In a landmark move, the UK Labour Party has introduced its much-anticipated Employment Rights Bill, which aims to overhaul the rights of employees and strengthen protections against unfair practices. A central feature of this Bill is the introduction of "day one rights", a significant shift in how employment rights are allocated in the workplace. This reform proposes that certain employment rights, traditionally reserved for employees after several months or even years of service, will now be available from the very first day of employment.

What Are "Day One Rights"?

The concept of "day one rights" is designed to provide employees with protections and entitlements the moment they start a job, rather than requiring them to accrue a specific period of service before being eligible. Under current UK law, many employment rights—such as protection from ordinary unfair dismissal is only available after a period of continuous employment, typically after two years. Labour’s proposal seeks to eliminate these waiting periods, empowering employees to claim their rights and protections from the outset.

New “Day One Rights”

• Right to protection from unfair dismissal

This would be granted immediately which contrasts sharply with the current system, where employees are often vulnerable to termination without the ability to contest it until they have completed two years of employment. This shift could have a profound impact on job security and employee confidence, particularly for those in precarious or short-term / fixed-term employment contracts.

• Statutory Bereavement Leave

There is currently no statutory right for employees to take leave following a death (except parents who lose a child aged under 18). From review of the current consultation, it is proposed that there will be regulations set out to establish the relationship to the deceased and how the leave can be taken. It is expected the amount of leave will be a minimum of one week (but will remain two weeks for a child) and that the period the leave must be taken will extend to at least 56 days after the person’s death.

• Paternity Leave and Parental leave.

The bill would remove the current requirement for employees to have worked with their employer for 26 weeks to take paternity leave, or a year to take unpaid parental leave. This ensures immediate access to paid leave for new parents and current parents extending protections and strengthening employee rights to family-related leave and support, with the intention to encourage employees to change jobs without the fear that they will lose their entitlement.

• Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

Although SSP is a day one right to all employers/workers, the bill proposes to remove the three-day waiting period before an employee/worker is entitled to claim statutory sick pay. Further to this, to be eligible for SSP an employee must have average weekly earnings at or above the lower earnings limit which is currently £123 per week. It is Labour’s decision that this will be removed which is expected to bring between 1 to 1.3 million individuals into the scope of SSP. However, it is still in discussion what those individuals will be entitled to as a payment as the current SSP of £116.75 is likely to be higher than most of the individuals current pay. It has been proposed that they will keep the flat weekly rate but any individual below this cap will receive a percentage rate which is expected to be between 60% to 80% of an individual’s average weekly earnings. Although this is not an entirely extreme move, this does seem to be in stark contrast to the previous governments view of the ‘sick note’ culture and does raise concern as to whether there will be an increase in sick notes being issued, particularly in businesses where there is not enhanced contractual sick pay.  Labour have confirmed the reasoning behind this is to reduce presenteeism, where an individual has not had the chance to properly recover from an illness and as such is not effective or fully functioning in the workplace, which in turn reduces a businesses productivity.

The Role of Probation Periods

One area that has drawn particular attention in the discussion surrounding day one rights is the role of probation periods in employment contracts. Probation periods are traditionally seen as a way for employers to assess the suitability of a new hire and for employees to demonstrate their ability to perform the job.

Labour's Bill challenges this notion by introducing a much stronger set of rights from day one, regardless of whether the employee is on probation. This is contrary to what had previously been rumoured that a probation period may be included to act, in effect, as a new ‘qualifying period’. The consultation document suggests that there will be a ‘statutory probation period’ which will be a period that lasts nine months from the start of employment. It is expected that during this period there will be a ‘lighter touch’ and ‘less onerous process’ for businesses to fairly dismiss someone. The consultation paper does not set out what is meant by ‘lighter touch’ and this will be expected to be one of the key aspects that will be consulted on.

Interestingly, the introduction of the day one right to not be unfairly dismissed potentially throughout the ‘statutory probation period’ does not correlate to an individual’s right to receive written reasons for any dismissal during this period. The paper proposes that this will only come into effect after the statutory probation period has concluded.

For any employer reading this article slightly concerned, it is not expected that such reforms to unfair dismissal will take effect any earlier than Autumn 2026, with further clarity expected following the conclusion of the consultation period.

Impact on Businesses and Employers

Labour's Employment Rights Bill has prompted debate about the implications for businesses, particularly small to medium enterprises (SMEs). Critics argue that the introduction of day one rights, combined with changes to probationary rules, could increase the risk and cost of hiring new employees. Employers may feel compelled to engage in more rigorous recruitment processes to mitigate the risk of legal challenges from day one. There is concern that businesses might become more cautious in hiring, potentially stifling job growth.

On the other hand, supporters of the Bill argue that these reforms are necessary to prevent exploitative practices and to improve the working lives of millions of people. By giving employees stronger protections from the outset, Labour hopes to create a more stable, motivated, and productive workforce. The move is also to encourage employees to re-enter the job market, seek a change in career or improve their living standard without the uncertainty of having little to no employment protections with a new employer.