LEGISLATION

The Employment Rights Bill passed its final stages in the House of Lords on Monday, 15 December 2025, with Royal Assent expected to be granted this week, allowing it to start coming into force in April next year.

If you run a pest management business and employ staff, here is what you need to know. 

Putting the bill into practice

Once the bill receives royal assent, which is expected to take place this week, the measures directly affecting employees and employers are planned to start coming into force in three phases:

• Phase 1: April 2026
• Phase 2: October 2026
• Phase 3: 2027. 

The reforms will apply to England, Wales and Scotland 

Many of the reforms being introduced by the bill are not yet set out in detail. This detail should be seen within the consultations and secondary legislation that will be required to give effect to each individual reform.

We should start seeing this in the new year after Parliament returns from Christmas recess, which runs from 18 December to 5 January. 

Phase 1: April 2026 

• Paternity Leave and ordinary parental leave will become a right from day one, meaning a new employee could on their very first day of work give notice to take leave
• Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) will now be paid from the first day of sickness instead of the fourth
• The lower earnings limit for SSP of £123 per week on average will also be removed, so those being paid below that amount will become eligible to receive sick pay
• Changes to whistleblowing protections against unfair dismissal or other detriment; sexual harassment will become a 'qualifying disclosure', meaning workers will be able to report any such wrongdoing at work without fear of repercussions
• The maximum protective award should you fail to consult with staff during collective redundancy will double from 90 to 180 days’ worth of pay.  

Phase 2: October 2026 

• Fire and rehire will be banned.  
• There will be a number of changes in regards to how you handle harassment: 
  1) Employers will have a duty to protect their workforce from harassment by third parties, this would include from customers
  2) You will also need to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment
• Clauses within Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) that would prevent someone alleging or disclosing harassment or discrimination, or how you the employer responded to such, will be unenforceable
• The time limit on making a claim to an employment tribunal will be doubled from 3 to 6 months
• If you are undertaking work that has been outsourced from the public sector, there will be an outsourcing ‘two-tier’ code. This code will be designed to prevent private sector employees receiving terms and conditions worse than those who have been transferred over from the public sector.

Lastly, this phase will feature several changes surrounding Trade Unions: 

• Firstly, you will have a duty to inform workers about their right to join a trade union
• There will be new rules on a trade union’s right of access to the workplace
• Trade union representatives will gain a new right to reasonable accommodation and facilities to allow them to carry out their own duties, and union equality representatives will also have a right to time off so that they can carry out their duties
• Workers taking part in industrial action will no longer be protected from just unfair dismissal, but also from any detriment. 

Phase 3: 2027 

• A voluntary requirement for you to produce gender pay gap and menopause action plans in April 2026 will become mandatory
• Protections against unfair dismissal will begin at 6 months, a reduction from the current 24 months
• Removal of a cap on compensation claims for unfair dismissal at employment tribunals; the cap currently stands at £118,223
• Pregnant workers and those returning from maternity leave will gain protections against dismissal
• There will be a new right to statutory bereavement leave
• Workers will be entitled to receive pay for shifts that are cancelled, moved, or cut short
• Employers will not be able to refuse a request for flexible working without giving a reason; you will also have to explain why your refusal is reasonable
• When carrying out redundancies you must carry out a collective consultation where you are proposing 20 or more redundancies within a 90 day period across the entire organisation - currently you only have to consult where those 20 redundancies are to take place within a single workplace.  

HR SUPPORT FOR BPCA MEMBERS

If you require any support or guidance about your responsibilities as an employer, and how to prepare for these reforms, make use of your member benefits.

Quest provides unlimited free advice on all matters HR, health and safety, tax, and legal to you as a BPCA member.

bpca.org.uk/quest

Source: Online