On 7 July 2025, the Government took its last opportunity to table amendments to the Employment Rights Bill, following weeks of analysis by the House of Lords during the Committee Stage. In this insight, we highlight some of the key amendments and their likely impact. 

Where are we now? 

The Bill has almost completed its passage through Parliament.  

Our previous insights and webinar (which can all be found here) set out the key changes proposed in the original version of the Bill and the 215 pages of Government amendments in March 2025. 

The Government also published an implementation roadmap on 1 July 2025, setting out how and when the changes to within the Bill will come into effect.  

The key government amendments 

The detail of all the amendments proposed were published on 7 July 2025 in a 64 page amendment paper. The key ones to note from the Government are summarised below: 

• Fire and rehire / fire and replace 

The Bill originally included a provision that it will be automatically unfair to dismiss an employee for refusing to accept any contract variation, unless the reason for the variation was to save the business and the employer could not have reasonably avoided it. This is a much higher burden than the current test of an employer needing to have ‘a sound business reason’ to make a change to terms and conditions and is likely to create a significant challenge for those working in public sector services. 

The Government is now proposing a number of changes to this protection. 

The first is that a dismissal will only be automatically unfair if the employee refuses to accept a ‘restricted variation’ to their terms and conditions. This currently includes any changes related to pay, hours, holidays, and anything else set out in further regulations.  

We note that changes to an employee’s place of work and/or duties are not restricted variations, which means if they are dismissed for refusing to accept such changes, the dismissal will not be automatically unfair. However, in deciding the fairness of a dismissal for refusing to agree to a variation that is not a restricted one, it is proposed that the Tribunal will have a statutory duty to consider the following issues: the reason for the variation, the extent of any consultation, and any inducements offered to the employee (plus anything else that may be specified in further regulations). 

The following anti-avoidance measures are also proposed: 

• Employers will not be able to ‘contract out’ of these protections by imposing a clause that allows them to unilaterally make any changes to pay, hours and holidays without an employee’s agreement. Such a change would be a restricted variation. However, any variation clause that is already in place when the new laws come into effect will continue to be valid. 
• The potential ‘outsourcing’ loophole will be closed. Employers will not be able to fire their employees and replace them with contractors/agency staff doing the same or substantially the same work where there is no redundancy situation. 

The final change proposed is to the exception to the rule that dismissal for refusing to agree to a restricted variation is automatically unfair. The original exception would only apply if the employer is facing financial difficulties that affect its “ability to carry on its business as a going concern”. In response to concerns raised that public sector employers would never be able to establish that they were about to go ‘out of business’, it is now proposed that this test will only apply to private sector employers. For public sector bodies generally, the exception will apply if the financial difficulties it faces are likely in the immediate future to affect “the financial sustainability of carrying out the employer’s statutory functions”. For local authorities, the exception will apply if the financial difficulties it faces are so serious that they have resulted in a ‘relevant intervention direction’ being issued by central or devolved government under the Local Government Act 1999, the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2002, or the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003.  

The roadmap confirms that these changes will come into effect in October 2026. However, all of the details of how these measures will work in practice will be confirmed by further regulations, which are likely to follow after further consultation to take place in Autumn 2025.  

• Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in harassment and discrimination cases 

The Government is proposing to add a new right that would prevent employers from including a clause in any contract or agreement that requires a worker to keep confidential any allegation or disclosure of information relating to work-related harassment and discrimination (as defined in sections 13, 15-19A and 26 the Equality Act 2010) and the employer’s response to it. Any such clause will be invalid. This will apply equally to those who are alleged victims and also those who have witnessed or are aware of such abuse.   

However, how this will work in practice is unclear, as the proposed amendments give the Secretary of State the power to make regulations that: 

• This will not apply to ‘excepted agreements’ (which is to be defined by regulations) 
• Extend this protection to those who are not workers and further define who is to be regarded as their employer for these purposes. 
• “Make different provision for different purposes” 

It is not known when this will come into effect (it is not mentioned in the roadmap which pre-dated the proposed change). 

However, the roadmap confirms that the original proposals in the Bill in relation to harassment (1) extending the duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment to ‘all’ reasonable steps, (2) protecting those reporting sexual harassment as whistle-blowers (3) making NDAs in respect of such disclosures invalid, and, (4) re-instating employer liability for third party harassment of their employees in respect of any protected characteristic) will all come into effect in October 2026. 

• Bereavement leave for pregnancy loss 

The Bill will already extend the current entitlement to statutory parental bereavement leave of one week (which is available to parents who lose a child under 18 or a child who is stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy) from bereaved parents to all employees who are bereaved.  The details of how this will work in practice (including the definition of ‘bereaved person’) is to be confirmed by further regulations. 

However, the Government now proposes to specifically extend this right to employees who suffer pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.   

The roadmap confirms that changes to bereavement leave will come into effect in 2027. However, the regulations required for the wider entitlement for all employees are likely to follow after further consultation takes place in Autumn 2025.  

Key non-Government amendments 

During the Bill’s passage through Parliament, none of the non-Government amendments were passed. It is therefore anticipated likely that this trend will continue. However, we mention the following key proposals for completeness.  

