Landmark changes delivered through the Employment Rights Bill, including sick pay for up to 1.3m of low earners and day one rights to parental and paternity leave, will be introduced for the first time from early next year, demonstrating the government’s determination to boost living standards and protections for millions, while aiming to give employers the certainty they need to plan for future changes.

The announcement on Tuesday (1 July) also states that the new Fair Work Agency will launch from early next year, intended to create a level-playing field “so rogue employers cannot undercut good businesses who comply with the law”. 

Key measures in the bill will come into effect next year and in 2027, while further consultations are planned from this year into the next.

The reforms are a key part of the government’s Plan for Change, aimed to kickstart economic growth and boost productivity.

After the bill is passed:

• Immediate repeal of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023 and most of the Trade Union Act 2016 to create a better relationship with unions that will prevent the need for strikes.
• Protections against dismissal for taking industrial action to ensure workers can defend their rights without fear of losing their jobs.

April 2026:

• Collective redundancy protective award – doubling the maximum period of the protective award to provide stronger financial security for workers facing mass redundancies.
• ‘Day one’ paternity leave and unpaid parental leave to support working families from the very start of employment.
• Whistleblowing protections to encourage reporting of wrongdoing without fear of retaliation.
• Fair Work Agency established to enforce labour rights and promote fairness in the workplace.
• Statutory sick pay – removing the lower earnings limit and waiting period.
• A package of trade union measures including simplifying trade union recognition process and electronic and workplace balloting to strengthen democracy and participation in the workplace.

October 2026:

• Ending ‘fire and rehire’ practices to protect workers from being forced into worse terms under threat of dismissal.
• Regulations to establish the fair pay agreement adult social care negotiating body in England to raise standards and pay in the social care sector.
• Tightening tipping law – strengthen the law on tipping by mandating consultation with workers to ensure fairer tip allocation.
• Requiring employers to take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of their employees to create safer, more respectful workplaces.
• Introducing an obligation on employers not to permit the harassment of their employees by third parties to extend protections to all work environments, including public-facing roles.
• A package of trade union measures including new rights and protections for trade union representatives, extending protections against detriments for taking industrial action and strengthening trade unions’ right of access.

2027:

• Gender pay gap and menopause action plans (introduced on a voluntary basis in April 2026) to promote gender equality and support women’s health in the workplace.
• Enhanced dismissal protections for pregnant women and new mothers to safeguard job security during pregnancy, maternity leave and a return-to-work period.
• Further harassment protections, specifying reasonable steps which will help determine whether an employer has taken all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment to provide clearer guidance and stronger enforcement against harassment.
• Creating a modern framework for industrial relations to build a fairer, more collaborative approach to workplace relations.
• Bereavement leave to give workers time to grieve with job security.
• Ending the ‘exploitative use’ of zero-hours contracts to provide workers with stable hours and predictable income.
• ‘Day one’ right to protection from unfair dismissal to ensure all workers are treated fairly from the start of employment.
• Improving access to flexible working to help people balance work with family, health and other responsibilities.

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The leaders of the industry’s two major professional bodies have welcomed the roadmap in consulting, clarifying and implementing measures of the hotly debated ERB through to 2027.

In addition to the outline of timings for consultations and implementation, the announcement also confirmed that the government has regulation of umbrella companies in its sights. Consultation on such regulation is to take place this autumn (2025), with 2027 targeted for implementation of umbrella company regulation. This set of announcements has resulted in “a sigh of relief” from segments of the umbrella industry. However, the lack of mention for single-worker status has prompted disapproval elsewhere.

Regarding the roadmap, Neil Carberry, Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) CEO, said: “This clear timeline on the Employment Rights Bill gives room for full and frank consultation on how the new rules will be structured. It also gives businesses important time to plan.

“Now we have the roadmap, ongoing and meaningful engagement will be critical to ensuring new regulations allow the flexibility workers and companies value to remain. That’s what gives workers freedom and choice, and helps businesses adjust in changeable markets. A clear process that addresses reasonable business concerns about the new rules is essential. 

“The bill is a real opportunity to update workplace protections in a way that reflects how people work today, but getting the balance right will be crucial to supporting the government’s growth ambitions.”

At the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), global public policy director Tania Bowers has welcomed a delay announced for the ERB to move to Royal Assent, which will now likely be in autumn, calling it a “vital” opportunity to consider a robust impact assessment.

“It’s clear that the government has encountered far greater resistance to the [ERB] from the Lords and business departments than it had anticipated, so we are glad that there is now some additional breathing room. There is an understandable and correct concern in the professional recruitment market that implementing such a significant reform of employment rights without the full understanding of the impact it will have on business growth and the UK’s economic strength simply cannot happen.

