Govt unveils timeline for Employment Rights reforms
The final tranche, expected in 2027, will include the right to guaranteed hours, stronger rights to request flexible working, and updates to rules on unfair dismissal
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The government has set out a phased timeline for implementing changes under the Employment Rights Bill, with the most complex reforms delayed until 2027 to provide time for business consultation.
It comes as the Department for Business and Trade has confirmed that new rights around guaranteed hours and shift predictability will not be introduced until 2027, while other reforms will be staggered over the preceding 18 months.
From April 2026, changes will include revisions to statutory sick pay, paternity and parental leave, and trade union recognition. In October 2026, new laws on tipping and sexual harassment prevention duties for employers are due to come into force.
The final tranche, expected in 2027, will include the right to guaranteed hours, stronger rights to request flexible working, and updates to rules on unfair dismissal.
UKHospitality welcomed the timeline, describing it as a chance for government and industry to collaborate on detailed implementation.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKH, said: “There are substantial and expensive changes for businesses in the Employment Rights Bill and it’s right that the government is using the appropriate implementation periods for the most complex issues for hospitality, in order to get the details right for both businesses and workers.
“We have been clear with the government that the changes regarding guaranteed hours and predictability of shifts will be the most complex for hospitality businesses, and therefore necessitates a significant implementation period. It’s important that it has acted on our concerns and it must now use this time to work with businesses on an appropriate policy framework and clear guidance.”
She added: “Businesses are understandably wary about the cost and complexity of the more immediate changes in the Employment Rights Bill, particularly alongside increases to NICs, employment costs and business rates. Hospitality businesses have absolutely no more capacity to absorb costs and the government must not increase the sector’s cost burden once again.”
UKH highlighted that reforms to statutory sick pay, scheduled for April 2026, could impose a significant cost burden, warning that the sector is still absorbing the £3.4bn annual cost increase introduced in April.
