#2026/559Start Dates for UK Unfair Dismissal Reforms Under the Employment Rights Act 2025
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This regulation sets the start dates for parts of the Employment Rights Act 2025 dealing with unfair dismissal. A limited power to make follow-up legal changes starts on 1 July 2026, while the main unfair dismissal changes come into force on 1 January 2027. Employers, HR teams, and employment advisers should use the 1 January 2027 date as the key operational deadline. The transitional rules say the new dismissal rules can apply where an employee is dismissed before that date if the effective termination date is on or after 1 January 2027.
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Key Changes
- Starts a limited consequential amendment power on 1 July 2026.
- Brings the main unfair dismissal reforms in section 25 and Schedule 3 into force on 1 January 2027.
- Sets transitional rules based on the employee’s effective termination date.
Obligations
What this law requires
Employers and HR teams must apply the Employment Rights Act 2025 unfair dismissal amendments to dismissals where the effective date of termination is on or after 1 January 2027, including cases where notice of dismissal was given before that date.
Employers and employment advisers must not apply the new unfair dismissal amendments where the employee's effective date of termination falls before 1 January 2027.