Key Points From The New Employment Rights Act

The New Employment Rights Act

You might have seen headlines about the Employment Rights Act . Here’s a bit about what’s changing, why it matters, and who it affects most.

Sick Pay From Day One

Statutory Sick Pay will now be paid from the first day you’re off sick, and more people will qualify because the earnings limit is being removed.

For anyone on a low income, this is a big deal. Missing even a couple of days’ pay can mean stress and falling behind on bills. This change recognises something very basic: being ill shouldn’t push people into crisis. It has however concerned employers and will particularly affect small businesses who struggle to pay for staff who are not in work.

Parental Leave Without Waiting

Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave will become day-one rights.

If you’re in low-paid or insecure work, changing jobs isn’t unusual. This stops people being penalised for that and makes it easier to actually be there for your family.

Less “Fire and Rehire”

The Act tightens the rules around firing staff and rehiring them on worse terms. In many cases, this will now count as automatically unfair dismissal.

It doesn’t ban the practice completely, but it does make it much harder to use as a way of forcing people into poorer pay or conditions.

Harassment Becomes the Employer’s Responsibility

Employers will now be expected to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment, not just deal with it once it’s already happened.

This matters especially for people in low-paid sectors like care, retail, hospitality, and agency work, where speaking up can feel risky. Responsibility is being pushed to employers from day 1.

More Stability for Insecure Work

If you’re on a zero-hours contract but working regular patterns, you’ll be able to ask for guaranteed hours.

It’s not a ban on insecure contracts, but it does give workers more say. For anyone budgeting week to week, a of certainty can make a real difference.

More Time to Take Action

The time limit to take most employment tribunal claims is being extended from three months to six.

When you’re dealing with job loss, stress, caring responsibilities, or just trying to stay afloat, legal deadlines can pass quickly. This gives people some breathing space.

Unfair Dismissal Protection Comes Sooner

Instead of needing two years in a job, workers will be able to claim unfair dismissal after six months(The original plan had been day one rights, but following kick back from employers the compromise of 6 months was reached).

This is huge, particularly for people in insecure or low-paid work where staying in one role long-term isn’t always possible. It should also help ensure employees receive better and fairer treatment, as employers now risk uncapped fines if found to have unfairly dismissed someone.

Why This Matters

A lot of employment law quietly assumes people have savings or backup. Many don’t.

This Act doesn’t fix everything, but it does:

• reduce the financial hit of being ill

• make insecure work slightly less insecure

• give people more confidence to challenge unfair treatment

For people already living close to the edge, those things matter.

Final Thoughts

This isn’t about pretending work is always fair or that employers have it easy. It’s about acknowledging how many people are one bad week away from serious trouble.

The changes won’t all happen overnight, and they won’t solve poverty pay or insecure work on their own. But they do move things in a fairer direction especially for people who’ve had the least protection and the most to lose.

Work shouldn’t make life harder than it already is and everyone deserves fair treatment.