The Department for Business and Trade has signed the first Commencement Regulations for the Employment Rights Act 2025. The instrument was made on 5 January 2026 and sequences implementation across three points: immediate enabling powers from 6 January, substantive provisions on 18 February 2026, and further family-leave reforms on 6 April 2026. The source is the Employment Rights Act 2025 (Commencement No. 1 and Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2026, published on legislation.gov.uk.
From 6 January 2026, a number of provisions are in force either fully or for the limited purpose of allowing secondary legislation. Section 7 repeals the Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Act 2023. Section 8, on exclusivity terms in zero hours arrangements, also commences. Section 26, creating protections against dismissal during pregnancy, takes effect. Other measures are switched on solely to permit regulation‑making and drafting of statutory guidance before the main rights take effect.
Also live from 6 January for regulation‑making are new frameworks on zero hours and shift rights in the Employment Rights Act 1996 Part 2A: guaranteed hours, reasonable notice of shifts, pay for cancelled or curtailed shifts, and parallel changes for agency workers. The right to request flexible working is opened for fresh regulations under Part 8A of the 1996 Act. Powers are activated to extend bereavement leave regulations, restrict contractual confidentiality clauses linked to harassment and discrimination, and to extend protection following statutory family leave.
Further enabling provisions from 6 January allow reforms on dismissal for refusing contractual variations, extended collective redundancy requirements and a defined protected consultation period. The Procurement Act 2023 gains a new Part 5A framework for a code of practice on public sector outsourcing and worker protections. The Employment Agencies Act 1973 is readied for an extension of the regulation of employment businesses. Trade union measures move forward for regulation‑making: a right to a statement of trade union rights, access to workplaces, and recognition reforms via specified parts of Schedule 6.
ACAS is now empowered to prepare or revise Codes of Practice. This includes facilities for trade union officials and learning representatives, facilities for equality representatives, and a Code on access and unfair practices during recognition and derecognition processes. Codes are issued under sections 199 and 201 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 and must follow the statutory process before they take effect. Employers and unions should expect draft texts to be consulted on and laid in Parliament in due course.
The enforcement architecture also begins to take shape from 6 January. Provisions are commenced to allow regulations on notices of underpayment, calculation of sums due, penalty arrangements, recovery of legal assistance costs, information‑sharing, and recovery of enforcement costs. The Regulations also permit staff and property transfer schemes as part of abolishing existing enforcement authorities ahead of the Secretary of State assuming consolidated enforcement functions under Part 5 of the 2025 Act.
The first operational date is 18 February 2026. On that day, parental and paternity leave provisions are partially in force, allowing notices and evidence to be given in advance of full commencement. In bereavement scenarios where a mother or adopter dies, the new paternity leave flexibilities in sections 16 and 17 take effect immediately. Collective redundancy notifications for ships’ crew and provisions concerning international maritime employment commence. New statutory protections against detriment and dismissal for taking industrial action take effect, alongside the removal of industrial action information from annual returns and the removal of certain enforcement powers relating to returns.
Transitional and saving rules apply on and after 18 February. The strengthened industrial action protections generally apply only where ballots open on or after that date, with savings for ballots opened earlier and for action that began before commencement. For union annual returns, requirements that applied to periods ending before 18 February continue to be enforceable, and existing investigations or appeals before the Certification Officer proceed under the previous law. Similar savings govern political funds, deduction of subscriptions in the public sector, facility time publication and ballot paperwork issued before commencement.
The second operational date is 6 April 2026. From that day, sections 15 to 17 of the 2025 Act are fully in force. The qualifying period of employment for parental leave is removed, the qualifying period for paternity leave is removed, and it becomes possible to take paternity leave after a period of shared parental leave. The Regulations ensure the necessary notice and evidence steps given from 18 February are legally effective for leave taken on or after 6 April.
The family‑leave changes come with tight transitional boundaries. The new paternity rules do not affect children born before 6 April 2026, children placed for adoption before that date, or children adopted from overseas who enter Great Britain before that date, nor parental order cases where the child is born before that date. There is an exception for expected weeks of birth starting on or after 5 April 2026. Where a child’s primary carer dies on or after 6 April 2026, the new arrangements can apply notwithstanding those cut‑offs, reflecting the bereavement provisions set out in the Regulations.
For workforce planners, the immediate priorities are timetabling and documentation. From 6 January, organisations can expect consultation drafts on shift notice and cancellation pay, guaranteed hours for zero hours workers, and associated changes for agency supply. The repeal of the 2023 predictable terms legislation means all predictability measures will now proceed under the 2025 Act framework. HR teams should map notice processes for parental and paternity leave now that pre‑commencement notices are possible from 18 February for leave taken on or after 6 April.
Employers with unionised workforces should track the ACAS Codes programme enabled on 6 January, particularly on workplace access, recognition conduct, and facilities for officials and equality representatives. The 18 February start of new protections against detriment and dismissal for taking industrial action means dismissal and grievance risk assessments will need to reflect the post‑commencement ballot rules. Public sector employers should note the savings around subscription deductions and facility time reporting for periods ending before 18 February.
In maritime and shipping, firms employing crew should prepare for the 18 February extension of collective redundancy notification duties and for alignment with international employment agreements recognised by the Regulations. For labour market enforcement, businesses should expect further statutory instruments and guidance on penalties, calculation methods and cost recovery as the Secretary of State builds the central enforcement model envisaged by Part 5 of the 2025 Act.
The Department’s Explanatory Note confirms this is the first commencement instrument under the 2025 Act, with additional secondary legislation and ACAS Codes expected to complete the regime. The key dates are therefore fixed: enabling powers largely from 6 January 2026; operational changes beginning 18 February 2026; and family‑leave reforms taking effect on 6 April 2026. The legislative source throughout is legislation.gov.uk, which sets the statutory wording and the transitional margins that employers, unions and advisers should apply.],
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