2025 Workforce Update: What the Employment Rights Bill Means for Your Business
As the UK workforce landscape continues to evolve, so too does the legislative environment shaping how businesses hire, manage, and support their people. One of the most significant developments on the horizon is the Employment Rights Bill - a wide-ranging proposal that, if passed, could bring major changes to employment rights and employer responsibilities.
While not yet law, the Bill is making steady progress through Parliament, with a number of amendments already proposed. Now is the time for businesses to understand what’s coming, assess how it could impact their workforce strategy, and prepare to adapt.
What is the Employment Rights Bill?
Introduced in October 2024, the Employment Rights Bill 2024–25 sets out a number of proposals aimed at strengthening protections for UK workers and increasing employer accountability. Key areas of focus include:
- Day-one employment rights (such as protection from unfair dismissal and statutory sick pay)
- A new right to request predictable working hours for those on zero or irregular hours contracts
- Flexible working from day one
- Extended redundancy protections for parents and carers
- The creation of a new enforcement body, the Fair Work Agency
The Bill also addresses topics such as trade union recognition, fire-and-rehire practices, and changes to parental leave and sick pay entitlements.
Where Is the Bill Now?
As of April 2025, the Bill has passed its Commons Committee stage, with line-by-line scrutiny completed. A Report Stage and Third Reading in the House of Commons is expected soon, before the Bill moves to the House of Lords for further review.
According to this tracker, Royal Assent is unlikely before mid to late 2025, with secondary legislation and implementation timelines expected to follow into 2026.
Latest Amendments (March 2025)
A number of amendments were proposed and debated in March 2025, including:
- Extension of time to bring claims to Employment Tribunal from 3 to 6 months
- Clarifications around the fire-and-rehire exemption for business viability
- Remit expansion of the Fair Work Agency to include additional holiday pay rules
- Concerns raised about the capacity of the tribunal system to handle the expected increase in day-one rights cases
These changes highlight that while the Bill is not yet finalised, the direction of travel is clear: stronger protections for workers, and greater expectations on employers to embed fairness and flexibility into their employment practices.
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What Should Employers Do Now?
Even though the Bill hasn’t passed, it makes sense for organisations to review their recruitment and workforce practices now. Doing so can reduce risk, prevent rushed decisions later, and help build a more robust, compliant employment model.
Key areas to focus on include:
- Ensuring onboarding processes and documentation are aligned with proposed day-one rights
- Reviewing how flexible working requests are handled
- Assessing the structure and fairness of temporary and zero-hours arrangements
- Preparing HR teams and hiring managers for future regulatory changes
How Owen Daniels Can Help
At Owen Daniels, we support organisations through times of change with recruitment solutions that are:
- Designed to remain agile and scalable as legislation evolves
- Built with up-to-date employment practices in mind
- Aligned to ensure compliance from the point of hire, not after the fact
Whether you’re looking to adjust your workforce model, scale back hiring strategically, or ensure your processes align with upcoming legislation, we’re here to help.
Explore how we support compliant, effective recruitment, here.
