Since mention in the King’s speech, the Employment Rights Bill (ERB), has gained a lot of attention in light of a number of major changes to UK Employment Law.
Following the consideration of over 200 amendments spread across the course of 20 sittings in the House of Commons, the Government’s flagship Bill finally completed its Committee Stage on the 16th January 2025.
The purpose of this stage was for the Committee to listen to interested groups and experts, and then discuss the appropriate amendments until every clause in the Bill was agreed to, changed, or removed from the Bill.
Some key amendments to the Bill include the limitation period for employment tribunal claims increasing from 3 months to 6 months, and reference to employees being dismissed in the ‘initial period of employment,’ in unfair dismissal claims. When first proposed, it appeared that the 2-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims had been completely removed, but this ‘initial period of employment,’ is instead said to be between 3 – 9 months. The exact duration of this period will be confirmed in future regulations.
The next stage for the ERB to progress through is the Report Stage where further amendments can be considered before the third reading.
The ERB is expected to be passed into law no earlier than the summer of 2025, but the Government have reassured employers that reforms to unfair dismissal will take effect no sooner than autumn 2026, allowing time for employers to prepare for the changes proposed.
The contents of this post do not constitute legal advice and are provided for general information purposes only.
Associated photo designed by Freepik.
The contents of this post do not constitute legal advice and are provided for general information purposes only ■
