If you manage a health or social care service, you’re already juggling a lot. With everything from staffing shortages, rota pressures, regulatory requirements, and the responsibility of keeping both your team and the people you support safe.
The Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA) is now adding another layer to that responsibility.
The ERA received Royal Assent in December 2025 and will be introduced in phases over the next two years. Its aim is to create fairer pay, more secure work, stronger protections, and a more modern approach to workers’ rights. While these changes apply across all sectors, many will have a particularly strong impact on adult health and social care, where flexible working, wellbeing, and people management are critical.
In this blog, we’ll explain what’s changing, and when those changes are expected to happen, to help you prepare your team with confidence.
What is the Employment Rights Act 2025?
The ERA forms part of the government’s Plan to Make Work Pay. It updates existing employment law and introduces new rights covering:
- Job security and fair pay
- Family-friendly working
- Protection from harassment and discrimination
- Trade union rights
- Stronger enforcement of employment law
Importantly, these changes won’t all take effect at once. Most measures will be introduced on common commencement dates over the next two years, giving employers time to prepare.
Why this matters for care managers
Many care services rely on flexible staffing models, agency support, and dedicated frontline workers who often put the needs of others before their own. The ERA raises expectations around fairness, consistency, and protection – which means policies, procedures, and training will need to keep pace.
Not every change will apply to every provider, but many strengthen existing responsibilities and increase scrutiny around how staff are treated and supported.
Below, we’ve outlined the key changes and what they may mean in practice for health and social care settings.
Zero-hours contracts and job security
The ERA introduces new measures designed to reduce one-sided flexibility, including:
- Rights to guaranteed hours
- Reasonable notice of shifts
- Compensation for short-notice shift cancellations
These rights will also apply to agency workers. For care managers, this means reviewing how rotas, bank staff, and agency cover are arranged, and providing greater predictability where possible.
Expected commencement: 2027
‘Fire and rehire’ restrictions
Under the ERA, dismissing an employee for refusing changes to key contractual terms will usually be classed as automatically unfair dismissal.
The only exception is where a business is facing severe financial difficulty and genuinely has no alternative. For care providers navigating funding pressures, this is a significant change and one that will require careful decision-making and clear communication.
Expected commencement: October 2026
Unfair dismissal rights
The qualifying period to bring an unfair dismissal claim will reduce from two years to six months. At the same time, the current cap on compensation will be removed.
For care managers, this reinforces the importance of consistent supervision, clear documentation, and fair disciplinary and grievance procedures, especially during the early months of employment.
Expected commencement: 2027
Day-one family-friendly rights
From April 2026, certain family-friendly rights will be available from the first day of employment, including:
- Paternity leave
- Unpaid parental leave
Parents will also be able to take paternity leave after shared parental leave, offering greater flexibility for modern families working in care.
Expected commencement: April 2026
Stronger sick pay protections
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is set to undergo one of its most significant reforms in decades.
Two key changes are planned:
- Removal of the Lower Earnings Limit
- SSP payable from day one, rather than day four
For care services, where working while unwell can pose serious risks to both staff and service users, these changes aim to reduce presenteeism and improve long-term workforce wellbeing.
Expected commencement: April 2026
Harassment, whistleblowing and NDAs
The ERA strengthens protections for workers by:
- Requiring employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment
- Introducing employer liability for third-party harassment, including from members of the public
- Making sexual harassment a qualifying disclosure under whistleblowing law
- Voiding NDA clauses that prevent staff from speaking out about harassment or discrimination
These changes are particularly relevant in care environments, where staff may work closely with service users, families, and visitors.
Expected commencement of whistleblowing update: April 2026
Expected commencement of harassment provisions: October 2026
Gender pay gap and menopause action plans
From April 2026, large employers will be encouraged to produce formal action plans outlining how they are addressing their gender pay gap and supporting employees experiencing menopause.
Although initially voluntary, these plans are expected to become mandatory from 2027. They are intended to go beyond reporting figures, requiring employers to identify causes and take meaningful action across recruitment, progression, retention, and workplace support.
Expected commencement: April 2026
New enforcement powers
The ERA introduces the Fair Work Agency, a single enforcement body responsible for overseeing compliance across key employment rights, including:
- National Minimum Wage
- Holiday pay
- Employment agency standards
- Serious labour exploitation
The Fair Work Agency is to be established in April 2026. It will bring enforcement of employment rights under one roof, with stronger powers to inspect businesses, bring Employment Tribunal claims on behalf of employees and issue penalties for non-compliance.
In addition, the time limit for most Employment Tribunal claims will increase from three months to six months, extending the period of potential legal exposure for employers.
Final thoughts
The Employment Rights Act 2025 is a major step towards fairer and more secure workplaces, but for care managers, it also adds to an already demanding role. With changes being introduced from April this year, keeping training accurate and up to date remains crucial. This is particularly true in care settings where compliance, safeguarding, and people management are closely connected.
At Careskills Academy, we know how important it is for your training to reflect the law as it stands. That’s why our courses are continually reviewed and updated in line with the latest legislative changes, including the phased introduction of the Employment Rights Act 2025.
We’re committed to helping health and social care providers stay compliant while supporting the people who deliver care every day. Our training is designed to build understanding, encourage confidence, and support better conversations across your service.
