A range of consultations have been published as the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA) continues to be implemented.

As we commented upon here, the first provisions of the ERA came into force on 18 February 2026. These largely focussed on trade unions and industrial action, such as simplifying the balloting process, extending the strike mandate period, and strengthening protections against discrimination or dismissal related to industrial action.

Two of the newly published consultations focus on this area: one on plans to modernise the Agency Work Regulatory Framework (see here); the other on a revised code of practice on access and unfair practices during the recognition and derecognition process (see here).

A number of further consultations have also been published in other areas.

The first concerns proposed changes to the process that employers must follow when dealing with requests for flexible working, reflecting what the Government describes as “shifting expectations towards accepting requests which can be reasonably met, and encouraging employees and their managers to think creatively about where flexibility might be possible”.

Proposed changes include, for example, requiring employers to meet the employee within six weeks of a request being made, to consider feasible alternative arrangements if the request cannot be accommodated, and to provide written notification of the outcome of the request. The consultation also seeks views on what training, resources and support may assist organisations in handling flexible working requests.

The consultation closes on 1 April 2026 and can be found here.

Another consultation concerns new restrictions on so-called ‘fire and rehire’ practices, under which it will be automatically unfair to dismiss or replace an employee if they refuse to agree to changes to certain core contractual terms, known as ‘restricted variations’. Restricted variations include, for example, changes to the number of hours an employee is required to work, changes to pensions, and a reduction in the amount of time that employee can take off.

It is also, unsurprisingly, a restricted variation to remove or reduce “an entitlement to any sum payable to an employee in connection with the employment”. However, the ERA empowers the Secretary of State to regulations as to whether a “sum payable” includes expenses or payments of benefits in kind. The consultation explores various proposals before setting out the Government’s preference that “all expenses and benefits in kind are excluded from the restricted variation of sums payable to an employee in connection with the employment”. In practice, therefore, a dismissal made in order to change a contract to reduce or remove benefits would not automatically be unfair. As the consultation explains, this would “give necessary flexibility” to employers while still protecting employees.

The consultation also explores the extent to which changes to shift patterns should constitute restricted variations. Two options are proposed: either that no changes to the timing or duration of shifts should fall within the definition, or that only a narrow category of changes should qualify, such as changes from day to night working (or vice versa) or weekday to weekend working (or vice versa). The Government indicates that it is minded to adopt the latter approach, seeking to strike a balance of giving “necessary flexibility to employers, while protecting employees from being fired in order to make extreme changes to their shift patterns which could have significant consequences for them”.

The consultation closes on 1 April 2026 and can be found here.

Finally, the Government is consulting on how to strengthen the law relating to tipping. In particular, it seeks views on the existing legal framework, the new requirement in the ERA for employers to consult with their workers when revising or developing their tipping policies, and on a new Code of Practice – due to come into effect in October 2026 – on the fair and transparent distribution of tips.

The consultation also closes on 1 April 2026, and can be found here.