The Government has announced revisions to some of the implementation dates which were set out in its original Employment Rights Act (ERA) roadmap. Below, we look at these in further detail.

Updated implementation dates

Based on the Government’s policy paper, which sets out the revised timeline, the following changes are of particular note:

  • Menopause guidance will be introduced in April 2026.
  • E-balloting and workplace balloting for statutory ballots will be introduced in August 2026 (instead of in April).  E-balloting and workplace balloting for recognition and derecognition ballots will follow in 2027.
  • Changes to employment tribunal time limits will take effect in October 2026.
  • Changes to the rules around fire and rehire (and fire and replace) will be introduced from January 2027 (instead of October 2026).

These revisions are in addition to the recently announced implementation date of 1 January 2027 for the Government’s changes to unfair dismissal rules (i.e. the reduction to six months of the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal, and the removal of the statutory cap on the maximum unfair dismissal compensation).

How we can help

We are in the process of updating our Employment Rights Act Knowledge Base to reflect these revisions. Our Knowledge Base helps you to understand what will be changing under the ERA and what you need to do to prepare. It includes our 13-part Spotlight Series focusing on the following core areas of reform: unfair dismissal; fire and rehire; harassment; flexible working; collective redundancy; statutory sick pay; family friendly reforms; trade unions/industrial action; action on equality; zero-hours contracts and shift notices; employment tribunal time limits; non-disclosure agreements; and the Fair Work Agency. It also contains an ERA Roadmap (which we are in the process of updating) – showing when each of the key changes is expected to take effect – and information about how Make UK can support your business moving forwards.

Our free downloadable Employment Rights Act Planner details the measures we consider to be of most relevance and interest to employers, along with key action points for HR. For each measure, the Planner outlines what we think will be the key impact, concern or consequence for employers, and suggests steps employers can take to prepare (for example, in relation to policy/process reviews, risk assessments, record keeping, steps to bolster employee engagement, workforce consultations etc). 

You may also be interested in finding out more about our Audit and Impact Assessment: a bespoke audit which will help you to identify the level of potential risk in relation to each relevant legal change and provides recommended actions with a timeline to keep you compliant. Our HR and legal consultants would be happy to provide you with further information about this assessment (including reduced rates for Make UK subscribers). 

If you are a Make UK subscriber, you can speak with your adviser if you have any queries about planned changes under the ERA. 

If you are not a Make UK subscriber, you can contact us for further support on this topic. Please click here for information on how we can help your business.