It's A-level season in our house; the mocks are over, the real thing is nigh and the panic is rising (maybe that's just in me!!). It felt like similar emotions were being felt in the Government this week; 2026 is here, the ERA is on the statute book, implementation is upon us! To counter the rising panic, we've had a flurry of activity this week: a tweaked roadmap, hastily followed by corrections to incorrect tweaks, and then yesterday, more consultations were published.

What do we need to know?

• Fire and rehire protections are pushed back - they will come into force on 1 January 2027 alongside the changes to unfair dismissal    
  • This is not particularly show-stopping in itself - it does give employers who may need to vary contracts for whatever reason a little more time to implement changes (original date was October 2026).
• Consultation on fire and rehire provisions
  • The changes the Government is introducing will mean that an employee who will not agree a ‘restricted variation’ of their contract and is dismissed principally because of that reason will be considered to have been automatically unfairly dismissed.
  • The consultation is concerned with the definition of ‘restricted variation’. The ERA 2025 already outlines that the main restricted variations will be: reductions in pay; changes to how pay is measured; changes to pensions; changes to total hours; reduction in paid leave and the inclusion of a term enabling the employer to make a restricted variation without the employee's consent.
  • The consultation is concerned with 1) whether variations in a shift pattern could be considered a restricted variation; and 2) whether a ‘reduction in pay’ includes a reduction in employment expenses or benefits in kind. This could impact organisations where shift work is a normal pattern of working for a sizeable number of staff. Whilst we imagine that smaller changes to shifts will be permitted, we await to see how the Government will legislate as to which shift changes will constitute a restricted variation. If you would like to know more about the consultation and where you can respond, please look at our consultation page on the Employment Rights Act Hub.
• Consultation on unfair practices in electronic balloting
  • Electronic and workplace balloting for statutory trade union ballots has been pushed back in the new roadmap dates; originally due to take effect in April 2026, it will now take effect in August 2026.  
  • Presumably this is to give time for his additional consultation on electronic and workplace balloting, which concerns the safeguards the Government wants to bring in to prevent interference with electronic balloting. The original consultation on a draft Code of Practice on electronic and workplace balloting closed on 28 January 2026. You can learn more on the hub.
• 18 February - Some trade union measures come into force
  • You may remember reading that certain trade union measures would come into force two months after Royal Assent. We are nearly there! The list is too long for this blog, but the measures of particular interest are;
    • S.69 ERA 2025 will repeal S.3 of the Trade Union Act 2016 - in ballots for industrial action in certain public services, only a simple majority support will be needed to be successful. The additional requirement of at least 40% of all union members to vote will be dropped.
    • S.74 ERA 2025 amends the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULR(C)A) - the amount of notice a trade union must give to an employer of industrial action (after the ballot) will reduce from 14 days to 10.
    • An industrial action ballot will cease to be effective after 12 months (an increase from six months).
• Are you prepared for April?
  • Statutory sick pay - removal of waiting days and removal of LEL restriction
  • Paternity Leave and Parental Leave - day one right
  • Collective redundancy protective award – doubled
  • Report of sexual harassment to be included in lists of potential protected disclosures
  • Action plans on gender equality and supporting employees through the menopause for employers with over 250 employees (voluntary)
  • Statutory recognition process simplified - remove the 40% support threshold for recognition ballots and the requirement for unions to demonstrate majority support for recognition.
  • Bereaved Partners’ Paternity Leave – (not in ERA) will enable bereaved fathers and partners to take up to 52 weeks of paternity leave if the mother or primary adopter dies within the first year of the child’s life.  

For further information on any of these measures, please visit our hub or get in touch.