The Employment Rights Bill became law after receiving Royal Assent on 18th December 2025. There is a raft of changes the Government is implementing which will be phased in over the next 2 years. We shall discuss a few of these changes in this article.
Unfair dismissal qualification period
From January 2027, the qualifying period for bringing an unfair dismissal claim will change significantly. Employees will only need six months’ continuous service, reduced from the current two‑year requirement. Although the Government initially proposed day‑one rights, this was amended before the Bill passed into law.
This change will require employers to be far more diligent during recruitment and probation. As six months is already a common probationary period, employers will need to ensure that performance management, competency assessments, and suitability checks are carried out thoroughly and documented properly. Businesses may also begin reviewing staff with under two years’ service ahead of implementation, given that their employment rights will soon accrue much earlier.
Finally, there is no longer a cap on unfair dismissal awards with the previous cap being the lower of a years’ pay or £118,223.00.
Employment tribunal deadline extended for bringing a claim (Limitation)
The time limit for making most claims to the Employment Tribunal (unfair dismissal, discrimination, harassment) is currently 3 months less one day however from October 2026 this time limit increases to 6 months. This offers the employee more time to seek legal advice and prepare a potential claim, an increased period for a matter to be resolved internally and provide fairer access to justice by not pressurising the employee to act quickly in what is an already stressful time.
Collective redundancy protective award increased
Collective redundancy is a procedure where if 20 or more redundancies are proposed then the employer must consult with the employees,Trade Union or, if they don’t have one, an employee representative. Currently the redundancies only needed to be at one site. However, from 2027 an employer will need to consider the total number of redundancies across the whole organisation and not just in one location. The employer still must enter a consultation period of at least 30 days for less than 100 redundancies and at least 45 days for more than 100, before any dismissals can take place. Although the period of consultations will not change the penalty for employers for noncompliance in collective redundancy will increase from 90 days to 180 days per employee, making noncompliance most costly.
Should you have any questions on any of the new legislation or if you have been given notice of redundancy by your employer and you need advice don’t hesitate to contact our employment legal teams at Kidd Rapinet
This article was brought to you by Kidd Rapinet’s employment solicitors. You can book an appointment with any of the employment lawyers across our other offices in Aylesbury, Canary Wharf, Farnham, High Wycombe, Maidenhead or Slough, using the form provided or seek support from ACAS, or trade unions
These materials and content have been prepared for the benefit of their viewers/readers. They are intended for marketing purposes only and are of a general nature and do not constitute legal advice applicable to any particular facts or circumstances. Kidd Rapinet LLP and/or the author(s) accept no duty of care, responsibility or liability for any loss or damage which you or any third party may suffer as a result of any reliance or use by you or them of these marketing materials and content, except to the extent it is not legally possible to exclude such liability. If you require legal advice on your own situation, please contact us so we can discuss how we may assist.