Further Amendments to the Employment Rights Bill: July 2025

NDAs No Longer Valid for Harassment or Discrimination

Under new Clause 22A, any confidentiality clause that tries to prevent a worker from speaking up about workplace discrimination or harassment will be unenforceable.

This applies to both employment contracts and settlement agreements and includes disclosures made to colleagues, the media, regulators, or the police. The change applies to both current and former employees, and may be extended to contractors, trainees and volunteers.

You cannot threaten staff with breach of contract for raising these issues.

Action for employers:

• Review all contract and settlement templates immediately
• Avoid using NDAs to prevent employees from raising concerns
• Train managers on how to respond appropriately to complaints

Fire & Rehire – New Limits, Still Legal in Some Cases

Clause 26 introduces a more balanced approach to fire and rehire. The original near-total ban has been softened but remains significant.

Only “restricted” changes – such as reductions to pay, hours or holidays – will automatically be treated as unfair dismissals unless there is serious financial distress. Outsourcing-related redundancies could also be considered automatically unfair in some cases.

The detailed consultation checklist may be removed, but employers will still need to show they acted reasonably under existing employment law.

Implementation is expected by October 2026.

Action for employers:

• Avoid using fire and rehire except in genuine, well-evidenced cases
• Start planning now for upcoming changes in redundancy processes
• Seek advice before making contractual changes or restructuring

Miscarriage Leave Now Covers Early Pregnancy Loss

Bereavement leave has been extended to cover the loss of a child before 24 weeks of pregnancy, providing clarity and compassion to employees who experience miscarriage.

Until now, this type of leave only applied after the 24th week.

Action for employers:

• Update your family leave and absence policies
• Brief line managers on the new rights and approach
• Consider broader wellbeing support for affected employees

Whistleblowing Reform – A New Era (Proposed)

Although not yet government-backed, several proposed changes would significantly overhaul whistleblowing protections in the UK.

These include broadening the definition of whistleblowing to cover areas like misuse of public funds or abuse of authority. Disclosures would need to be genuinely in the public interest. A new Office of the Whistleblower would oversee investigations and policy enforcement.

The most striking change is the potential for whistleblower detriment to become a statutory offence, with employment tribunals able to issue fines of up to 10% of global turnover.

Action for employers:

• Review your current whistleblowing policy and procedures
• Ensure senior teams are trained to handle disclosures appropriately
• Consider implementing enhanced practices now, even before the law changes

Zero-Hour Workers: Right to Request Fixed Hours

Clause 1 could be amended so workers on zero-hour contracts gain the right to request guaranteed hours, rather than employers being obliged to offer them.

The right would apply to workers averaging 8 or more hours per week over a 26-week period. Employers must consider the request, but do not have to accept it. Short-notice shift cancellations (less than 48 hours’ notice) may require compensation.

Agency workers would be entitled to parity with the highest rate they earned during the reference period, unless employers can objectively justify a lower rate.

Action for employers:

• Prepare to manage requests for stable hours consistently and fairly
• Review how zero-hour workers are currently engaged and supported
• Update internal policies to reflect compensation for late cancellations