Four Employment Rights Bill consultations launched by Government

28th October, 2025

On 23 October 2025, the Government launched four consultations in respect of a number of rights and protections that will be introduced following the implementation of the Employment Rights Bill (“the Bill”). The purpose of the consultations is to obtain views on the proposals relating to: -

trade unions accessing workplaces,
the duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union,
the enhanced protection from dismissal for pregnant workers and new mothers,
and the day-one right to bereavement leave.

Read on for a helpful summary of the consultations, and information on how to get involved.

Trade union workplace access

The Bill will introduce rights for trade unions to access workplaces. The draft provisions will enable independent trade unions to enter “access agreements” with employers, permitting union officials access to the employer’s workers (physically or digitally) for the purpose of meeting, representing, recruiting, or organising workers, or facilitating collective bargaining. However, the Bill expressly prevents union officials from accessing workplaces for the purpose of organising industrial action.

If agreement cannot be reached through negotiation between the trade union and the employer in relation to the terms of the access agreement, there will instead be a statutory process prescribed by the Central Arbitration Committee.

The consultation is seeking views as to how this will operate including:

Access requests and employer responses being made in writing.
A Code of practice setting out standard templates and specified information that must be used.
5 working days response timeframe for employers and 15 working days negotiation period.
Exclusion provisions for businesses with fewer than 21 workers.
A two-year time limitation on access agreements.
Weekly access being reasonable.
A requirement of 2-days’ notice of access from the trade union; and
Fines for breach of the access agreement.

The consultation will close at 11:59pm on 18 December 2025 and can be accessed here. You can submit your responses online through the link, or by email or post. This consultation precedes a consultation on a draft Code of Practice (expected to launch Spring 2026), with a view to the legislation coming into effect in October 2026.

The duty to inform workers of their right to join a trade union

The Bill will require employers to provide workers with a written statement advising that they have the right to join a trade union. It is intended that providing this information to workers will lead to an increase in trade union membership.

The consultation seeks views on how to strike a balance between effectively implementing the requirements while minimising the burden on employers, including:

The content of the statement.
The form of the statement.
How it is delivered to both new and existing workers; and
The frequency in which the statement should be reissued after the commencement of employment.

This consultation will also close at 11:59pm on 18 December 2025 and can be accessed here. You can submit your responses online through the link, or by email or post.

Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers

Currently, in redundancy situations employers must offer a suitable alternative vacancy as a priority to an employee who has notified her employer of her pregnancy, or who is in the additional protected period after returning to work from either statutory maternity leave, adoption leave or shared parental leave. Additionally, it is automatically unfair to dismiss a woman if the reason for the dismissal is connected to pregnancy, maternity leave, or childbirth, or where the employer has failed to comply with the enhanced redundancy protections.

The Bill seeks to further enhance dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers by making it unfair to dismiss them at all, except in specified circumstances. Accordingly, the consultation is seeking views on the following considerations, amongst others.

Whether the five existing potentially fair reasons for dismissal (conduct, capability, redundancy, statutory restriction, and some other substantial reason) should continue to apply to pregnant women and new mothers in their current form, or whether they should be narrowed, or removed in their entirety.
Whether a tailored test should be introduced to assess the fairness of dismissals for any of the currently potentially fair reasons for dismissal.
When protections should start and how long should it last.
Whether other types of family leave ought to be included in the scope of the reforms.
How best to support businesses through the changes; and
Additional action that could be taken to tackle any workplace disadvantage triggered by pregnancy and maternity.

The consultation closes at 11:59pm 15 January 2026 and can be accessed here. You can submit your responses online through the link, or by email or post. Once consultation concludes, and the Bill receives Royal Assent, the government will make regulations implementing any changes, they are not expected to come into force until 2027.

Leave for bereavement including pregnancy loss

The final consultation relates to proposals to widen the scope of the current legislation dealing with parental bereavement leave. The Bill will introduce a general day-one right to unpaid bereavement leave for employees who lose a loved one (rather than only applying to parents who have lost a child), including pregnancy loss before 24 weeks.

The consultation is seeking views on the following:

The type of relationship with the deceased that gives rise to bereavement leave, for example, immediate family, extended family, or wider relationships.
The type of pregnancy loss that should be covered and eligibility where the employee is not the person who suffered the pregnancy loss.
How much leave should be available and the time period in which it may be taken; and
The amount of notice (if any) that must be given and whether it needs to be given formally in writing or informally such as by phone call.

The consultation closes at 11:59pm on 15 January 2026 and can be accessed here. You can submit your responses online through the link, or by email or post. The new law is not expected to take effect until 2027.

Natalie Reeder comments: “The consultations launched last week provide employers with an opportunity to offer to the Government some much-needed commercial insight with regard to the proposed reforms in the Employment Rights Bill. These consultations may help shape the subsequent regulations that come into effect alongside the Act and therefore it is important for employers to get involved in order to minimise any unintended consequences or burdens where possible.”

If you have any questions on any of the upcoming changes, please contact a member of the team here.

The information on this site about legal matters is provided as a general guide only. Although we try to ensure that all of the information on this site is accurate and up to date, this cannot be guaranteed. The information on this site should not be relied upon or construed as constituting legal advice and Howes Percival LLP disclaims liability in relation to its use. You should seek appropriate legal advice before taking or refraining from taking any action.

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