The Employment Rights Act 2025: what HR directors need to tell their boards

The Employment Rights Act 2025 is not just an HR compliance issue.

It is a governance issue. It is a culture issue. And for organisations that already have unresolved equality, inclusion or workplace conduct risks, it should be treated as a board-level issue.

The Act received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025 and is being implemented in phases. GOV.UK describes it as the first phase of delivering the government’s Plan to Make Work Pay.

For HR directors, the key message to boards is simple: employment rights reform will make weak workplace cultures harder to ignore.

Correcting a common misunderstanding

There has been some confusion about unfair dismissal.

The final Act does not introduce a general day-one right to claim unfair dismissal. GOV.UK states that the Employment Rights Act 2025 reduces the qualifying period for unfair dismissal from two years to six months. The expected commencement date for the unfair dismissal changes is January 2027.

That still matters significantly.

A six-month qualifying period means early employment decisions will carry greater scrutiny than many organisations are used to. Probation, onboarding, performance concerns and “not the right fit” decisions will need to be more clearly evidenced, fair and consistent.

For EDI, that is important because early employment decisions are often where informal bias appears.

Who is given the benefit of the doubt?
Who is described as confident?
Who is described as difficult?
Who gets informal coaching before a concern becomes formal?
Who is judged against unwritten cultural expectations?

If those judgements are not documented and applied consistently, the organisation is exposed.

The harassment and culture risk

The Act also sits alongside a wider shift towards prevention in workplace culture. GOV.UK’s Employment Rights Act factsheets include material on preventing workplace sexual harassment and enabling regulations around “reasonable steps”.

GOV.UK impact assessment material also refers to proposals requiring employers not to permit harassment of employees by third parties.

For boards, the point is not only legal technicality. It is culture readiness.

Organisations need to be able to show that they have identified foreseeable risks, trained managers properly, created safe reporting routes, acted on patterns, and taken reasonable steps to prevent harm.

A policy that sits unread on the intranet will not be enough.

What HR directors should tell boards

Boards need to hear five things.

First, implementation will require more than policy updates. Contracts, handbooks and procedures matter, but culture is where risk often becomes visible.

Second, managers need training that is specific and practical. They need to understand probation decisions, documentation, harassment prevention, reasonable adjustments, fair process and early intervention.

Third, data needs to be reviewed before problems escalate. Grievance themes, sickness absence, exit interview data, staff survey results, turnover, promotion rates and demographic patterns should be considered together.

Fourth, third-party risk needs proper ownership. Customer-facing, public-facing and client-facing teams need clear procedures for harassment or discriminatory behaviour by people outside the organisation.

Fifth, the board should ask for assurance. Not reassurance. Assurance means evidence.

Practical next steps

Organisations should now review:

• probation and onboarding processes

• manager decision-making guidance

• harassment and bullying procedures

• reasonable adjustment processes

• grievance and reporting routes

• training records

• staff survey and employee relations data

• board reporting on people and culture risk

The question is not “Are we compliant on paper?”

The question is “Could we evidence fair, consistent and preventative practice if challenged?”

What Pathways to Equity can help with

At Pathways to Equity, we help organisations connect employment law, EDI, accessibility and culture in practical ways.

We can review your policies, assess culture risks, support board briefings, train managers and help you build a stronger evidence base for fair workplace practice.

If your organisation needs to prepare for employment rights reform without turning it into a tick-box exercise, book a free discovery call.

Call to action:
Book a free discovery call:
https://www.pathwaystoequity.org.uk/book-a-call

Sources:
GOV.UK, “Employment Rights Act 2025: factsheets”, updated 15 May 2026.
GOV.UK, “Unfair dismissal changes: summary of stakeholder roundtables”, published 28 May 2026.
GOV.UK, Employment Rights Act 2025 impact assessments.