Employment Edit: 3 July 2025

Employment Rights Bill roadmap

Earlier this week, the government published a roadmap setting out a phased approach to implementation of the reforms contained within the Employment Rights Bill. The roadmap provides detail on when the government intends to consult on several of the measures from the Bill and when it anticipates each measure coming into force. 

Lots of useful information is packed into the roadmap which means workers, unions and employers alike now have a much clearer idea of the planned order and timing of the wide-ranging reforms outlined in the Bill. In the below briefing, we take a closer look at the roadmap and pick out our key takeaways for employers.  

We have been helping lots of our clients prepare for the forthcoming changes. If you would like to discuss how your organisation can prepare for the changes outlined in the Bill, please contact Luke Bowery or your usual Employment team contact.

Employment Rights Bill progress

In other important ERB news, the Bill continues to progress through Parliament with the House of Lords’ committee stage coming to an end last week. The next step is the report stage in the House of Lords, which is scheduled to start on 14 July 2025. During the report stage, the House of Lords will consider further amendments proposed by the Lords (including any proposed on behalf of the government).

In our employer’s handbook, we explore the key reforms in the Bill and what they mean for employers. We will update our handbook shortly to reflect the roadmap detailed above and any amendments made by the House of Lords.

Changes to the Immigration Rules

Earlier this week, the Home Office published a Statement of Changes setting out various amendments to the Immigration Rules. The key changes for Skilled Workers, which are due to come into effect from 22 July 2025, include:

• an increase in the general salary threshold to £41,700;
• changes to ‘discounted’ general salary thresholds – the threshold that applies to ‘new entrants’ to the job market will rise to £33,400 and the threshold for those who hold a relevant PhD will rise to £37,500.

The above changes will apply to new applicants and those applying for an extension, other than extensions for those granted immigration permission under the Immigration Rules in place before 4 April 2024. For those with immigration permission granted under the Immigration Rules in place before 4 April 2024, the general salary threshold is set to increase to £31,300.

Separately, the minimum skill level for Skilled Workers is increasing, meaning that it will only be possible to sponsor roles at degree level or above. Transitional arrangements will apply for existing Skilled Workers working in lower skilled roles which will no longer be eligible for sponsorship. However, these transitional arrangements are subject to review and the Home Office has stated they will not continue indefinitely. There are several other changes set out in the Statement of Changes, including for care workers and for other immigration routes, and further reforms from the White Paper are expected in due course.

Parental leave review

As part of its Plan to Make Work Pay, the government this week launched a full review into statutory parental leave and pay. This review will look at all types of leave (including maternity, paternity and shared parental leave) to see how the parental leave system can work better for parents and employers. The launch of the review follows on from a recent report issued by the Women and Equalities Committee, which described the system as ‘broken’ and made several recommendations including increasing statutory paternity leave entitlement from two weeks to six weeks and simplifying and/or removing some of the eligibility rules for shared parental leave.

To kick off the review, the government has launched a call for evidence seeking information on whether the current parental leave entitlements meet certain objectives detailed by the government. These objectives include supporting maternal health, enabling more parents to stay in work and supporting parents to make balanced childcare choices. The review is expected to run for a period of 18 months.

Single-sex facilities

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has updated its interim update on the practical implications of the Supreme Court’s judgment on the definition of ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010. In For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers, the Supreme Court determined that the terms ‘man’, ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex. 

In the update issued last week, the EHRC added detail to the section on facilities in workplaces to clarify what is required under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. To see the updated interim update, click here.