Employment Rights Act timetable updated: key dates for dismissal rights and tribunal claims
The Government’s 5 November 2026 timetable identifies the next stages of employment reform, including a Scottish contract claim deadline change on 9 November and planned unfair dismissal reforms from 1 January 2027. Future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes.
The Government updated its Employment Rights Act implementation timetable on 5 November 2026, explaining the next stages of its Plan to Make Work Pay. The document brings together reforms already introduced, measures scheduled for particular dates and policies whose implementation timing remains unsettled. For employees and employers, its central practical value is distinguishing existing rights from changes still ahead.
Two entries deserve particular attention. The timetable identifies 9 November 2026 for the extension of employment tribunal time limits for breach of employment contract claims in Scotland. It also identifies 1 January 2027 for reducing the ordinary unfair dismissal qualifying period to six months and removing the compensatory award cap. The Government expressly cautions that all future dates remain subject to parliamentary processes and may change.
An implementation update, not a single commencement announcement
Publication of the timetable does not mean that every listed reform became law on 5 November. The document covers a programme delivered in phases, including measures introduced earlier in 2026 and others expected during 2027. Treating the whole publication as a package of immediately enforceable rights would therefore give employees and employers a misleading account of their position.
The distinction matters when deciding what action to take in a live workplace dispute. An employee considering a claim needs to identify the law applicable to the relevant events, not simply the latest date on a government webpage. An employer reviewing a policy needs to know whether it is correcting current non-compliance, preparing for an announced change or responding to a proposal whose detail is still being developed.