Employment Rights Act 2025: What Changes for NHS Staff

This page is a dated hub. Every date in the confirmed tables comes from the ACAS pages on the Act, the GOV.UK implementation timeline or the commencement regulations on legislation.gov.uk, and we link to each. Where a date has not been confirmed we say so, and mark it "check gov.uk" rather than guess. We update the page as the government confirms more.

Timeline: what changed and when

Dates below are as published when we last checked (October 2026). "In force" means it has already happened; "due" means the date is confirmed but has not yet arrived.

Sources: GOV.UK implementation timeline; ACAS: Employment Rights Act 2025; SI 2026/954 (time limits); SI 2026/559, regulation 3 (unfair dismissal, section 25).

Tribunal time limits: 6 months minus 1 day

This is the change most likely to matter to someone in a dispute right now. Per ACAS, for most claims where the problem arose on or after 1 October 2026 you have 6 months minus 1 day. Before that date most claims had 3 months minus 1 day (with some claims, such as statutory redundancy pay and equal pay, already at 6 months). For discrimination and harassment claims the clock runs from the most recent act you are including in your claim.

One caveat: when we checked, ACAS's separate constructive dismissal page still showed the older wording of 3 months minus 1 day. The ACAS time limits page and the commencement regulations (SI 2026/954) state the new limit for most claims, so we follow those, but if you are close to a constructive dismissal deadline, treat the earlier date as the safe one and confirm with ACAS. See unfair vs constructive dismissal in the NHS.

Unfair dismissal after 6 months

The government's original plan of day-one protection became a six-month qualifying period. According to ACAS, protection from unfair dismissal becomes a right after 6 months in a job, from January 2027. The commencement regulations (SI 2026/559, regulation 3) bring section 25 of the Act into force on 1 January 2027, with transitional provisions that tie the change to the date employment ends.

The same date table is used on our Dismissal Guidance Advisor. What this means in practice for NHS staff:

• Probation. Staff in their first six months, such as new starters on probation, still fall short of the six-month period, so ordinary unfair dismissal protection generally starts after it. See NHS probation periods explained.
• Fair process still matters. The reform changes who can bring a claim and how much can be awarded, not what fairness requires. Our guide to the disciplinary process and the capability procedure set out the steps an employer is expected to follow.
• No minimum service already. Claims for whistleblowing, discrimination and some other automatically unfair reasons already need no qualifying period. ACAS lists these. See what happens after an NHS dismissal.

Sick pay and family leave

• Statutory Sick Pay is paid from the first day of illness, and the lower earnings limit has been removed (6 April 2026, ACAS). Most NHS employees on the Agenda for Change Handbook already receive contractual sick pay on a scale that begins in the first year of service (England, paragraph 14.2), so the main effect is on people outside those terms. See NHS sick pay explained and the sick pay calculator.
• Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day-one rights on 6 April 2026 (GOV.UK timeline). Our paternity and shared parental leave guide sets out the NHS contractual picture.
• Bereaved partner's paternity leave (up to 52 weeks) is listed from 6 April 2026 on the GOV.UK timeline. The NHS Handbook also refers to the Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave Regulations 2026 (paragraph 15.119).
• Bereavement leave for pregnancy loss and other cases is listed for 2027, date not confirmed (check gov.uk). In the meantime, see NHS bereavement leave explained.

Harassment: the October 2026 duties

From 30 October 2026, the GOV.UK timeline and ACAS both list a strengthened duty on employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, and responsibility for harassment by third parties (patients, visitors and contractors) unless they took reasonable steps to prevent it. Whistleblowing protection for disclosures about sexual harassment already applies from 6 April 2026.

For NHS staff this sits alongside Section 32 of the Terms and Conditions Handbook (dignity at work), which expects employers to have a zero-tolerance policy on bullying and harassment, to investigate complaints promptly and to protect complainants from victimisation. If this is your situation, our guide on bullying and harassment at work: how to raise it and keep evidence explains the practical steps.

Changes listed for 2027

The GOV.UK timeline lists the following for 2027 without a confirmed date for each. We mark them "check gov.uk" and update this page when dates are published:

• Flexible working: employers will need to state business reasons for refusing and explain why refusal is reasonable (ACAS). NHS Agenda for Change staff already have a contractual day-one right to request flexible working under Handbook Section 33 (England, Wales and Northern Ireland). See flexible working and caring responsibilities.
• Pregnant workers and new mothers: enhanced protection from dismissal.
• Guaranteed hours and notice payment rights: timings pending consultation.
• Gender equality and menopause action plans: voluntary from April 2026, mandatory later.
• Collective redundancy consultation thresholds and non-disclosure agreement rules in harassment and discrimination cases.

What NHS staff already have

Agenda for Change terms and conditions go further than the statutory minimum in several places, so it is worth checking your contract before assuming a new statutory right changes anything for you:

Handbook references are to the version current to Amendment 63. Terms vary between the four nations, and Scotland has its own partnership policies, so check your own contract and local policy.

What we have not been able to confirm

• • The exact commencement dates for the 2027 changes other than unfair dismissal (flexible working, bereavement leave, pregnant workers, guaranteed hours).
• • The exact date and wording of the fire and rehire change beyond 'January 2027' on the GOV.UK timeline.
• • The final text and start date of the updated ACAS Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.
• • Transitional rules for tribunal claims where acts continue across 1 October 2026.
• • How each change applies in Northern Ireland, which has separate employment legislation.

If any of these affects you, check gov.uk and acas.org.uk, or ask your union.

Related guides

This page is general information about the Employment Rights Act 2025 as published by ACAS, GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk, correct to the best of our knowledge as of October 2026. Commencement dates and transitional rules are changing, and this is not legal, HR or employment advice. For your own situation, check gov.uk and acas.org.uk, and speak to your union or a specialist solicitor. FrontlinePay is an independent site and is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, ACAS, GOV.UK, any NHS trust or any trade union.