Human ResourcesLegal

Acas Webinar - Employment Rights Act 2025: April Updates, Required Actions and Implications

Acas
Acas•Apr 23, 2026

Why It Matters

The Act reshapes core employment protections, forcing UK employers to overhaul HR processes and payroll, directly impacting labor costs, compliance risk, and workforce stability.

Key Takeaways

  • •Unfair dismissal protection reduced to six‑month qualifying period starting Jan 2027.
  • •Statutory sick pay now payable from day one, without earnings threshold.
  • •Paternity and parental leave become day‑one rights, removing previous qualifying periods.
  • •Fire‑and‑rehire will be automatically unfair unless severe financial hardship proven.
  • •Employers must update policies, payroll systems, and manager training before 2027.

Summary

The Acas webinar outlined the Employment Rights Act 2025, detailing April‑2026 updates and the rollout schedule through 2026‑27. While the Act received Royal Assent, many provisions will phase in over the next two years, affecting dismissal, sick pay, and family‑leave entitlements.

Key reforms include cutting the qualifying period for unfair‑dismissal protection from two years to six months, with the change effective 1 January 2027, and removing the compensation cap. Statutory sick pay will now start on the first day of illness and the lower‑earnings threshold is abolished, expanding coverage to low‑paid workers. Paternity and parental leave become day‑one rights, eliminating the previous 26‑week and one‑year qualifying periods. The Act also makes fire‑and‑rehire automatically unfair unless an employer can demonstrate severe financial distress.

The webinar cited a case study of a part‑time café employee, Sophie, who, after the sick‑pay reform, qualifies for £80 a week despite earning below the former threshold. It also highlighted ongoing consultations on trade‑union protections, flexible working, and collective redundancy thresholds, with closing dates between April and May 2026.

For employers, the legislation demands immediate action: revise contracts, update payroll and HR systems, train managers on new eligibility rules, and communicate changes clearly to staff. Failure to comply could trigger legal challenges and increase operational costs, while early adoption may improve employee morale and reduce presenteeism.

Original Description

This webinar explores the key reforms in the Employment Rights Act 2025 and what they mean in practice for UK employers, HR teams and workers. It explains which changes are already in force, what’s coming in 2026–27, and how organisations can prepare through policy updates, training and effective communication.
What you’ll learn in this video:
Employment Rights Act 2025 overview:
- How the Act became law and why most changes are being phased in across 2025–2027
- Unfair dismissal and dismissal/re-engagement (“fire and rehire”)
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) reforms
- Family, paternity, parental and bereavement rights
- Rights for zero‑hour, low‑hour and agency workers
- Collective redundancy and industrial relations changes
- Creation of the Fair Work Agency (FWA)
- Timelines, consultations and future reforms (2026–2027)
- Practical steps for employers and HR
Stay informed about the latest Employment Rights Act 2025 changes and wider employment law updates
For training on:
The information in this video was correct when recorded on 20th April 2026.

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