Unions Make Work Pay
The Employment Rights Bill has received Royal Assent and now become law as the Employment Rights Act 2025. This marks a historic day for working people as the government's flagship workers' rights.
This means that millions will benefit from day one sick pay for all from April 2026.
Banning fire-and-rehire. Curbing zero-hours contracts. Making sick pay fairer. And giving all of us new powers to fight for better treatment at work through our unions.
This didn’t just happen. It took years of union members working with the government to win this change.
Read our blog about the Employment Rights Bill passing.
Sign the petition: Stamp out zero-hours contracts: protect all workers from exploitation
What will the Employment Rights Act mean for workers rights in the UK?
The bill is set to benefit over 10 million workers – including many on low incomes.
Some of these new rights come into affect immediately, whereas others will be phased in gradually. You can all of the details in the Government’s implementation timetable.
The TUC will be announcing training and guidance on the new rights as they come into effect. Sign up for updates from TUC Education here to ensure you hear about these courses first.
The government’s Make Work Pay agenda is essential for improving living standards, putting more money into people’s pockets and placing the UK economy on a sustainable footing to growth. The plan to make work pay covers:
Zero hours contracts:
Currently, employers can keep workers on exploitative zero hours contracts. The Bill will give workers the right to a contract that reflects their regular hours of work, eliminating the worst zero hours practices.
Fire and rehire:
The Bill ends the practice of "fire and rehire" – where workers are dismissed and then re-employed on worse terms and conditions.
Sick pay:
The Bill strengthens sick pay provisions and ensure that every worker has access to sick pay from the first day of illness. At present, statutory sick pay is not paid until the fourth day of absence and is not available to workers earning below a certain threshold.
Protection from unfair dismissal:
The Bill provides workers with protection from unfair dismissal after six months of employment. Currently, workers can be dismissed without reason during their first two years of employment.
Parental leave:
The Bill grants workers the right to parental leave from their first day at work. In addition, there will be a full review of the parental leave system in the future.
Bereavement leave:
There is currently no statutory right to bereavement leave following a death. The Bill introduces a right to bereavement leave, including for pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, such as miscarriage.
Flexible work:
The Bill makes flexible working the default. While employees currently have the right to request flexible working from their first day, employers often deny these requests without valid reasons. The Bill ensures that any refusal must be reasonable, and employers will be required to provide a written explanation.
Union access:
The Bill gives trade unions the right to access workplaces to meet, support, recruit, and organise workers. At present, employers often block unions from entering the workplace to engage with staff.
Protection from harassment:
The Bill increases employers’ responsibilities to protect workers from harassment by third parties (e.g. patients, customers, or members of the public encountered through work).
Gender pay gaps:
The Bill requires large employers (those with over 250 employees) to develop action plans to address gender pay gaps. Separate legislation is planned to require reporting on ethnicity and disability pay gaps.
Protections for pregnant workers:
The Bill will strengthen protections for pregnant workers, ensuring they are protected from redundancy from the moment they inform their employer of their pregnancy until six months after returning to work. Currently, these protections only last until the end of maternity leave.
Why is this important?
Everyone deserves security, dignity and a fair day's pay for a fair day's work.
At a time when bosses are raking in record pay while working people face a cost-of-living crisis, the Employment Rights Bill will help tip the balance back toward workers - and make sure they get a fairer share.
The Bill also includes vital rights that make it easier for workers to organise and build strong unions. It will:
- Make it harder for anti-union giants like Amazon to block union organising
- Support union reps with better rights and time off to do their job
- Strengthen the process for workers to win union recognition and build power together
- Make it easier for reps and organisers to access workplaces and talk to workers about their rights
TUC consultation responses
Find the latest TUC responses to government consultations, outlining our priorities and recommendations on issues affecting workers and the world of work.