Government consults on key reforms under the Employment Rights Bill

Background

On 23 October 2025, the Government launched four consultations on new rights and protections for employees. They focus on how new statutory duties and entitlements should operate in practice across four key areas:

enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers
leave for bereavement including pregnancy loss
duty to inform workers of right to join a union
right of trade unions to access workplaces

Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant employees and new mothers

At present, pregnant employees and new mothers benefit from enhanced redundancy protection. If their role is at risk, they must be offered any suitable alternative vacancy if one exists. However, outside redundancy situations, they are only protected in the same way as other employees under general unfair dismissal and discrimination law.

The Employment Rights Bill proposes to go significantly further. It would make it unlawful to dismiss pregnant women, mothers on maternity leave and new mothers returning to work for at least a six-month period after their return, for any reason, except in specific circumstances set out in regulations.

This consultation focuses how this protection should operate in practice. The government is seeking feedback on the specific circumstances where dismissal should still be permitted, the appropriate timing for when protections should begin and end, and whether other new parents, such as adoptive or surrogate parents, should also be included. The consultation also invites views on whether each of the existing potentially fair reasons for dismissal: conduct, capability, redundancy, statutory restriction and ‘some other substantial reason’, should continue to apply in their current form, be narrowed, or replaced by a new tailored test.

This consultation closes on 15 January 2026.

Statutory bereavement leave, including pregnancy loss

The government is consulting on how to implement a new day one right to unpaid bereavement leave for employees who experience the loss of a loved one, including pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.
At present, statutory bereavement leave is limited to parents who lose a child under 18 or experience a stillbirth after 24 weeks. Employees may also take reasonable time off for dependants in an emergency, but there is no general right to time off specifically to grieve.

The new proposal under the Employment Rights Bill would fill that gap by giving all employees a statutory minimum entitlement of at least one week’s unpaid leave, to be taken within a 56-day window following a bereavement. It would also extend protection to those affected by pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, recognising the emotional impact of such loss.

The consultation seeks views on:

eligibility, including which family and personal relationships should qualify
who should be entitled to leave following pregnancy loss (for example, the person who experienced the loss, their partner, or intended parents)
the duration, timing and flexibility of leave
notice and evidence requirements.

It also asks how best to support employers in applying the new entitlement sensitively and consistently across different workplace settings.

This consultation also closes on 15 January 2026.

Right of trade unions to access workplaces

The government is consulting on the implementation of a new statutory right for trade unions to access workplaces under the Employment Rights Bill.

The new right would allow trade unions to enter workplaces to meet, support, represent, recruit or organise workers, and to facilitate collective bargaining. The consultation seeks views on how this right should operate in practice, including how unions should request access, how employers should respond, and how disputes about access should be resolved.

It also explores the role of the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) in determining whether access should be granted, the conditions that should apply, and the level of fines that may be imposed for breaches of access agreements.

This consultation closes on 18 December 2025.

Duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union

A separate consultation considers the new duty on employers to inform workers of their right to join a trade union, also introduced by the Employment Rights Bill.

Under the proposal, employers would be required to provide a written statement to all workers at the start of their employment, and periodically thereafter, confirming their right to join a trade union.

The consultation seeks views on the form and content of that statement, the method of delivery, and the frequency with which it should be reissued. It also asks how the duty should apply in practice to ensure the process is clear, proportionate and workable for employers of all sizes.

This consultation also closes on 18 December 2025.