Employment Rights Bill & The Next Steps

Introduction

Prior to the 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.

On 1 July 2025 the government released its 'Implementation Plan' for the Employment Rights Bill. This works through all the contents of the Bill, setting out when they are planned to come into force. Once the Bill has received Royal Assent there will be some changes, but most changes will be implemented in 2026 or 2027.

In this Learn Live we will focus on the Employment Rights Bill, 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 Bill
• What is in the Bill
• What has changed since the Bill was first introduced
• The timing before the Bill receives Royal Assent
• When the contents of the Bill are likely to come into force
• 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.