Protection against dismissal for pregnant employees and those on or returning from family-related leave

Implementation date: Not expected before 2026

The Employment Rights Bill extends protection from dismissal for pregnant employees and those on or returning from family-related leave.

Under the Bill, it will not be permissible for employers to dismiss an employee during pregnancy, while on maternity leave and during the six-month return to work period, other than in specific circumstances. The protection will also apply to employees during, and on return from, adoption leave and shared parental leave. The provisions extend the protection that currently applies in relation to redundancy dismissals.

The circumstances in which dismissal will be lawful will be defined by regulations at a later date. 

It is not yet known when these measures will come into force. In its Next Steps to Make Work Pay policy paper, the Government said it expects to begin consulting in 2025 on the various measures covered in the Bill and that it anticipates that "the majority of reforms will take effect no earlier than 2026".