
A number of employment law changes are forecast for 2025, following the publishing of the government’s draft employment rights bill on 10 October last year.
The new bill’s proposals include an increased national minimum wage, a ban on zero-hours contracts and a ban on fire-and-rehire procedures. Unfair dismissal will become a day-one right, rather than a right for those who have accrued 2 years’ service with their employer. Other day-one rights introduced will be the right to request flexible working, all forms of parental leave and the right to statutory sick pay, for which workers currently have to wait three days.
However, the government is committed to meaningful discussions with key stakeholders before this new bill becomes law and, despite their majority in parliament, we predict much of the bill will be watered down. For example, having unfair dismissal as a day-one right makes no sense, given the government also recognises the need for employers and employees to have a probationary period.
Neonatal leave
Last week, the government also announced the introduction of a new day-one right to neonatal leave for parents of babies admitted to neonatal care in the first 28 days of life.
This new regulation will take effect from 6 April, subject to regulatory approval. Working parents will be entitled to up to 12 weeks of leave and pay, if eligible, and this will be counted in addition to any maternity or paternity leave entitlements.
Pay gap reporting
The government also proposes to introduce a new bill on pay gap reporting and equal pay rights in relation to disability and ethnicity. The equality (race and disability) bill is to include some proposals which were not in the employment rights bill published by the government.
The right to make an equal-pay claim is currently limited to differences in pay based on gender. It is a claim first introduced in 1970 and recognises the long history of pay discrimination largely based on what were, at that time, regarded as traditionally “women’s” or “men’s” jobs. You may have seen the film Made in Dagenham which is based on the Ford car plant equal-pay claims which started the claim movement.
The government proposes to extend the right to make equal-pay claims to Black, Asian and minority-ethnic workers and disabled workers. This would mean that equal pay claims based on ethnicity or disability would be treated in the same way as claims based on gender.
However, we predict this proposal will be diluted after consultation. That’s because equal pay claims are already complex and depend on finding actual comparators. It’s hard enough demonstrating work done by a man or a woman is the same –or like-for-like – and between different ethnicities this could be even harder.

A number of employment law changes are forecast for 2025, following the publishing of the government's draft employment rights bill on 10 October last year.
The new bill’s proposals include an increased national minimum wage, a ban on zero-hours contracts and a ban on fire-and-rehire procedures. Unfair dismissal will become a day-one right, rather than a right for those who have accrued 2 years’ service with their employer. Other day-one rights introduced will be the right to request flexible working, all forms of parental leave and the right to statutory sick pay, for which workers currently have to wait three days.
However, the government is committed to meaningful discussions with key stakeholders before this new bill becomes law and, despite their majority in parliament, we predict much of the bill will be watered down. For example, having unfair dismissal as a day-one right makes no sense, given the government also recognises the need for employers and employees to have a probationary period.