“We saw earlier this week that there was a renewed focus from Lord Chris Holmes to reintroduce an amendment to the bill, which would see a licensing entity created for umbrella companies (see Recruiter, 30 June 2025.) It’s clear that there is still a lot to be debated on the topic and continued resistance, which in itself is telling.

“There are also a number of areas in the ERB proposals where the details aren’t substantial enough or haven’t faced the level of scrutiny that will only be detrimental to the Bill’s impact. For example, the changes to fire and rehire clauses would mean that it is unlawful for a company to make any contractual change, including a change of office address. This level of scrutiny is needed in any impact assessment, and this delay to Royal Assent gives the government an opportunity to deliver that. There will be more consultations in the late summer and throughout autumn; APSCo hopes that this opportunity is capitalised on now, to prevent future instability for the staffing sector.”

With regard to the news about umbrella industry regulation consultation and implementation, Qdos, which provides insurance for umbrella companies under its sub-brand, UmbrellaSure, hailed the news as a “historic moment” for the industry, which has been “plagued” by tax avoidance schemes posing as compliant umbrella companies in recent years.

Sam Cox, commercial director at UmbrellaSure, said: “This is a historic moment for the umbrella industry. It’s a sector that engages hundreds of thousands of workers and sees billions of pounds passing through it – a sector that has been plagued by rogue operators of tax avoidance schemes in recent years, exacerbated by the introduction of the off-payroll rules.

“The industry has been crying out for regulation. Done in the right way, it could be pivotal in flushing out non-compliant operators in the sector – tax avoidance schemes that not only pose a huge risk to any worker or business engaging them, but also leave a huge hole in the UK’s tax receipts every year.

“What regulation entails is the next question, of course. As cliche as it sounds, the devil will be in the detail. All eyes will be focused on the consultation this autumn, which is likely to inform how regulation works in practice.

“What matters now is that the government takes on board the views of the many compliant umbrella companies that serve an important purpose – these firms have made no secret of the fact that they would welcome regulation, but collaboration with these parties is vital if regulation is to have the desired effect.”

Dave Chaplin, CEO of IR35 tax compliance firm IR35 Shield, said: “With no mention of Single Worker Status in the ERB road map, it appears that status has been kicked into the long grass, and with so much to implement in the ERB, it seems unlikely that it will ever reach the top of this Labour government’s agenda.”

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The recruitment solutions business includes Morgan McKinley and the recently acquired companies Venturi and Enterprise Digital Resources. Schreurs will be a member of the Executive Org Group team.

“Org Group is reinforcing its commitment to global expansion and strengthening its brands in key markets,” a company statement said.

As CRO for Recruitment Solutions, Schreurs will lead Org Group’s recruitment solutions business, playing a central role in advancing the group’s recruitment offering, leading programmes to expand into new markets and positioning Org Group as a global leader in talent services. He will also focus on aligning commercial performance with the group’s long-term growth strategy.

With more than 25 years’ experience in the staffing industry, Schreurs has held senior and board-level leadership roles across multiple geographies. 

Kurt joins Org Group from Gravitas Recruitment Group, where he served as CEO having joined as global CRO in September 2022. During his tenure he led the successful completion of two acquisitions in the Netherlands and China, expansion into Germany, an organisational redesign to support future growth, and a go-to-market transformation. 

Before Gravitas, Schreurs held an executive board lead role at global STEM talent consultancy SThree, where he led a 1,200-strong team across 10 countries.

Org Group specialises in organisational engineering, delivering its services through five brands: Morgan McKinley, Abtran, Org, Venturi, Enterprise Digital Resources (EDR).

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The video has reignited interest in creative job applications, with one user’s modern-day take on Elle Woods’ iconic Harvard video essay from Legally Blonde racking up thousands of views. 

New research from student jobs board RateMyPlacement reveals Google searches for ‘creative CV template’ and ‘creative CV ideas’ have soared by over 5,000% in the past 30 days, coinciding with a now-viral video from TikToker @louweldy – a graduate who channels Legally Blonde’s Elle Woods in a video application for a social media executive role at McLaren.

The video features a New York-based Cornell graduate applying for the role at McLaren. The playful and polished video, which is just 1 minute and 37 seconds long, has garnered over 124,000 views and nearly 15,000 likes.

The trend reflects a bigger shift in how younger candidates are embracing storytelling, UGC (user-generated content) and personality-led content to stand out, especially in creative industries.

Oliver Sidwell, co-founder of RateMyPlacement, says: “Creative CVs that leverage online UGC, especially on platforms like TikTok, offer a fresh way for applicants to grab attention. It’s particularly exciting to see younger jobseekers who may not have extensive experience finding innovative ways to highlight their potential.”

