Today marks the next phase of the introduction of the Employment Rights Act – one of the biggest changes in employment law in a generation.
From today (18 February 2026) the following become law;
Increased dismissal protection for those undertaking industrial action
Anyone dismissal for taking part in industrial action will become ‘automatically unfair’. This will remove the current 12 week time limit for claiming unfair dismissal and could see a rise in the potential compensation awarded.
Trade Union Activities Amended
Various changes to the rules relating to trade union activities will be amended including;
- The notice period for industrial action reduced from 14 days to 10 days
- Trade unions will only need a majority of those voting to support industrial action
- Picket supervisors will no longer be required
- Industrial action mandates will increase from 6 months to 12 months
- Balloting notices will be simplified
- Political fund rules will change
Paternity Leave and Ordinary Parental Leave
Paternity leave will become a day one right from 6 April 2026. However eligible employees will be able to give notice of their intention to take this leave from 18 February 2026.
The same time frames will now also apply for ordinary (unpaid) parental leave.
These are the first of a string of changes coming into force over the coming weeks and in particular from 6 April. Please check out our Employment Rights Act pages here for further details.