Parliament Passes the Employment Rights Bill

UNISON hails the hard-fought legislation that will transform workers’ rights for the better

UNISON is celebrating a landmark moment for working people across Britain after Parliament today (Tuesday) passed the long-awaited Employment Rights Bill — legislation the union has described as groundbreaking, transformative and a gamechanger for workers’ rights.

The bill is now expected to receive Royal Assent on Thursday, at which point it will formally become law. For UNISON members and the wider workforce, this marks the culmination of years of campaigning, negotiation and resistance to policies that eroded employment protections. It also signals the beginning of what the union believes will be a brighter, fairer future for working life in Britain.

Covering a wide range of new individual and collective rights, the Employment Rights Act represents the most significant overhaul of workplace protections in a generation. From day-one sick pay and strengthened maternity, paternity and pregnancy rights, to curbs on exploitative zero-hours contracts and fire-and-rehire practices, the new law aims to rebalance power at work and ensure dignity, fairness and security for employees.

Just as importantly, the act dismantles many of the restrictions on trade union activity introduced under successive Conservative governments, laying the foundations for a healthier relationship between employers, workers and unions — and reducing the need for industrial conflict.

A new era for workers’ rights

At its core, the Employment Rights Act is about ensuring that all workers enjoy basic protections, not just those fortunate enough to be employed by responsible and ethical organisations. For too long, employment rights in Britain have been unevenly applied, leaving millions exposed to insecurity, low pay and unfair treatment.

The new legislation addresses this imbalance head-on. Among its most significant provisions are:

• Day-one statutory sick pay, ensuring workers no longer face the impossible choice between working while ill or losing pay.
   
• Enhanced pregnancy, maternity and paternity protections, offering greater security for families at critical stages of life.
   
• Restrictions on exploitative zero-hours contracts, tackling practices that leave workers without guaranteed income or predictable hours.
   
• Limits on fire-and-rehire tactics, preventing employers from dismissing staff simply to force through worse terms and conditions.
   
• Stronger protections from unfair dismissal, improving job security and access to justice.
   
• Expanded rights for trade unions, including improved facility time for union representatives and the removal of barriers to effective organising.
   

Taken together, these reforms represent a decisive shift away from a labour market built on insecurity and towards one grounded in fairness and mutual respect.

A massive win for UNISON

The passage of the Employment Rights Act is also a major achievement for UNISON itself. The union has been at the forefront of the fight to defend and extend workers’ rights through years of political hostility, austerity and legislative restriction.

This success reflects sustained campaigning by UNISON activists, senior lay members and staff, as well as intensive lobbying and negotiation with politicians. Crucially, it also demonstrates the value of strong links between the union and Labour MPs who understand the realities of working life and the importance of collective bargaining.

Welcoming the bill’s passage, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said the legislation would have a tangible, positive impact on millions of working lives.

“This is going to change working lives for the better,” she said. “Every employee will now be able to enjoy the rights that only those working for good employers previously enjoyed.

“There were times when it felt like we’d never get here. But the bill has now finally become an act and workers at last have something to celebrate. Good employers won’t need to change the way they treat their staff. But bad employers are going to have to smarten up their act — and quickly.”

For UNISON members, many of whom work in sectors characterised by low pay, high stress and chronic underfunding, these reforms are particularly significant. The act provides tools to challenge poor employment practices and strengthens the union’s ability to represent members effectively.

Reform starts now

The Employment Rights Bill was introduced by the Labour government last October and has now completed its parliamentary journey despite determined efforts by Conservative and Liberal Democrat peers in the House of Lords to delay or dilute its provisions.

As with all major legislation, implementation will take place in stages. The government has published a detailed “road map” setting out when each new right will come into force and how changes will be phased into workplaces.

However, Royal Assent will bring with it one immediate and highly symbolic reform: the repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023. Introduced by the previous Conservative government, that law allowed employers in key public services to force named individuals to work during strike action, undermining the fundamental right to strike.

Its repeal represents a clear break from an era in which industrial action was treated as a problem to be suppressed rather than a symptom of deeper workplace issues.

Rolling back anti-union laws

Further significant changes will follow around two months after Royal Assent, likely in February 2026, when most of the Trade Union Act 2016 will be repealed and replaced. That act imposed some of the most restrictive trade union laws in Europe and was widely criticised for making lawful industrial action unnecessarily complex and risky.

The new framework will include:

• A reduction in the notice period for industrial action from 14 days to 10, allowing unions to respond more effectively to disputes.
   
• An extension of strike ballot validity from six months to 12, reducing unnecessary re-balloting.
   
• The removal of restrictive picketing rules, restoring unions’ ability to organise peaceful, effective pickets.
   
• Simplified ballot and notice requirements, cutting red tape and legal traps.
   
• The removal of mandatory publication of facility time, ending the politicisation of union representation.
   
• Stronger protections against dismissal for taking industrial action, ensuring workers can defend their rights without fear of losing their jobs.
   

These reforms are designed not to encourage strikes, but to create a more balanced industrial relations system in which disputes can be resolved earlier and more constructively.

Strengthening individual rights

April will mark the introduction of several key improvements to individual employment rights, including the long-awaited move to make statutory sick pay a day-one entitlement. Additional reforms will follow in the months after, some of which will require secondary legislation — a normal and necessary part of the UK’s legislative process.

UNISON has made clear that it will remain actively engaged throughout this implementation phase. The union will scrutinise secondary legislation and government codes of practice to ensure they fully reflect the intent of the act and do not dilute its protections.

This vigilance will be crucial. History shows that the details of implementation can determine whether reforms deliver real change or fall short of expectations.

What about Northern Ireland?

While the majority of the Employment Rights Act will not apply directly in Northern Ireland — where employment and trade union law is devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly — similar legislation is expected to come before Stormont in early 2026.

UNISON has committed to working intensively in Northern Ireland to ensure that equivalent, progressive reforms are introduced as quickly as possible. The union’s goal is clear: workers’ rights should not depend on geography.

The importance of funding

Christina McAnea has also emphasised that strong rights on paper must be matched by adequate funding and enforcement.

“Improvements rarely happen for free,” she said. “Funding is now essential, so the new rights can be enforced through a fair work agency that has teeth. The same is true for the fair pay agreement if it’s to deliver higher rates of pay across care and start to turn the troubled sector around.”

Effective enforcement will be critical to the success of the Employment Rights Act. Without it, unscrupulous employers may continue to flout the law, undermining those who comply and denying workers the protections they are entitled to.

A turning point for working Britain

The passage of the Employment Rights Act marks a decisive turning point in British employment law. After years in which workers’ rights were weakened and unions marginalised, the balance is beginning to shift back towards fairness, security and collective voice.

For UNISON and its members, today’s vote is not the end of the journey, but a major milestone along the way. The task now is to ensure that these new rights are fully implemented, properly funded and firmly embedded in every workplace.

As the new law comes into force, UNISON will continue to organise, negotiate and campaign — to make sure the promise of this historic legislation becomes a lived reality for working people across Britain.

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