So has the time come to encourage your candidates to follow this creative route or is there still room for the paper CV? Let us know, we’d love to hear what you think.

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The amendment would require umbrella companies to be overseen by a licensing authority nominated by the secretary of state for the Department of Business and Trade (DBT).

Speaking by video last week to the Freelancer and Contractor Services Association (FCSA) in Manchester, Lord Holmes said he had introduced the amendment after “great consultation and conversation through FCSA” but that the clause was withdrawn when fellow Parliamentarians “saw this as bringing in an early, burdensome approach seeking to bring yet another entity, another quango into being. But the truth is, it’s nothing of the sort”.

The amendment says: “After section 5(1) (ec) of the Employment Agencies Act 1973, insert – ‘(ed) requiring employment businesses participating in employment arrangements to be subject to a licensing authority nominated by the Secretary of State’.

“Essentially,” Lord Holmes said, “this brings umbrellas into the bill. That’s the way to remember it. But what I wanted to ensure was that there was a level playing field, there was consistency, clarity, fairness for all organisations now brought into scope, which, as the bill is currently drafted, isn’t the case.” 

The amendment would allow “licensing of a nominated entity (to) be brought into being, not doing anything fancy, nothing novel, merely enabling fairness and a level playing field, and reflecting largely what is the case in almost any other sector of the economy that you could choose to look at”.

The former Olympic medallist said he will resubmit the amendment and meet with ministers and others to “hopefully have them accept it at report stage. If they don’t, then it’ll be for me to work with colleagues and to consider whether we push it to a vote to try and win that, to get it into the bill”. He reiterated: “It really isn’t anything exciting or exceptional; it’s simply seeking to bring that clarity.”

Work on the ERB so far has led the government to aim to shift from the umbrellas the PAYE liability for failing to properly address taxes for money earned by umbrella workers to recruitment agencies. However, in a call two weeks ago with recruitment industry leaders and others with interests in the sector, HM Revenue & Customs leaders suggested that the new “direction of travel” could be adopting joint and several liability to spread potential responsibility for ensuring compliance.

The phrase ‘joint and several liability (JSL)’ means that multiple parties who owe a debt or obligation are held responsible both together (jointly) and individually (severally). This means a creditor can pursue any one of the liable parties for the full amount owed, or they can pursue all of them together.

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McDonald brings over two decades of experience in the staffing and franchising sectors. His remit at NEXTAFF includes developing strategic initiatives to support the company’s growing franchise operations.

The Kansas-based firm, which operates on a franchise model offering workforce solutions in healthcare, commercial and other sectors, sees the appointment as a step towards strengthening its national footprint.

McDonald previously held executive roles across both traditional and virtual staffing franchise businesses. His experience includes scaling franchise operations and supporting local owners in navigating competitive labour markets.

Founded more than 20 years ago, NEXTAFF’s franchise network operates across more than 40 markets in the US. 

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Continuing its post-acquisition expansion under Alvarez & Marsal’s LSS Strategic Partners, the hires come as the firm reports 146% growth since its relaunch, with additional appointments expected to bring headcount close to double its original size in the coming months.

The five new partners joining, and leading sector-specific practices, are: Graham Michener, head of financial services; Jamie Page, head of industrial and real assets; Nick Carrad, law firms; Scott Reid, head of commodities; and Carlos Garcia, supply chain, operations and procurement.

ECB STAR Group now operates four service lines: executive search, project-based advisory under the Milestone brand, on-demand recruitment (RPO) and pre-deal services. The firm continues to focus on growth across core industries including law, healthcare, infrastructure, technology and financial services.

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Scott Simons has been appointed director of client solutions and Aaron Key as US senior vice president.

Simons joins from tech go-to-market recruiter Cognatio Solutions, and brings extensive experience in technology recruitment and leadership. In his new role, he will focus on developing and expanding Franklin Fitch’s client solutions offering across international markets.

Key, formerly of global IT consulting firm Apex Systems, will lead the company’s US growth strategy from his base in the US, overseeing business development and operational expansion in key regional markets.

Both appointments reflect the company’s plans to scale its IT infrastructure recruitment services globally and enhance delivery to enterprise clients.

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The information was revealed yesterday [12 June 2025] to a wide group of umbrella company owners, trade body leaders and others involved in the ongoing development of new legislation to take effect in April 2026. 

Participants in the call with HM Revenue & Customs have told Recruiter that the proposal suggests the reforms would include ‘joint and several liability’ (JSL), meaning liability would be shared between the agency and umbrella company, or between the end client and umbrella company if no agency is involved.

