A Business Owner’s Guide to the Employment Rights Bill: Key Changes & What to Do Next
Just when you think you’ve got a handle on rising National Insurance, minimum wage hikes, and the never-ending pressures that comes with running a business in this economy… along comes one of the biggest shake-ups in UK employment law: The Employment Rights Bill.
If you’re already seeing LinkedIn filled with hot takes and headlines designed to spook you – we get it. There’s a lot of noise out there and not all of it is helpful. Before you spiral into a policy panic or spend the weekend rewriting your whole business plan, take a breath.
The official roadmap is out, and the timelines give us an indication (mostly) of what to expect. So now is the time to pause, assess and plan properly – not react blindly.
At Streetwise HR, we live and breathe the commercial realities of employing people - the good, the bad and all the tricky situations in between. Having worked with business owners in Dorset for over 20 years, we know this Bill will bring big changes and be a particular challenge for those who run small, seasonal and already stretched businesses. But it’s not the be-all and end-all. If you approach this strategically, it could even be an opportunity to pivot, evolve and thrive.
So let’s cut through the noise and get to the point: what’s changing, who’s affected and how to prepare without losing your head.
What’s in the Bill and when?
At Royal Assent (or soon after)
We’ll start with the immediate political shift. The Bill brings a strong push towards union empowerment and workplace protections. Expect:
Repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023
Repeal of most of the Trade Union Act 2016
Simplified rules for industrial action and ballots
Scrapping the 10-year requirement for political fund ballots
Stronger protection against dismissal for employees taking part in industrial action
Phase 1: expected April 2026
Here’s where it starts to get practical (and where your HR team will start to feel the pressure):
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) from day one - no more earnings threshold
Day-one rights for parental and paternity leave – no more waiting periods
New whistleblowing protections
Doubling the maximum period for protective awards in collective redundancies
Launch of the Fair Work Agency - a new regulatory body to monitor compliance
Simplified trade union recognition process
Introduction of electronic and workplace balloting
Phase 2 & 3: on the horizon late 2026/2027
You’ll want to keep a close eye on what’s coming next, especially if your business model leans on flexibility, casual workforces or minimal HR infrastructure.
Here’s what’s on the list to come:
Ban on fire-and-rehire tactics
New Fair Pay Agreement body for Adult Social Care
Tighter tipping rules and a two-tier procurement code
Duty to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent harassment and sexual harassment - including by third parties
New rights for trade union reps and stronger access rights
Employment tribunal time limits
Voluntary menopause and gender pay gap action plans (from April 2026)
Expanded protections for pregnant workers
Regulations for umbrella companies
Changes to collective redundancy thresholds
Bereavement leave
Day-one protection from unfair dismissal
Ending exploitative use of zero-hour contracts (and applying the same to agency workers)
Strengthening rights around flexible working
It’s a long list… and that’s not even the full version. But the theme is clear: more protections, more obligations, and a lot less wiggle room.
What this means for business owners
Here’s the bottom line: your contracts, handbooks, and people policies are about to get a serious stress test… and not the kind you can ignore until next year.
We’d start looking at phase 1, now:
Sick Pay Policies: Now is the time to dust them off. The ‘waiting period’ is on its way out. SSP from day one is coming – and yes, that includes lower-paid staff.
Parental & Paternity Leave: Check eligibility requirements. If your policies still refer to qualifying periods, you’ll need to revise them. This will be a day-one entitlement across the board.
Compliance Planning: The Fair Work Agency isn’t just for show. You’ll need reporting processes, internal checks, and probably a decent paper trail.
But this goes beyond ticking the legal boxes - it’s a business strategy issue.
If your model relies on agility — seasonal workers, zero-hour contracts, flexible staffing - these changes won’t just affect your HR team. They’ll impact your cost base, your scheduling, and how you scale. Adaptability won’t mean what it used to.
The truth? You can’t avoid this. But you can face it with a plan. That’s where the real advantage lies - not just in staying compliant, but in staying commercially smart.
And that’s exactly what we help you do.
Here’s what you should do now
Let’s keep it simple:
Don’t Panic. The roadmap is just that, a roadmap. The finer details are still being worked through. You don’t need to make drastic changes tomorrow.
Know Where You Stand. Start by identifying your risk areas. If your business relies on zero-hours, gig-style work or you’ve historically taken a light-touch approach to HR, it’s time for a deeper look.
Review the Basics. Pull out your contracts, handbooks and policies. What’s watertight? Where are the holes? Start with sick pay, parental leave, and your disciplinary process - all of which will be affected.
Be Strategic, Not Reactive. Change can feel like a threat, but it’s also a chance to build smarter systems. Use this as a prompt to align your people practices with your commercial goals.
Plan for What’s Coming. Time to start thinking ahead. If zero-hours are going, what’s your alternative? How will flexible working requests affect rotas, workloads and service delivery? You’ve got time to prepare - but only if you start now.
Need a hand? That’s where we come in
At Streetwise HR, we partner with businesses across Dorset and beyond to get ahead of changes like this without tying themselves in knots.
The Employment Rights Bill isn’t just a legal shake-up, it’s an opportunity to step back and rethink how your business attracts, manages and retains its people. From tightening up contracts and aligning your people policies with your business goals to building a stronger workplace culture, now is the time to think about HR as a strategic function.
Let’s get your business future ready with no fluff or legal waffle, just straight-talking HR that gets results.