Employment Rights Bill

This Bill has been designed to deliver stronger baseline protections for workers, it will have an impact on schools and in summary it will:

• Reduce qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims and remove statutory cap on unfair dismissal compensation
• Extend rights for those on zero-hours or highly variable contracts
• Provide day-one rights and strengthen leave entitlements
• Require employers to prevent harassment in the workplace
• Clarify flexible working rights.

There is a phased roll-out, with reforms being introduced gradually across 2026/27. Day-one rights for certain leaves and statutory sick-pay reforms are likely from April 2026. See this factsheet from the Department for Business and Trade for more information.