The Employment Rights Bill - Your Voice Matters: Join the Employment Rights Bill Consultations

Welcome to our second article in our series on the Employment Rights Bill (ERB). Over the coming months, we’ll unpack key changes, timelines, and practical steps your HR or leadership team in a school or multi-academy trust (MAT) should prepare. In this post, we look at the four ERB Consultations that have been launched by the government and set out links to the consultations so that you can have your say.

We are still waiting for the ERB to gain Royal Assent - it is currently ping ponging between the House of Lords and House of Commons to agree some final points. We will keep you posted on this.

However, despite the delayed progress of the Bill, the government is moving ahead and, as already mentioned, has opened four consultations which cover the areas below:

• Consultation 1 - The Duty to Inform Workers of Their Right to Join a Trade Union
• Consultation 2 - The Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces
• Consultation 3 - Enhanced Dismissal Protections for Pregnant Women and New Mothers
• Consultation 4 - Bereavement Leave Including Pregnancy Loss

Consultation 1 - The Duty to Inform Workers of Their Right to Join a Trade Union

The government’s consultation is to consider how this new duty will work in practice, seeking views on the content, form, delivery method and frequency of the statement that must be provided to workers. It aims to balance the effective implementation of the new right while minimising the administrative burden on employers. 

What is included in the consultation?

The consultation will cover the content of the statement informing employees of their right to join a trade union. The statement is likely to require:

• A brief overview of the functions of a trade union, 
• Summary of workers' statutory rights regarding trade unions, 
• A list of the unions the employer recognises (if any), and 
• A signpost to a GOV.UK page listing trade unions. 

The statement must be in writing and will either be in a standard form provided by the government or an employer-drafted statement which follows the government model but would allow for greater flexibility and tailoring to suit the needs of its workers. 

The method for delivery of the statement may be different depending on whether it is being provided to new workers, or on subsequent occasions for existing workers.  It is likely that the statement will have to be provided to new joiners alongside the existing statement of employment particulars. For existing employees, it is proposed that employers will be able to deliver the statement through direct or indirect methods (such as posting on a notice board or intranet). 

The consultation seeks views on how frequently the statement must be reissued after the beginning of employment. Three options are proposed: every six months, or annually (aligned with business and HR cycles), or sector specific frequency (based on sector in which the employer operates or employer size).

Why Does it Matter?

The intention is that this new duty will increase trade union membership. Schools / Trusts will need to ensure that the new duty is embedded into their onboarding process and on a continuing basis, once the government has decided on the final details for compliance.

This consultation is currently open for responses and closes on 18 December 2025, after which the government will produce draft regulations. The changes are expected to take effect from October 2026.  You can access the consultation here. 

Consultation 2 - The Right of Trade Unions to Access Workplaces 

The consultation seeks views on its proposals for how the new trade union right of access will work in practice.

The right will provide for trade unions and employers to enter formal “access agreements”, permitting access to the workforce by trade union officials. This covers access for the purpose of meeting, supporting, representing, recruiting and organising workers, or to facilitate collective bargaining (but not for the purposes of organising industrial action). Access can be either by physically entering the premises or by communicating with workers, or both.

What is included in the consultation?

It is proposed that union access requests and employer responses to these requests must be in writing, using standardised templates provided in the new Code of Practice on Trade Union Rights of Access.

Access requests will require certain specified information to be included:

• a description of the group of workers that the union is seeking access to, 
• the purpose of the access, 
• the type of access (physical and/or digital), and
• the date of the first access and the frequency of the access requested.

The employer will have 5 working days from the date of the request to respond.  There will then be a negotiation period of 15 working days. If access arrangements are agreed the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) will have to be notified and the government proposes that this will be via a template for notifications to the CAC via the new Code of Practice on Trade Union Rights of Access.

If the trade union and employer cannot agree then either party can refer the request to the CAC for a determination. This referral can be made within 25 working days, starting from the day the request for access is submitted. 

If agreement on access arrangements cannot be reached through negotiation between the parties, the CAC will decide whether workplace access should be granted, taking into account certain factors in reaching their decision.

The government will also be consulting on a draft code of practice on trade union access in spring 2026, which will set out best practice and practical guidance on how the right of access is carried out by trade unions and employers. 

Why does it matter?

Schools and Trusts should ensure they understand the statutory process once it is confirmed and take steps to comply with access agreements once in place, to avoid the risk of a large fine from the CAC.

This consultation is currently open for responses and closes on 18 December 2025, after which the government will produce draft regulations. The changes are expected to take effect from October 2026.  You can access the consultation here. 

Consultation 3 - Enhanced Dismissal Protections for Pregnant Women and New Mothers 

The ERB includes powers to introduce, by separate regulations, strengthened protection against dismissal for pregnant employees and new mothers. The new protections will expand existing protections, effectively providing that a pregnant woman or new mother cannot be fairly dismissed under standard dismissal procedures, unless one of the exceptions applies.  The new consultation seeks views on how these new protections will work in practice. 

