Employment Rights Act 2025: Key changes coming into force from 18 February 2026

02 February 2026

Polly O'Malley and Tom Brennan

The Employment Rights Act 2025 (the “ERA”) finally received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025, however as mentioned in our previous article, very few of the changes came into force immediately. The majority of the changes will be implemented on a ‘staged basis’, with many of the headline reforms (including changes to the right to claim unfair dismissal and use of zero hours contracts) not scheduled to come into force until October 2026 and 2027.

The first major tranche of reforms, which will impact trade unions, industrial action and some family related leave entitlements, will come into force on 18 February 2026.

Below we set out the most significant changes which employers need to be aware of ahead of the 18 February 2026 implementation date.

Changes which took effect on Royal Assent

Repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Services Levels) Act 2023

This legislation, which allowed the Secretary of State to set minimum service levels for strikes in "relevant services" in the fields of health, transport, education, fire and rescue, border control, and nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste management services, was formally repealed on 18 December 2025. However, the impact on employers was negligible, as the power to set minimum service levels was never used.

Trade union and industrial action changes: 18 February 2026

The changes to trade union law identified in the table below will take effect on 18 February 2026:

Change	Summary of change
Stronger protection against dismissal for taking industrial action	It will be automatically unfair to dismiss an employee for taking part in protected industrial action, regardless of the length of the industrial action. This enhanced protection will apply to industrial action began by an employee on or after 18 February 2026.
Removal of industrial action ballot support threshold	The current 40% support threshold required in strike ballots in ‘important public services’ (fire, health, education, transport, border security and nuclear decommissioning services) is to be removed. The threshold will no longer be required to be met for ballots opening on or after 18 February 2026. NB the current 50% turn out threshold which applies to all strike ballots is currently retained.
Increase of period of effectiveness of industrial action ballots	The period of effectiveness of industrial action after a successful ballot will be extended from six months (or up to nine months on agreement between the union and employer) to 12 months (with no possibility for extension). The increased 12 month period will apply to ballots opened on or after 18 February 2026.
Reduction of notice of industrial action to be given to employers	Notice of industrial action required to be given to employers reduced from 14 days (or seven days, if agreed with the employer) to 10 days (with no possibility for a reduced period of notice on agreement with the employer). The 10 day notice period will apply to notices of industrial action received by employers on or after 18 February 2026.
Reduction of information to be included in notice of industrial action ballots sent to employers	Trade unions will not have to disclose the number of employees in each category that are expected to take part in the industrial action. This will apply to notices for industrial action received by employers on or after 18 February 2026.
Reduction of information to be included on industrial action voting paper	Specific information requirements on voting papers will be removed, with trade unions simply required to ask its members on ballot papers the type of industrial action they want to take part in (i.e. strike action, or action short of a strike). The reduced information requirements will apply to ballots opening on or after 18 February 2026.
Removal of limitations for public sector ‘check-off’	From 18 February 2026, the limitations on public sector employers providing a ‘check-off’ service (where an employer deducts trade union subscriptions directly from a union member’s pay on behalf of the union, and transfers the deducted money to the union) will be removed, with trade unions no longer required to pay employers for administering a ‘check-off’ service.
Automatic opt-in to trade unions’ political funds	New members joining a trade union will be automatically opted-in to contributing to the union’s political fund, unless they expressly opt-out by providing an opt-out notice.
Repeal of trade union facility time publication requirements in the public sector	The publication requirements for certain public sector employers in relation to time off taken off by trade union officials for trade union duties and activities (known as facility time) will be removed for any relevant periods on or after 18 February 2026.
Removal of requirement to appoint picketing supervisor	Requirement to appoint a picketing supervisor to be removed for pickets which take place on or after 18 February 2026.
Strengthening of blacklisting provisions	The ERA will strengthen blacklisting provisions, including enabling the Secretary of State to make regulations prohibiting: the use of blacklisting lists for the purposes of discrimination; and the sale and supply of blacklisting lists to be used for discriminatory purposes.
Commissioning of an independent review of electronic balloting	Currently, statutory trade union ballots must be held by post and ballots for trade union recognition and de-recognition may be carried out using postal or workplace balloting. There is also a requirement for the Secretary of State to commission an independent review of electronic balloting. From 18 February 2026, the requirement for the Secretary of State to commission an independent review of electronic balloting will be removed. The government’s consultation on a draft code of practice on electronic and workplace balloting closed on 28 January 2026. It is expected that the government will make regulations on electronic and workplace balloting to take effect from April 2026.

Family related leave entitlements changes: 18 February 2026

In addition to the trade union and industrial action changes, the below changes to family related leave entitlements will take effect from 18 February 2026:

Parental leave - right to give notice: currently, employees with a child under 18 must have one year’s minimum service to be eligible for parental leave. While parental leave will become a ‘day one’ right from 6 April 2026, employees who will become entitled to parental leave from 6 April 2026 (i.e. employees who don’t have one year’s service) can give notice of their intention to take leave from 18 February 2026.

Paternity leave - right to give notice: currently, employees must have 26 weeks’ minimum service to be eligible for paternity leave. While paternity leave will become a ‘day one’ right from 6 April 2026, employees who will become entitled to paternity leave from 6 April 2026 (i.e. employees who don’t have 26 weeks’ service) can give notice of their intention to take leave from 18 February 2026.

Day one right to paternity leave where mother or adopter has died: In cases where a child’s mother or adopter has died, parental leave and paternity leave will become a ‘day one’ right for employees from 18 February 2026. In these cases, the bereaved partner will also from 18 February 2026 be able to take paternity leave after shared parental leave, a right which will be extended to all employees from 6 April 2026.

What does this mean for employers?

The changes to trade union legislation will mean that it is easier for unions to organise industrial action. Therefore, employers may see an increase in the number of ballots if there is industrial unrest within the organisation. Equally, employers will have less time to put contingency plans into place to manage the action. Employers therefore may wish to review their current employee relations strategy and consider if any changes are needed to ensure that disputes can be resolved constructively utilising external support where appropriate (for example, ACAS).

While the substantive changes relating to entitlement to parental and paternity leave are due to take effect in April, employers should review and update their family leave policies to ensure that they are legally compliant from 6 April 2026.

We will continue to provide further updates on what's changing, when it takes effect, and the practical steps you can take now to prepare your organisation. In the meantime, you can access our Employment Rights Act hub to keep updated.