Employment Edit: 17 July 2025

Employment Rights Bill – the road ahead

In our last Employment Edit, we brought you an important update on the Employment Rights Bill implementation timetable, which sets out the road ahead for consultation on, and implementation of, the various reforms set out in the Bill. We have now updated our employer’s handbook to reflect the anticipated timetable for consultation and implementation for each of the key reforms.

Employment Rights Bill – House of Lords amendments

In further ERB news, the government last week tabled several potentially significant amendments to the Bill to be considered by the House of Lords during its Report Stage debates. In our latest briefing (which you can find here), we look at three key areas of change: ‘fire and rehire’, bereavement leave following pregnancy loss and new restrictions on non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) where allegations of harassment or discrimination have been raised. The amendments on these three topics have all now been approved by the House of Lords.

The House of Lords also voted in favour of some non-government amendments which would, if accepted by the House of Commons, significantly impact on unfair dismissal rights as well as the protections set out in the Bill relating to zero-hours workers and workers with variable shift patterns. Those amendments included provisions which would:

1. introduce a six-month qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims, rather than making unfair dismissal a ‘day one’ right. A lighter touch, modified dismissal procedure would still apply to dismissals that take place in the period of time after the qualifying period has passed – the length of that time period is not yet specified in the Bill and is still referred to as the ‘initial period of employment’.
2. make the right to a guaranteed hours contract for employees a right to request, rather than a right to be offered, such a contract.
3. disapply the requirement to make a payment to a worker for a cancelled shift where the employer gave at least 48 hours’ notice of the cancellation to the worker.

All House of Lords amendments will next be considered when the Bill returns to the House of Commons, which is likely to be in the autumn. It remains to be seen whether the non-government changes will be accepted or returned to the House of Lords for reconsideration but given the first two changes would represent a significant change in tack (particularly the reinstatement of a qualifying period for unfair dismissal), we anticipate that there will be some pushback.

Non-financial misconduct

In a recently published consultation paper, the FCA has confirmed its plans to make a rule change emphasising that serious misconduct, such as bullying, harassment and violence, is a matter of regulatory concern. The rule change is set to come into force on 1 September 2026. The consultation was accompanied by draft guidance which seeks to help firms identify where non-financial misconduct would give rise to issues of fitness & propriety. In this briefing, James Green considers these changes in more detail and looks at the steps regulated firms should be taking now in preparation for these changes.

Whistleblowing review

Earlier this week, the government published a research report into the effectiveness of the whistleblowing framework in Great Britain. Originally commissioned by the previous government, the research study considered whether the framework provides a route for workers to make whistleblowing disclosures, protects those workers from detriment and dismissal, and supports wider cultural change recognising the benefits of whistleblowing.

The report, which you can read here, detailed a wide range of suggested changes to whistleblowing protection and support that were identified by research participants. One of these suggestions for change is more consistent and accessible guidance, information and support for workers and employers. In its Plan to Make Work Pay, the Labour Party indicated that it would strengthen protections for whistleblowers. The next step is therefore likely to be a government response to the report, with potential areas of reform identified.

AI in Employment

Ellen Goodland recently contributed to the UK chapter of the Chambers and Partners Global Practice Guide: Artificial Intelligence 2025. In a chapter on ‘AI in Employment’, Ellen considers some of the employment law and data protection implications (including highlighting some helpful ICO guidance) that employers should consider when implementing AI technologies in the workplace.

Parental leave review

Earlier this month, the government launched a review into the full range of statutory parental leave and pay entitlements (including maternity, paternity and shared parental leave) to see how the parental leave system can work better for parents and employers. Pip Galland was delighted to have been quoted in the International Employment Lawyer on the ways in which employers can improve their parental leave offerings, both as a staff retention tool and in preparation for potential legislative changes.