This would involve the introduction of a new chapter within the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act (ITEPA) to establish the JSL.

The primary responsibility for any shortfalls will lie with the lead agency, defined as the agency that holds the direct contract with the end client. This approach aims to ensure accountability throughout the supply chain and reduce non-compliance risks. HMRC has indicated that draft legislation reflecting this position is expected to be released within the next month, providing greater clarity on the final framework. 

The move signals a tightening of regulation around umbrella company arrangements and reinforces HMRC’s commitment to improving compliance and transparency in the labour supply market. Further guidance is anticipated alongside the draft legislation to assist stakeholders in preparing for the changes.

Rebecca Seeley Harris of Re:legal Consulting said: “There is still work to be done despite this announcement because JSL comes in various guises. It won’t be until the draft legislation is published in July that we will find out the details but what we do know is that it will be an absolute liability with no statutory excuse or defence. It will be new legislation in ITEPA. Also, the agency closest to the end client will have primary liability.

“The tax policy is only one part of the puzzle – the next will be the regulation of the industry by the Department of Business and Trade (DBT). There will hopefully be a consultation on this in the autumn.”

She went on to say that the revelation yesterday was “a huge step forward and very welcome. I had been advocating for JSL specifically along with the FCSA [Freelancer and Contractor Services Association] as a workable solution for both HMRC and the umbrella industry, so I was delighted to hear that it is the ‘direction of travel’ for the government”.

Also commenting, Crawford Temple, CEO of Professional Passport, said: “We welcome HMRC’s update today but as always the devil will be in the detail. It will be interesting to see how the agencies react when they learn about their new positions under the proposed legislation – what is key is that there will be no excuses to mitigate their liabilities. There are a lot of unanswered questions and hopefully the draft legislation will provide the clarification that we all need.”

Seb Maley, CEO of tax compliance specialist Qdos, said: “You can feel the collective sigh of relief among umbrella companies and, in some respects, among recruiters too. While the reform itself was never going to be met with open arms, noises from government indicate that the changes will not be as extreme as feared.

“If confirmed in the draft legislation next month, agencies or end-clients will be liable for tax not paid by an umbrella from April 2026 – as opposed to agencies also being responsible for making tax deductions themselves, which has the potential to cause headaches, non-compliance and question marks over the role of umbrella companies in the supply chain.

“Given agencies are set to carry the can for non-compliance carried out by another party – which has hallmarks of the off-payroll working rules – due diligence is set to become even more important in the lead up to April 2026. The cost of engaging a rogue umbrella company could be financially devastating to an agency.”

Maley added: “On the other side of the coin, umbrellas themselves should see this as an opportunity – a chance to demonstrate their compliance, which will make them an attractive proposition to the agencies they work with.”

Chris Bryce, CEO of the FCSA, commented that his organisation and its members were “pleased to see this direction of travel. We thank HM Treasury and HMRC officials for considering our representations, and the evidence we provided. We hope that the JSL approach is endorsed by the Exchequer Secretary and look forward to seeing the legislation”.

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They show that compared to the same period a year ago, for the period April 2024-March 2025:

• Single Employment Tribunal (ET) receipts increased by 23% – 42,000 claims were received
• Single ET disposals rose by 6%
• Single ET Open caseload stood at 45,000 – an increase of 32%, as receipts have exceeded disposals over the last year
• Multiple ET claim receipts increased by 23%
• Multiple ET disposals fell by 49% compared to 2024/25
• Multiple ET receipts exceeded disposals, resulting in a 9% rise in open caseload to 446,000 open cases
• Four jurisdictions make up the majority of claims – 60% of claims: Unfair dismissal amounted to 22% of those claims, Breach of Contract (14%), Disability discrimination (13%) and Unauthorised deductions (12%).

Ellie Rogers, associate solicitor at Constantine Law, said: “The working caseload statistics are telling – a 32% and 9% increase in single and multiple ET claims. Disability discrimination claims are also cited as being disproportionately high in number, perhaps due to their relative complexity.

“In March 2025, the Employment Lawyers Association highlighted the inadequate funding of the Tribunal system, together with inconsistent practices between Tribunals as being a huge factor in the backlog. Many of claims take two years plus to reach a full merits hearing. The road to justice is incredibly slow.”

Rogers went on to say: “The ET system is creaking, and it is expected to get worse. This is particularly so, as the job market has tightened following the increase of employer National Insurance Contributions and the contraction of the economy. The Employment Rights Bill will also likely have an impact – unfair dismissal rights are likely to become a day one right from autumn 2026 (to be confirmed). Further, the ET limitation period will be extended from three to six months. New rights will undoubtedly lead to increased claims and a system under even more pressure.”

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