What is included in the consultation? 

• When dismissals should be allowed

There are currently five potentially fair reasons for dismissal under the Employment Rights Act 1996: conduct, capability, redundancy, statutory prohibition and “some other substantial reason” (SOSR).

The consultation asks in what circumstances dismissals should be allowed  and is considering two options for pregnant women and new mothers. Option one is to retain the current five reasons but to apply a stricter test of fairness when dismissing a pregnant woman or new mother. Option two is to narrow the scope or remove some of these reasons entirely for pregnant women and new mothers.

The consultation includes examples and scenarios to explore how these options might work in practice. For example, permitting a conduct dismissal only in cases of gross misconduct, and permitting a redundancy dismissal only in limited circumstances (such as business or site closure).

• The Protected period - The consultation seeks views on when the enhanced protection should begin, for example when the employee becomes pregnant, or when they inform their employer that they are pregnant. It also asks when the protection window for new mothers entitled to maternity leave should end - 6 months after return to work or 18 months from birth. 

• Other types of parental leave - The consultation seeks views on extending enhanced dismissal protections to other parents during leave and after their return to work. Paternity leave (2 weeks) is excluded as it will form part of the separate parental leave framework that is already underway. 

Why does it matter? 

Concerns have been raised about the possibility that enhanced legal protections may lead to an increased hesitancy for employers to hire women, particularly those of childbearing age. The consultation asks for suggestions that could mitigate the consequences of enhanced legal protections for pregnant women and new mothers, including guidance, training and support for employers. Schools and Trusts will need to prepare well in advance of the changes to ensure that managers fully understand how the new protections will apply and to reduce the risk of claims.

This consultation is currently open and closes on 15 January 2026.  The changes are due to come into force in 2027.  You can access the consultation here. 

Consultation 4 - Bereavement Leave including pregnancy loss 

Currently, only employees who lose a child have a statutory entitlement to bereavement leave.  This new right will extend bereavement leave more broadly and introduces a new day-one right for employees to take a minimum of one week’s unpaid bereavement leave, within at least 56 days of the bereavement. 

What is included in the consultation? 

• Eligibility for bereavement leave

The consultation seeks views on who should qualify for bereavement leave, and whether this should be immediate family, extended family, or whether it should be based on the importance that a person played in their life, e.g. “chosen family”, including close friends.

It also seeks views on pregnancy loss eligibility and whether leave should extend to partners and co-parents, as well as the individual who has physically experienced the loss, and the types of pregnancy loss it applies to.

The government says it is committed to ensuring this is inclusive and reflects the diverse realities of pregnancy loss before 24 weeks, and suggests it could apply to miscarriage, ectopic and molar pregnancy, medical terminations and IVF embryo transfer loss.

• Duration of leave

The duration of bereavement leave is yet to be determined (a minimum of one week but potentially two), and whether leave should be taken in one block or flexibly in single days or weeks. The consultation also covers the proposed start date of the entitlement - the Bill states that employees must be allowed at least 56 days from the date of the loss in which to take the leave, but this could be longer. The options offered in the consultation are of a window of 8 weeks, 52 weeks, 56 weeks or some other length. 

The consultation also contains questions on the notice and evidence requirements that will be needed to take the leave, and asks  for other suggestions to help employers effectively implement the new entitlement and to support their employees. 

Why does it matter? 

There is considerable scope for confusion between contractual or discretionary entitlements to paid leave in the event of a bereavement, the current statutory right to paid leave for parental bereavement, and the new statutory right to unpaid leave, which will apply much more broadly.

This consultation is currently open and closes on 15 January 2026. The changes are due to come into force in 2027. You can access the consultation here. 

How can we help you? 

As always, we're here to support you with any questions you may have in relation to the Employment Rights Bill. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch via the usual channels if you need advice or assistance.

How Judicium can help... 

The Employment Rights Bill represents a major shift in employment law. Most changes are not immediate, but schools that prepare now will be better placed to manage risk, control costs, and maintain positive staff relations.

To keep you up to date with all the latest developments, we have set up an ERB email subscription where will be regularly sending out regular updates on the different aspects of the Bill. Subscribe here to keep informed of the proposed changes and how best to prepare for them. Our team are also here to help our clients review policies, train managers, and prepare for the new landscape.

Additionally, our HR Content Hub offers a range of comprehensive guidance and a variety of valuable tools and templates on a range of HR matters.

You can find information regarding our Employment Law and HR service here.

If you require any support in any of these steps or would like to talk to someone surrounding some support for your school, please do not hesitate to call us on 0345 548 7000 or email enquiries@judicium.com. 

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