• Industrial action 

There is now a new proposal from a Labour peer that seeks to make secondary industrial action lawful (which is action taken by workers in support of a trade dispute that they are not directly involved in - also known as a sympathy strike). This would specifically permit workers to picket a workplace other than their own.  

• Guaranteed hours  

The amendments proposed by Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers seek to: 

• Fundamentally change the new right to be offered guaranteed hours, to a right to request it (placing the onus on the worker instead of the employer).  
• Limit the right to request will to those who work 8 hours/week on average over a 26 week period (thereby excluding zero and very low hours workers). 
• Limit the entitlement to short notice cancellation payments, to shifts withdrawn within 48 hours before it is due to commence. 

• Whistleblowing 

Major changes are being proposed to the current whistleblowing regime by a Liberal Democrat peer. The proposals seek to introduce: 

• A new meaning of protected disclosure, which requires that the disclosure must actually be in the public interest (a narrowing of the current requirement that it is enough that the worker reasonably believes it to be in the public interest). The disclosures qualifying for protection will also be expanded to cover mismanagement of public funds, abuse of authority, or anything else set out in regulations. 
• The ‘Office of the Whistleblower’, to protect whistleblowers (including allowing dismissed whistleblowers to refer their cases to the Office), oversee whistleblowing processes, and enforce compliance with reporting standards.  
• A new ‘offence’ of intentionally or recklessly subjecting any whistleblower to a detriment. Unusually, although this appears to be a proposal to create a criminal offence, only the employment tribunal will have jurisdiction to deal with any claims and issue any ‘fines’ (up to 10% of annual turnover or income). 
• Reasonable steps that must be taken by certain employers (those who employ more than 50 staff, have a turnover of more than £10 million, financial-services firms or those at risk of anti-money laundering) to investigate any protected disclosure, with those steps to be defined in regulations. 

Next Steps: Parliament 

The current version of the Bill (which can be found here) and all of the latest Government and non-government amendments will be debated in the House of Lords on 14, 16, 21 and 23 July 2025 at the Report Stage. Due to the summer recess, which commences on 24 July 2025, the House of Lords will not be able to complete its final stage (Third Reading) until on or after 1 September 2025. The Bill will then return to the House of Commons for consideration of the amendments made by the House of Lords before it is given Royal Assent.  

Next Steps: Implementation 

Only the repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 will come into effect at Royal Assent (so September/October 2025). 

Two months after Royal Assent (so November/December 2025), a number of measures relating to trade union rights and industrial action will come into effect, notably:   

• Removing the ban on trade union subscriptions being deducted from wages in the public sector 
• Simplifying the requirements for notice of industrial action and industrial action ballots 
• Removing the 40% support threshold for important public services and changing to a simple majority 
• Extending the mandate period following a ballot in favour of industrial action from 6 months to 12 months 

The majority of the Bill will be subject to consultation and require further regulations to be put in place to bring the changes into effect. The roadmap sets out the planned implementation dates. The key ones to note (that we have not already mentioned above) include:  

• April 2026 

(1) Doubling of the maximum collective redundancy protective award, (2) 'Day 1' right to paternity leave and unpaid parental leave and (3) Statutory Sick Pay for all from the first day of absence  

• October 2026  

(1) Extending employment tribunal time limits from three to six months (2) Extending protections against detriments for taking industrial action (to be consulted on in Winter 2025 / early 2026) 

• 2027 

(1) ‘Day 1’ protection from unfair dismissal (to be consulted on in Summer /Autumn 2025), (2) The right for workers on low or zero hours contracts to be offered guaranteed hours and to receive ‘reasonable notice’ for any changes in shifts or working time with proportionate compensation where shifts are cancelled (to be consulted on in Autumn 2025), (3) Gender pay gap and menopause action plans, (4) Collective redundancy consultation threshold (to be consulted on in Winter 2025 / early 2026), (5) Rights for pregnant workers (to be consulted on in Autumn 2025), (6) Flexible working (to be consulted on in Winter 2025 / early 2026) 

What to take away 

The Bill was always intended to be transformative and will significantly change the employment law landscape if passed in its current form.  

However, as can be seen from the developments so far, the content of the Bill is still subject to debate and may further change as it goes through the parliamentary process. In addition, much of the detail will not become clear until after the planned consultations (between now and early 2026) have taken place, the Government publishes their responses and further legislation is laid.  

We shall continue to keep you updated as the Bill, the consultations and the implementation dates progress.  

In the meantime, employers should ensure that they are planning and prepared to review existing policies, procedures and contracts so that they are fully compliant with future employment law changes, and to train workforces in advance of the implementation dates. We would also recommend that employers contribute to the consultations planned to try and influence what the law will look like in the future. 

How Capsticks can help 

Capsticks has significant experience of supporting employers to navigate changes in employment law and policy, from reviewing of current policies, contracts, practice and implementing change, to delivering training to employees at all levels. We also address any complaints or specific issues that may arise in individual cases, by conducting investigations, supporting decision makers and HR, and defending any employment tribunal claims. 

For further information on how we might assist your organisation, please contact Sian Bond, Nicola Butterworth and Paul McFarlane.