A turning point in employment law reform and access to justice – what comes next?

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Why employment rights matter?

Consider someone who’s been dismissed without a fair reason or without any proper procedure being followed. Their dismissal may have resulted from asking for a legal right, requesting flexible working or even taking maternity leave. Yet many workers in this position may not understand that they can challenge their employer’s decision or realise that legal protections exist in the first place.

With significant reforms to UK workplace rights due to take effect, the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) aims to deliver meaningful change. This is a pivotal moment for employment law and one that law students and aspiring lawyers should pay close attention to.

The role and purpose of employment law

At its core, employment law exists to promote fair and just working relationships, protect workers’ rights and provide a framework for resolving disputes that arise in the workplace. Employment tribunals play a central role in this system, offering a formal setting to address workplace issues, such as unfair dismissal, discrimination, unpaid wages and other workplace injustices.

Despite this, employment law is often misunderstood or underestimated, both by workers and employers. Many don’t engage with the legal framework until a conflict has already escalated, by which point opportunities for early resolution may have been missed.

The scale of workplace conflict

Evidence from Acas highlights the scale of workplace conflict in the UK, with 44% of working adults experiencing conflict at work in the past year, rising to 68% among individuals whose disability had a major impact on their daily life. Despite this prevalence, only 0.5% of people attempted to resolve workplace conflict through an employment tribunal, even where disputes remained unresolved.

These figures indicate a significant gap between the existence of legal protections and their practical use. Changes in employment law can further contribute to confusion. Without a clear understanding of these laws and protections, workers may struggle to identify whether their rights have been breached and how to take action, and the consequences of an unresolved workplace conflict can be significant. Acas reports that the most commonly cited impact is stress, anxiety or depression, followed by a reduction in motivation or commitment at work. These findings underline the importance of effective employment protections and accessible mechanisms for resolving disputes before harm escalates.

What's new in the Employment Rights Act 2025?

The ERA 2025 represents one of the most substantial expansions of workplace protections in the UK in recent years. It’s a development that any aspiring lawyer should understand, not only because of its legal significance, but also due to its wider social impact. The reforms are designed to:

• modernise employment protections;
• strengthen enforcement; and
• lower barriers that have traditionally limited access to justice for workers.

The act responds directly to long-standing issues, including insecure working arrangements, limited protection against unfair dismissal and weak enforcement mechanisms.

The act introduces several important changes:

• Enhanced protections for workers on zero-hour and irregular contracts, including rights to more predictable working hours, reasonable notice of shifts and compensation for short-notice cancellations. These measures aim to reduce uncertainty and promote fairness at work.
• Restrictions on ‘fire and rehire’ practices, encouraging employers to engage meaningfully with employees and negotiate changes rather than imposing them unilaterally.
• A reduced qualifying period for unfair dismissal claims, lowered from two years to six months, alongside the removal of the statutory cap on compensatory awards. This allows workers to bring claims earlier and enables tribunals to award compensation that more accurately reflects actual loss.
• Stronger protections around fair pay, family-friendly rights and workplace wellbeing, reinforcing equality and safety in the workplace.
• Improved enforcement of employment rights, including the introduction of the Fair Work Agency and modernisation of trade union legislation.

Together, these reforms extend protection to more workers, strengthen enforcement and update areas of employment law that no longer reflect modern working practices.

The persistent gap between rights and reality

However, despite the scope of the ERA 2025, employment law remains far from front of mind for many workers until something goes wrong. Acas’ research shows that employees often struggle to recognise when their rights have been breached, let alone understand how to pursue a claim. Although employment tribunals are designed to be accessible, many workers are unaware that they can bring a claim at all or miss deadlines due to a lack of understanding of the process. As a result, there’s a real risk that confusion and low awareness will limit the practical impact of the reforms. Without clearer understanding of how protections operate, the gap between legal rights on paper and access to justice in practice is likely to persist.

The missing pieces

For the ERA 2025 to achieve meaningful change, legislative reform must be supported by practical improvements. Awareness and education are critical. Workers need clear, accessible information about their rights and responsibilities, particularly in relation to time limits and enforcement routes. The employment tribunal system also requires sustained investment. Tribunals already face significant caseload pressures, and expanded rights are likely to increase demand further. Without adequate resources, delays risk undermining confidence in the system and weakening the effect of employment protections.

The success of the new Fair Work Agency will depend on its ability to enforce rights proactively. Centralised enforcement has the potential to reduce reliance on individual claims, but only if the agency is properly resourced and able to address systemic non-compliance. Finally, strengthening advice and support networks is essential. Early access to guidance can help to ensure that expanded rights translate into effective remedies for those who need them most.

Interested in learning more from industry experts about what it’s really like to work in employment law, watch our latest masterclass sponsored by Gateley Legal, Jones Day and Lewis Silkin.

The ERA 2025 marks a significant step forward for UK employment law. However, rights alone aren’t enough. Awareness, accessibility and effective enforcement will determine whether these reforms deliver genuine access to justice or remain underused in practice.

For law students and aspiring lawyers, this period of reform presents an opportunity to engage with a growing and socially relevant area of law that sits at the intersection of legal practice, policy and everyday working life.

For more insight on different legal practice areas, take a look out our practice area profiles on LawCareers.Net.