Compliance teams urged to prepare as U.K. Employment Rights Bill nears passage

The U.K. government’s “landmark employment reforms will kick in within months,” Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner announced in a statement on the publication of a roadmap for the U.K.’s Employment Rights Bill on July 1. The Bill, which will affect millions of workers, is expected to pass into law this year, and compliance managers are advised to hone their understanding of HR and equality issues in preparation. Some rules will change the day the Bill is passed, with further developments scheduled for April and October 2026.

“Measures such as a ban on exploitative zero hours contracts, the end of unscrupulous fire and rehire practices, parental leave and protections from unfair dismissal from day one will be truly transformative for many,” Rayner wrote in the foreword to the roadmap. “Up to 1.3 million working people – some of the country’s lowest-paid employees – will get access to Statutory Sick Pay for the very first time.”