the maximum protective award to 180 days’ pay.
This may also include the right to take paternity leave and pay after shared parental leave and pay.
To encourage reporting of wrongdoing without fear of retaliation.
This agency will bring together existing enforcement functions, including minimum wage and statutory sick pay enforcement; the employment tribunal penalty scheme; labour exploitation and modern slavery and employment agencies rules.
The Bill outlines a range of enforcement powers, including the authority to enter premises to obtain documents and inspect electronic records.
SSP will become payable from day 1 of sickness and will be payable for the first 3 Qualifying Days of sickness.
The lower earnings limit will also be removed, meaning that all eligible employees, regardless of earnings, will be entitled to SSP.
Those earning less than the lower earnings limit (currently £125 a week) will become entitled to SSP at a rate of 80% of weekly earnings.
Simplifying the trade union recognition process (including the ability for the government to lower the required percentage of trade union members in the bargaining unit to a figure between 2% and 10% (currently 10%)).
Electronic and workplace balloting to be introduced.
This will severely restrict employers’ ability to use fire and rehire to change terms and conditions.
It would make any dismissal automatically unfair where the reason for dismissal is that the employee did not agree to the employer’s attempt to vary their terms and conditions of employment, or because they intended to employ another person on varied terms to carry out substantially the same role.
There may be limited qualified exceptions for employers acting in response to financial difficulties affecting their ability to carry on business as a going concern.
The government will establish the Adult Social Care Negotiating Body, an industry-wide body composed of representatives of employers and unions in the social care sector.
The Secretary of State would be able to ‘ratify’ agreements reached within the Negotiating Body relating to the terms and conditions of all staff employed in the provision of adult social care in England, in which case they would become binding on all employers in the sector.
They could also set pay directly in the event of a failure to reach an agreement within the Negotiating Body.
Employers will need to consult with trade union or elected representatives or (if none) workers directly, before producing the first version of their written tips policy. Any tips policy will need to be reviewed every three years from when it was implemented.
Employers will also be required to make available an anonymised summary of feedback received in consultation.
Employers will be liable for third-party harassment unless the employer took all reasonable steps to prevent this.
This covers all types of harassment, not just sexual harassment.
Employers must give to their employees as part of the statement of particulars (contract of employment) an explicit statement that workers have the right to join a trade union.
The specific content and form of this statement and the obligations placed on employers in terms of when and how it should be provided will be set out in future secondary legislation.
This will require employers with 250+ employees to produce and publish menopause action plans as part of an Equality Action Plan.
The regulations will include specific penalties for not doing so.
To introduce regulations to cover other dismissals (which are not redundancies) taking place during pregnancy, maternity leave or following a return to work.
This will ban dismissals of women who are pregnant, on maternity leave, and during a six month return to work period, except in specific circumstances
To introduce a day 1 right to at least one week of bereavement leave for employees.
Unlike parental bereavement leave, this will not be paid.
The Bill sets out complex rules surrounding the ‘right to guaranteed hours’ which require employers to make an offer of guaranteed hours to a qualifying worker after the end of every reference period (which we believe will be 12 weeks), if the worker’s hours exceed the minimum number set out in their contract.
The right to reasonable notice of a shift, or a change to or cancellation – what is ‘reasonable’ will depend on the circumstances.
There is a duty on employers to make a payment to workers each time there is a change to a shift at “short notice”.
Details will be clarified in regulations, but compensation will be proportionate to the cancellation or curtailment.
Statutory regulation will bring umbrella companies within the regulation of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (to then pass to the Fair Work Agency when established).
We expect a light touch procedure to allow dismissal during an ‘initial period’.
The government have expressed a period of 9 months.
The reason for dismissal must be capability, conduct, illegality or some other substantial reason relating to the employee.
The lighter process will not apply to a redundancy dismissal.
Any refusal must be explained in writing along with why the refusal is considered reasonable.
Consultations will begin this summer and continue into early 2026.
If you’d like a no-obligation, practical conversation about how this might affect your business, please get in contact.
Important Disclaimer:
The content of this blog is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information at the time of writing, employment law is subject to change. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of this content without seeking specific legal or professional advice relevant to your circumstances. No liability is accepted for any loss arising from reliance on the information provided.
© HR Solve It 2021-2026 - All Rights Reserved
| Company Number: 13590911 Registered In England & Wales | Website by 
| Privacy Notice & Cookie Policy
| Update cookies preferences