As Head of People at Champions (UK) plc, I’m focused on what really moves the dial for our colleagues and our clients. The UK’s Employment Rights Bill points in that direction.
It aims to modernise protections, from day-one rights to sick pay and key family leaves, to stronger rules around changing contracts, while giving employers clearer guardrails to operate within.
Royal Assent is expected before the end of 2025, with most changes phased in during 2026 and 2027, making this a very real planning horizon for HR now.
What is changing in practice
In plain English, the Bill expands basic protections earlier in employment and tightens expectations around ‘one-sided flexibility’. That includes measures affecting zero and low-hours arrangements, pushing employers toward predictable hours that reflect real working patterns, fair notice of shifts and compensation where schedules change at short notice.
Specialist employment counsel have been clear that this is not a blanket ban, but it does represent a material shift in how casual arrangements are managed, with agency workers included in scope.
The policy intent has been trailed publicly for over a year, and recent briefings confirm a staged approach, with the zero/low-hours package currently signposted for 2027.
Implications for fire and rehire
The Bill sits on top of the new statutory Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement, which already expects fire and rehire to be a last resort. From around October 2026, dismissing and rehiring on worse terms is expected to be automatically unfair in most cases, so restructures will need stronger evidence and consultation than many employers are used to.
While businesses will retain the ability to restructure, the direction of travel is toward a stricter, codified process with stronger consultation duties and a higher bar for justifying contractual change.
Legal updates indicate supporting Codes of Practice and secondary legislation will follow Royal Assent, so employers should expect more detailed guidance rather than less.
The culture and performance upside
Why does this matter? Beyond compliance, secure work builds trust, and trust underpins performance. Union and government analysis suggests that several million people are currently in insecure work, from zero-hours and casual contracts to low-paid self-employment. Had the Bill’s package been in place in 2023, a substantial share of those workers would have had more predictable hours and stronger protections.
That kind of shift changes expectations around scheduling and fairness on day one, and it raises the standard for front-line management in every sector.
My view is simple: the best employers will use this moment to professionalise the basics. That means being crystal-clear on probation standards so early protections and good performance management can co-exist.
Aligning contracts to the reality of hours actually worked so teams can plan their lives, and treating proposed contract changes as a leadership exercise in evidence and timing rather than a paperwork exercise. Done well, the outcome is a steadier workforce and fewer surprises for customers.
There are still politics and detail to come. Parliamentary scheduling continues, and government communications have reiterated the headline commitments such as day-one sick pay and family leave, a shorter (6-month) qualifying period for unfair dismissal, curbs on fire-and-rehire and action on exploitative zero-hours arrangements, while employer groups and unions debate the ‘how’.
But the arc is clear enough for People leaders to act with confidence today. Invest in manager capability and tune up policies for predictability and consultation while making your data robust enough to evidence what ‘fair’ looks like in practice. That is good governance and good business.
If you are navigating this and want a sounding board, please get in touch via our online contact form or by calling 08453 31 30 31 today.