On 3 February 2026, the DBT published Policy Paper: Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act – timeline update, which sets out an updated timeline for its implementation of the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025). The original Implementation Roadmap was published in July 2025 (see FC Feature 1 July 2025).
Key changes in the updated implementation roadmap include those outlined below.
- The establishment of the Fair Work Agency will take place on 7 April 2026. Although this was expected to take place in April 2026, the exact date had not been confirmed until now.
- Electronic and workplace balloting for statutory ballots was originally scheduled to take effect in April 2026 but will now come into force in August 2026. Measures relating to electronic and workplace balloting for recognition and derecognition ballots are scheduled to come into force in 2027.
- Changes to employment tribunal time limits will take effect in October 2026.
- The provisions to end fire and rehire practices (originally scheduled to take effect in October 2026) will now come into force in January 2027.
- The reduction of unfair dismissal qualifying period to six months and the removal of the cap on compensatory awards will come into force in January 2027.
For further information about the ERA 2025 generally, see ERA 2025: Desktop.
First published on the Employment News Service on 4 February 2026
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