The Government has launched two consultations under the Employment Rights Act 2025 as part of its staged implementation programme, both opening on 26 February 2026. The first consultation, closing on 23 April 2026, seeks views on regulations defining prohibited “detriments” against workers taking protected industrial action, addressing the gap identified by the Supreme Court in Mercer. The Government’s preferred approach is a broad prohibition on all detriments imposed for the purpose of deterring or penalising industrial action, with implementation targeted for October 2026.
The second consultation, closing on 21 May 2026, concerns a new organisation-wide trigger for collective redundancy consultation to prevent employers avoiding obligations by spreading redundancies across multiple sites. The preferred model is a fixed numerical threshold across the business (likely between 250 and 1,000 redundancies), with implementation expected in 2027. Both reforms will be introduced through secondary legislation, subject to Parliamentary approval.
