Employment Rights Act & The Next Steps

Introduction

Prior to the 2024 General Election, the Labour Party had written a document called ‘Make Work Pay’, which set out their plans for changes to employment legislation. To start the implementation of those plans the government released the Employment Rights Bill in October 2024. This Bill contained changes to 28 areas of employment law, but did not cover all the planned changes. There is also an Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, which is yet to be released, and other longer term reforms. There are also some things that the government will proceed with which do not require changes to the law.

The Employment Rights Bill then went through the stages of Parliamentary approval, and finally got Royal Assent and became the Employment Rights Act 2025 on 18 December 2025. Only one item became law immediately, with the remainder happening throughout 2026 and 2027.

In this Learn Live we will focus on the Employment Rights Act 2025, working through the Implementation Plan and thinking about what employers need to do to prepare for all the changes.

We will then move on and look at everything else in the 'Make Work Pay' document, and consider when these changes might be introduced and what employers might need to do to prepare.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive course will cover the following:

• The Make Work Pay document, and the central themes within it
• The Employment Rights Act 2025
• What is in the Act
• When the contents of the Act are coming into force
• Actions to prepare for the Act
• What we expect to be in the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill
• What the government is planning to change, which does not require new legislation
• The longer term reforms that the government is going to consult about

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.