Pregnancy/ maternity related dismissals
In the Background Briefing to the King’s Speech the Government said it will be “strengthening protections for new mothers by making it unlawful to dismiss a woman who has had a baby for six months after her return to work, except in specific circumstances.”
The accompanying explanatory notes explained that the Government will “amend existing powers so that regulations can be made to ban dismissals of women who are pregnant, on maternity leave and during a six-month return-to-work period – except in specific circumstances. It will also expand existing powers in relation to adoption leave, shared parental leave, neonatal care leave and bereaved partners paternity leave to enable regulation of dismissal in the period after a person returns to work after taking one of these forms of leave.”
The ERA 2025 includes those regulatory making powers, which will determine how the protections from dismissal will operate in practice.
On 23 October 2025, the Government launched a consultation setting out various potential options for how the dismissal protections for pregnant woman and new mothers (i.e. those in a protected period from birth/placement) could be enhanced, including:
- Introducing a new test of fairness: Under this option, employers would still be able to rely on any of the existing fair reasons for dismissal but they would also be required to meet a new stricter standard when relying on that reason to dismiss a pregnant woman or new mother. For example employers might also need to show that continuing the employee’s employment would have a significantly detrimental effect on the business, poses a health and safety risk to customers, staff or the public or has a serious negative impact on the wellbeing of others.
- Narrowing the scope of and/or removing some of the fair dismissal reasons: This option would involve limiting the five potentially fair reasons for dismissal when applied to pregnant women and new mothers – potentially removing some altogether. Multiple options are put forward. For example narrowing the ground of conduct to gross misconduct or removing capability as a fair ground of dismissal for pregnant women and new mothers.
The consultation also seeks views on:
- Whether there should be a qualifying period (e.g. 3-9 months) to receive these enhanced protections.
- When the protection should start and end (i.e. what the protection period should be and in what circumstances).
- Whether other new parents should be covered (e.g. those on adoption leave, shared parental leave or neonatal care leave or bereaved partners paternity leave).
The policy intent behind the proposal, is to reduce discrimination of women who are pregnant, on maternity leave or because they have been on maternity leave and the consultation states that many expectant and new mothers continue to report experiences that suggest unfair treatment persists.
Currently, the law does not grant special protected status from dismissal to pregnant women and new mothers, and a woman can still be fairly dismissed during pregnancy, provided that the reason for the dismissal is not discriminatory . The only exception is in redundancy situations where an employee must be offered a suitable alternative vacancy if one is available. This position is set to change, although the impact of the changes will depend on which option(s) the Government ultimately chooses following consultation. To read more about this see our article here.
Timing and developments:
Included in the ERA 2025.
Further regulations will be required as to the practical detail of the right and a consultation was issued on 23 October 2025 (closed on 15 January 2026), which will shape this detail. The Government roadmap indicates that the measure will take effect in 2027, although a specific date is not provided.
Sources
Roadmap for Implementation of the Employment Rights Bill, Consultation on enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers.
Day one paternity leave and parental leave
The ERA 2025 will remove the requirement for employees to have completed a qualifying period of employment to be entitled to take statutory paternity leave and statutory parental leave, making them available from day one.
This does not amend entitlements to statutory paternity pay, which will remain available only after 26 weeks of employment. Statutory parental leave will remain an unpaid right. In addition, the ERA 2025 will remove the current restriction on taking paternity leave and receiving statutory paternity pay following a period of shared parental leave and shared parental pay.
Timings and developments:
Included in the ERA 2025.
Commencement regulations have now been made, with corresponding transitional provisions detailing how this will apply in certain scenarios. In summary:
Paternity leave – Day one paternity leave rights (removal of qualifying period and removal of prohibition on ability to take paternity leave after shared parental leave) will substantially come into effect on 6 April 2026.
Unpaid parental leave – The rights to day one parental leave will substantially come into effect on 6 April 2026.
