Employment Rights Bill Roadmap

Sep 1, 2025 | News

How can the right HR make a difference between the Employment Rights Bill Roadmap feeling like a compliance burden?

The Employment Rights Bill roadmap may well feel like a compliance burden for many employers, or can this be an opportunity to strengthen culture, retention, and reputation?

Here’s how strong HR practices can help employers navigate the changes:

Proactive Compliance & Risk Reduction

  • Timeline mapping: HR can build a compliance calendar aligned to the 2025–2027 rollout to avoid last-minute scrambling.
  • Policy updates: Revise contracts, handbooks, sick pay, leave, and grievance/disciplinary procedures ahead of deadlines.
  • Tribunal risk mitigation: With unfair dismissal becoming day-one and claim periods extending, HR can ensure leaders follow consistent, documented processes.

Employee Relations & Engagement

  • Union relations: HR can encourage collaborative dialogue, train and coach managers in constructive engagement, and avoid escalation.
  • Consultation processes: As redundancy thresholds change, HR can make sure collective consultation is structured, empathetic, and legally sound.
  • Fair work culture: Proactive communication about new rights builds trust and reduces resistance.

Training & Development

  • Leadership and Manager capability: Equip line managers with skills in performance management during probation, flexible working requests, and harassment prevention.
  • Cultural training: Normalise conversations around menopause, parental leave, and flexible working to foster inclusivity.
  • Industrial relations training: Prepare leadership to navigate strikes and new union rights lawfully.

Workforce Planning & Flexibility

  • Zero-hours & casual staff: HR can audit contracts, model the impact of guaranteed hours, and redesign workforce strategies.
  • Flexible working: Position it as a default rather than a disruption, using policy templates and case-by-case guidance.
  • Sickness absence management: With SSP widening, HR can put in place proactive occupational health and wellbeing strategies.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)

  • Gender pay and menopause reporting: HR can lead on data collection, action planning, and communication strategies to turn compliance into employer brand strength.
  • Harassment prevention: Move from reactive policies to proactive culture-building (e.g., bystander training, clear reporting channels).
  • Pregnancy & family leave: Embed supportive policies that go beyond the statutory minimum.

Strategic HR Leadership

  • Fair Work Agency readiness: HR can ensure the organisation is audit-ready, with clean data and documented practices.
  • Employer brand: Framing changes as part of a “good work” ethos can help attract and retain talent.
  • Change management: HR can act as the bridge between legal requirements and business goals, helping leaders and staff adapt smoothly.

In short: The right HR talent helps employers not just comply, but thrive, by reducing risk, building a fair culture, and using the roadmap to strengthen employee trust and organisational resilience.

Contact us today to find out more!

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