Parental leave system
The Government promised previously to review the parental leave system within the first year of Government. A review of the parental leave system was launched by the Government on 1 July 2025. The scope of the review includes all current and upcoming parental leave and pay entitlements, including: maternity, paternity, adoption, shared parental, parental bereavement, parental leave (unpaid), neonatal, maternity allowance and bereaved partners paternity leave (unpaid – which is not yet in force). The initial call for evidence was open from 1 July 2025 to 26 August 2025. It was broad in scope and sought to test whether the existing parental leave and pay entitlements support four core objectives, which include maternal health, economic growth, the best start in life and childcare.
Timing and developments:
Not included in the ERA 2025.
This reform will be part of the Government’s longer-term plan as it recognises that it will take longer to consider how to make changes and implement them. The review is set to run for 18 months and will then set a roadmap for taking potential reforms forward to implementation. Timing for implementation is unknown.
Sources
Paid carer’s leave
The Government promised previously to review the recently introduced Carer’s Leave and potentially expand it to a right to paid leave whilst “being mindful of the impact of any changes on small employers.” On 19 November 2025, the Government published terms of reference for this anticipated review to consider whether there is a need to change the current approach to ensure carers and their dependants have the right support in place.
The review aims to:
- Understand how the existing unpaid carer’s leave entitlement is working
- Examine options for different models of paid carer’s leave
- Consider the options and principles for additional interventions which may help unpaid carers enter, remain, and progress in the workplace
- Identify options with low or no cost to business and the exchequer and appropriate routes for implementation
Timing and developments:
Not included in the ERA 2025.
This reform will be part of its longer-term plan. The review will be carried out in three phases and is expected to conclude by the end of 2026. A final report is anticipated Autumn 2026 to Winter 2026 to 2027, with a consultation response, findings and an implementation roadmap. Legal changes are not looking likely until 2027 based on these timings.
Sources
Plan to Make Work Pay, Next Steps to Make Work Pay.
Bereavement leave
Currently, there is no general right to bereavement leave, although:
- parents are entitled to two weeks’ parental bereavement leave in relation to a death of a child under the age of 18 or if they have a stillbirth after 24 weeks of pregnancy and are eligible for statutory parental bereavement pay where they fulfil eligibility criteria; and
- there is also the right to unpaid reasonable time off for family and dependents in an emergency.
Many employers currently voluntarily offer some form of compassionate leave (which may be paid or unpaid) for staff if they lose a family member.
The ERA 2025 gives the power to introduce a new statutory day one right to unpaid bereavement leave for employees who experience the loss of a loved one, including pregnancy loss. The ERA 2025 sets out the minimum requirements, including a minimum of one week’s leave and a window of at least 56 days for the employee to take leave. However, regulations will set out full details of the entitlement.
A consultation launched on 23 October 2025 seeks views on practical details of the new right, including eligibility criteria (including which relationships between the bereaved employee and the person who has died should qualify and what types of pregnancy loss should be covered), when and how the more general right to bereavement leave can be taken and the notice and evidence requirements. The outcome of the consultation will shape the final details of the new entitlement.
Employees will retain the right to take two weeks of leave in cases of the death of a child, as per the existing right to parental bereavement leave, and the existing entitlements to statutory parental bereavement pay will not be affected by the ERA 2025.
Timing and developments:
Included in the ERA 2025.
Further regulations will be required as to the practical detail of the right and a consultation was issued on 23 October 2025 (closed on 15 January 2026) which will shape this detail. The Government roadmap indicates that the measure will take effect in 2027, although a specific date is not provided.
Sources
Roadmap for Implementation of the Employment Rights Bill, 7 July 2025 Announcement, 7 July 2025 amendments, Consultation on leave for bereavement including pregnancy loss.
Time off for public duties
Currently, employees are entitled to a reasonable amount of time off from work to carry out certain specified public duties.
The Government agreed in the ERA 2025 to undertake a review of the right to time off for public duties, following opposition proposals during the bill’s passage. The Government must review the purposes for time off for public duties, including whether to extend it to cover employees who take time off as to carry out duties as a special constable, and publish a report.
Timing and developments:
The ERA 2025 commits the Government to undertaking a review and publishing a report within 12 months of the ERA 2025 passing (so by December 2026). However, whether or not this leads to changes to the right to time off for public duties and, if so, the timing of such change is uncertain.